Hanging Out in the ‘Zone’

For the first time ever Thursday evening, Channel Partners hosted the Channel Partners Zone – a casual event featuring cocktails and off-the-cuff conversation at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo.

The idea was to create an atmosphere akin to the show on TMZ where founder Harvey Levin and his staff rag on the endless supply of idiots in Hollywood. But instead of ridiculing the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Snooki, channel partners invested time shredding the hand that feeds them: carriers.

The banter ranged from serious conversations (“We have to change the way we are doing business") to one-liners (“Oh my God, Sarah Palin just walked by" and “My kids don’t need to eat. Wait, I got kids?"). (In case you were wondering, Larry Walsh, president of The 2112 Group, blurted out all these quotes. I don’t know Larry personally, but after sitting in on several sessions he hosted today, I get the sense he’s not the bashful type.)

Frankly, it was a boisterous bunch – that’s fairly inevitable when the wine is flowing – and I had some trouble following the banter at first. Eventually, I heard one guy say (and I’m paraphrasing) that carriers could give a damn about their customers because they just need revenues and have a mountain of debt to service. VIRGO CEO John Siefert seemed to vigorously challenge that position.

Another theme that emerged: Carriers aren’t afraid to break their contracts with agents because they know that lawsuits cost a hell of a lot of money and take forever. That made sense to me except when some folks kept referring to the litigation process in such a breach of contract action as a six- to seven-year event. Apparently, they all live in California and plan to take their case to the Supreme Court.

Walsh indicated the IT channel is too complacent because it doesn’t want to make suppliers like Cisco mad as hell.

“You have to push back," he said.

Some agents also talked about the pros/cons of selling gas and electricity. One agent indicated that a few of his big customers thought that was a silly idea. But it is logical for some transactional agents with a history of selling long distance and T1 circuits, countered another dude.

It was about then that I started to fade off into space until some chap said something about 147 dog years – I think that’s how long he has been in the communications business. (For the record, it is commonly believed that one dog year equals seven human years, so apparently this dude has been in business for 21 years).

Fairly soon, Channel Partners Editor-in-Chief Khali Henderson was raising her wine glass to the crowd – and the event was over.

To be candid, the Channel Partners Zone wasn’t as entertaining as watching a famous person make a complete fool of himself on TMZ. But it was a laid-back and amusing event that the Channel Partners team will work to improve.