11:00 - 11:45 AM ET
Opening Keynote Address
How to Succeed in the Managed Services Business

Everyone is talking about managed services, but few companies have succeeded in building a profitable managed services business. Why are so many VARs struggling to establish a viable managed service capability? This keynote presentation will identify the common pitfalls which many VARs encounter when they pursue managed services. With years of advising companies in the managed services arena, Jeff Kaplan will also provide a set of practical steps to overcome these obstacles, and show solution providers how they can leverage managed services to build customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Moderator: Jack Rosenberger, Senior Editor, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Jeff Kaplan, Founder and Managing Director, ThinkStrategies

1:00 - 1:45 PM ET
Hot Button Panel 1
Migrating to Managed Services: What You Need to Know

Being a managed services provider is a full-time job. How do you choose and deploy the remote application platforms and tools that are best for your company and target customers? Also, a migration to managed services often requires a major change in corporate culture, mindset and sales strategy. Panelists will discuss these issues in addition to the importance of peer networking and other best practices.

Moderator: Joel Shore, VTS Presentation Host, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Charles Weaver, President, MSP Alliance
Speaker: Don Begg, CEO, Do IT Smarter
Speaker: Eliot Vancil, President and Founder, NetworkLogic

3:00 - 3:45 PM ET
Hot Button Panel 2
How to Identify Potential Customers: Who Needs Managed Services?

Learn how to spot the businesses that are most likely to become your customers. Panelists will discuss why some businesses need managed services more than others. One underappreciated factor, for instance, is the tech knowledge of a potential customer. Businesses that appreciate the importance of IT and are technology leaders are more prone to use managed services.

Moderator: Joel Shore, VTS Presentation Host, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Abizer Rasheed, CEO, Netfusions
Speaker: Michael Proper, President & CEO, DirectPointe
Speaker: Ted Warner, President, Connecting Point

5:00 - 5:45 PM ET
Hot Button Panel 3
Business Opportunities in Managed Services

According to a recent survey by the MSP Alliance, a managed services professional association, security is the main reason that businesses turn to managed services, followed by a desire to improve IT performance and to reduce costs. Learn which services are in the greatest demand.

Moderator: Jack Rosenberger, Senior Editor, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Rex Frank, CTO, Alvaka Networks
Speaker: Bryan Van Dussen, Director, Busines Markets Research, In-Stat
Speaker: Shawn Fields, Vice President, Solutions Outsourcing, Optimus Solutions

11:00 - 11:30 AM ET
Opening Keynote Address
Managed Services: Where’s the Need

Ziff Davis Editorial Director Mike Vizard will discuss recent research showing where IT customers are investing in managed services as part of an effort to create a strategic IT plan that allows them to invest more in applications and business processes and less on running their infrastructure.

Moderator: Cameron Crotty, Editor, Online Events, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Mike Vizard, Editorial Director - Ziff Davis Enterprise

1:00 - 1:30 PM ET
Microsoft and the Move to Managed Services

Microsoft Watch Editor Joe Wilcox will detail the strategic implications that Vista and Microsoft’s forthcoming Longhorn release of Windows Server will have in driving customers to embrace managed service offerings.

Moderator: Cameron Crotty, Editor, Online Events, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Joe Wilcox, Editor - Microsoft Watch

3:00 - 3:30 PM ET
Disruptive Technologies Driving the Next Wave of Managed Services

eWEEK Technology Editor Jim Rapoza will highlight some of the emerging technologies that will come to market this year and next that are likely to significantly increase the types and varieties of managed service offerings in the market.

Moderator: Cameron Crotty, Editor, Online Events, Ziff Davis Enterprise

Speaker: Jim Rapoza, Chief Technology Analyst, eWEEK – Ziff Davis Enterprise

4:00 - 4:30 PM ET
The Strategic Role that Managed Services Play in Providing Real IT Security

eWEEK Senior Security Editor Lisa Vaas and Larry Seltzer, eWEEK Security Center editor, show you how services are becoming a key component of any defense in depth IT security strategy.

Moderator: Cameron Crotty, Editor, Online Events, Ziff Davis Enterprise