"IT'S GOAL TIME!"

Yes, it’s that time of year when we resolve to better ourselves moving forward. If you’re like me, you often lose track of these personal resolutions after a few short weeks or months. Thankfully, in a professional sense things have gone very well in 2008, and virtually all of my business goals were achieved. That being said, what are your personal or professional goals for 2009? Here is what I hope my company, Wasatch Software, and I will achieve:

1- 5 million + in revenue
2- Expand in-house technical services
3- Achieve Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status
4- Become a Symantec Gold Partner
5- Add technical certifications for niche products (Enterprise Vault, VMware)
6- Further training and certifications for our sales staff
7- Increase in-house web marketing efforts
8- Expand relationships with key vendors and suppliers

9- Move to improved office space (high-tech conference/demo room a must)

Piece of cake, right? I’ll keep you posted on the progress of each throughout the upcoming year. What are your goals, business or otherwise, for 2009? Certainly let me know what I can help you do to acheive them!

Wasatch Software's Symantec Partnership

I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas. Naturally, the day after Christmas is pretty slow here at Wasatch Software. We’d rather be talking to customers and processing orders, but this downtime provides a great opportunity for another blog post.

As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to talk about strides we’ve made in our partnership with one of the world’s leading software companies: Symantec. In 2008, we progressed from being just a Symantec Registered Partner to becoming a Symantec Silver Partner. What is required to become a Symantec Silver Partner? Basically, Wasatch Software had to achieve minimum revenue goals and also obtain a certain number of sales and technical certifications on Symantec products. This investment in time and training for our staff has helped our customers in numerous ways. Perhaps foremost is the fact that we have put in the time and effort to train on solutions to help our customers make the right decision about their network security, data backup, and data archiving needs.

Our team here at Wasatch Software has successfully become certified in numerous Symantec products:

• Backup Exec for Windows Server
• Backup Exec System Recovery
• Symantec Endpoint Protection
• Symantec Ghost Solution Suite
• Symantec Mail Security for Exchange

Another achievement that our organization has made in regards to Symantec in 2008 is our achievement of the Symantec SMB Specialization. With this specialization our customers can rest assured that we have the knowledge and ability to provide and implement technologies in a very successful manner for small and medium sized businesses throughout the country.

Additionally, we are happy that we have had the chance to build a stronger relationship with our contacts at Symantec, especially with Mahlon Findtner, who is their representative that handles our area. It was especially our pleasure to participate with Mahlon at our Utah Jazz event last month.

So, what is coming up in 2009 for Wasatch Software and Symantec? Our goals for this relationship include further training and certifications, particularly on Symantec Enterprise Vault. We also have our sights set on becoming Symantec Gold Partners next year!

Wasatch Software's Utah Jazz Event

Wow! I must say that everyone here at Wasatch Software is very pleased with how well our event with the Utah Jazz went. Over 170 people joined us for a VIP experience before the game. The event was held on Nov. 7th, 2008 as the Utah Jazz took on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Our customers had the opportunity to network with each of our vendors that sponsored the event, followed by VIP dinner, presentations, prizes, and of course, a Utah Jazz basketball game. First off, I want to thank each of our partners who sponsored the event. You can check them out by clicking on the links below:

• Microsoft, represented by Dan See and Gary Schoonover
• HP (Hewlett Packard); represented by Scott Carr
• Symantec, represented by Mahlon Findtner
• Kaspersky, represented by Hugh McLaughlin
• Red Condor, represented, by Dave Brown
• BorderWare, represented by Carrie Roberts and Donna Lowe
• Tech Data, represented by Allen Cayen and Christina Ferris

Each of these vendors was well represented, and I had the pleasure of joining most of them for a special presentation at center court prior to tip-off:

A number of our customers also participated in the 'fan tunnel' and greeted members of the opposing team as they ran onto the court prior to tip-off. I was happy to present a number of solutions during my presentation, including Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 and HP's Blade Servers. Following my presentation, Hugh McLaughlin with Kaspersky Lab introduced the audience to their network security product, and Dave Brown with Red Condor covered his company's e-mail security product.

Of course, the night would not be complete without some great Utah Jazz Basketball. By coincidence, we were able to see coach Jerry Sloan's 1000'th career victory. Thanks again to all of our vendors and customers for their participation. Special kudos go to our staff here at Wasatch Software, including Danielle VanHorssen, Jake Boden, and Trevor Brandol for their help with the event.

Spencer Ferguson
President
Wasatch Software, Inc.

IT Services and Network Consulting

For some time, Wasatch Software has offered IT services and networking consulting to our customers in the Salt Lake City, Utah metropolitan area. As a national reseller of IT products, we have realized a need for similar services for our customers throughout the United States. Many non-IT organizations outside of Utah utilize us for their computer hardware and software needs, and often request installation, training, or other IT services from us. Now, through our newly launched IT ServiceNet program, these customers can be partnered with IT Consultants and firms in their area.

Through this program, Wasatch Software can now offer installation, training, networking, managed services, and more from coast to coast. Here are a few links with more information:

• End Users Interested in IT Services
• IT Firms Intersted in Joining IT ServiceNet

You can also get more information by e-mailing service@wasatchsoftware.com, or by calling 888-275-8850. We are very excited about providing you with top-notch IT services to go with our extensive line of computer hardware and software offerings!

Download your Kaspersky Free Trial today!

If you haven't tried Kaspersky yet, now is the time! Many of our Symantec and Trend Micro users have begun getting their antivirus and security protection from Kaspersky with great results:

• Free Kaspersky Trial
• Kaspersky Competitive Comparison

As your Kaspersky Software Reseller, Wasatch Software is more than happy to answer any questions you might have!

Windows Server 2008 Launch Event

It’s time for another big launch from Microsoft! This go around includes new versions of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008. How can you learn more about the new features and benefits available in each new release? By attending the launch event brought to you by Wasatch Software and Microsoft! IT professionals and business executives are invited to the Salt Lake City Downtown Marriott at 12:00 PM on March 12th. Each attendee will not only get a sneak peek at Windows Server 2008 and other Microsoft technologies, but will also receive an excellent lunch. Those who attend will also receive a gift bag and be entered into a drawing for prizes that include software, an external hard drive, HP printer, Utah Jazz tickets and more!

All attendees must RSVP. You can register for this exciting Windows Server 2008 lunch/launch event by clicking here! Please contact Spencer Ferguson at spencer@wasatchsoftware.com or 801-983-3671 x111 for more information. We look forward to seeing you in March!

Kaspersky, Trend Micro Increase Anti-virus Market Share

It was my pleasure to provide some input about security and anti-virus software to Kevin McLaughlin of CRN. Here's an excerpt from his article titled "Channel Best-Sellers: Winning Security Players ":

Security vendors that manage to strike the right balance between functionality
and performance are fast becoming favorites in the channel, signaling an end to
the days of security "bloatware."

Tokyo-based Trend Micro and Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab shared the top spot in the Security Suites category of this year's CMP Channel Channel Best Sellers survey, with each seeing a 4.4 point jump in dollar volume share compared to last year. McAfee placed second with 0.7 points of growth, while Symantec and CA both experienced significant losses during the period...

...Spencer Ferguson, president of Wasatch Software, Salt Lake City, said what sets Kaspersky apart in the channel is the vendor's willingness to work with partners on an individual basis.

"We've worked with security vendors that have started working with us only to have it fall through later, but that hasn't been the case with Kaspersky," said Ferguson.

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.crn.com/security/204200883?pgno=4

As Wasatch Software is a reseller of all of the security and anti-virus software products that were mentioned, I can certainly understand why the numbers are increasing for Kaspersky and Trend Mico, and decreasing for Symantec and Computer Associates. What do you think about the climate of security software vendors?