Forget the software market. Now ConnectWise and Autotask are competing in the video market. Sort of. The two PSA (professional services automation) specialists have engaged in a video race involving CompTIA’s Breakaway channel conference. The winner: Viewers, because the videos are pretty hysterical. Here’s the chatter … plus a look at the videos.
The story begins with two high-profile members of the MSP industry:
First up, Jeannine Edwards, director of ConnectWise Community. Over the past few years, Edwards has built ConnectWise user groups across the globe. And those user group meetings often attract 100 or more ConnectWise partners. Edwards is the rare person who’s online — or at conferences — as often as The VAR Guy. Pretty impressive.
Next up: Travis Austin, founder of Rezitech, a managed services provider (MSP) and Autotask customer. During the Autotask Community Live conference in early 2010, Austin emerged as a poster child for Autotask‘s customer base. Active in social media forums, Austin has also launched MSPintegrations — a type of middleware that connects third-party offerings to Autotask.
Showdown On YouTube
Now here’s where things get interesting. In preparation for the CompTIA Breakaway conference, a range of vendors have submitted offbeat videos to CompTIA’s PitchIt video contest. Readers, in turn, can vote for their favorite videos.
No doubt, ConnectWise community members are rallying around Edwards and ConnectWise, giving the ConnectWise video a big thumbs up. And Austin, meanwhile, has gone viral asking friends to weigh in — which has triggered a flood of votes.
Who ultimately wins? Viewers because the videos are a riot. Plus, the videos reinforce the fact that small software companies continue to build loyal, viral followings across the channel, a fact that large software companies should take note of.
You can see all the videos here. The top 4 vote getters as of 3pm eastern on July 22 are are…
Autotask and Travis Austin
ConnectWise Mobile, iPhone Edition
Datto, Old Spice Edition
Lenovo
Hello, Jerry…
But wait. The VAR Guy is taking a closer look at the videotape. The big question: Did Travis Austin pull a Jerry Seinfield? You may recall Jerry winning a high-school sprint (and a rematch) because he left the starting blocks before the firing gun actually sounded:
And in this case, The VAR Guy recalls seeing Austin’s video back at the Autotask Community Live conference in early 2010. So, did Austin have an artificial head start — pulling old fans back into the well-known video?
Hmmm… In reality The VAR Guy is making something out of nothing here. The videos are less about vendor competition and more about having some fun heading into a conference…
… right?
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I can confirm that all counters started at zero…but for those slightly technically savvy, there is a way you can vote more than once (and with over 20,000 views already, that may be the case!).
I have also encouraged everyone not to vote for Lenovo, while funny, it is canned and not the same effort as the other 3 above!
Jay McBain
Lenovo
Jay,
If The VAR Guy’s italian, brunette wife ever files for divorce, our resident blogger may reach out to Lenovo’s video crew for some intros…
-TVG
This is kind of like my poker games. Good, friendly, above the belt competition between industry rivals for not much more than bragging rights. Refreshing eh? When the dust settles, the vendors and VARs that had the most fun rallying around their favorite pony will be the true winners. Thanks for blogging VAR Guy! And for disclosure purposes, can you tell us who you voted for? I can tell you that if AT didn’t sign my check, my vote might have been for a non-PSA vendor.
Mark
Mark…
Fact: It certainly is friendly, above-the-belt competition
Rumor: Vendors (click) are (click) getting very little (click) work done because (click) they’re too busy (click, click, click) voting for their (click) videos…
Kidding aside, The VAR Guy likes when the tech industry pokes fun at itself. CompTIA certainly has gotten more creative in recent years.
-TVG
We’ve been doing some very creative things this year in advance of Breakaway and this is proof that having some fun and not taking things so seriously can work better than speeds and feeds when it comes to vendor presentations. Making people laugh will make them remember you far longer.
Hey guys, the clickfest is over… The finalists have just been announced. Clever Ducks is excited to be an attendee finalist!
One winner in the attendee category and sponsor category will be selected with onsite voting at the Breakaway. Sounds like the system will be secured with your registration badge being a unique identifier.
Please vote for Clever Ducks in the attendee category – we plan to donate our prize to help complete a computer lab in Bosnia for a nonprofit that works with university students. It is hard to believe there are students in Europe without computer access. Then again, it is hard to believe there was a war in Europe in the 90s with horrible genocide. Help us help this generation that grew up during the war in former Jugoslavia.
The Lenovo video is precisely why there are so very few women in our industry