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BlueStar Nation is the podcast that tackles the hot topics, trends, and emerging technologies impacting the specialty IT reseller channel, software companies, MSPs, and hardware manufacturers. Hosted by John Martin & Dean Reverman. Tell us what YOU want to hear about: nation@bluestarinc.com
Episodes
Thursday Jul 30, 2020
Thursday Jul 30, 2020
Not long ago, working with the cannabis industry was treated with kid gloves, hushed tones and met with resistance as a viable place to do business. Now, as legalization steadily moves across the US and around the world, it’s turned into an industry ripe for growth and opportunity. We have quite the roundtable for this episode: Dave Albert from Retail Control Systems, BlueStar’s Duane Roebuck and returning guest James Korte, each with valuable and unique experience into how this industry works compared to traditional retailers, manufacturers or distributors. How does the perception of the industry differ from the reality? How has COVID-19 impacted them? What technology is taking off? What are the challenges for resellers looking to break in and how do we market to people that may not be as easily reached as other industries?
#VARValue – How does BlueStar assist VARs with entering the cannabis space?
TEConnecting with our guests:
James - Camp Chef Pellet Grill
Duane - Sonos Wireless Sound System
Dave - Sonos and biking
Cannabis Industry Resources:
BlueStar's Seed-to-Sale Tech Guide
BlueStar's HybridSaaS
Talk to Us:
Twitter: @TEConnectPod
Email: TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Thursday Jul 23, 2020
Thursday Jul 23, 2020
It’s no secret that online and mobile ordering has become a huge part of the retail and restaurant landscape this year. The ability to shift operations to an online platform for delivery, takeout or curbside pickup is what may have saved thousands of businesses from closing forever. This week, we spoke with Epson’s ISV BDM, Josh Stanphill, about his experience with the demand changes. What makes a “good” software for this new normal? How should VARs be approaching this and pitching the benefits in the moment and beyond? What’s a “phantom/cloud kitchen”?
#VARValue – How can VARs help educate and inform their customers on how to select the right online/mobile ordering platform?
TEConnecting with Us:
Josh – SteelSeries gaming keyboards
Dean - SongShift
John – JustWatch
Sponsored by:
Epson OmniLink Printers
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
Access to mobile, flexible and powerful technology for day-to-day work in healthcare is more important than ever, but with a variety of choices in consumer-grade and purpose-built devices, the market can get a little cloudy for providers. To help us sort it out, we spoke with Honeywell’s Healthcare Marketing Manager, Phoebe Cresswell. She discusses a Honeywell/HIMSS co-study on how healthcare organizations are selecting mobility solutions. What are the driving factors? How is patient experience impacted? What are the most important differences in choosing an enterprise device over, say, an iPhone? What keeps hospital IT directors up at night?
#VARValue - How do VARs help educate healthcare organizations on the benefits of enterprise devices?
TEConnecting with Us:
Phoebe: AI in Healthcare
Dean: Vaccine production
John: Jelle's Marble Runs
Sponsored by:
Honeywell's Drive-Thru Testing Solutions
Thursday Jul 09, 2020
Thursday Jul 09, 2020
For our 10th episode, Dean & John decided to riff about a topic that nearly all businesses deal with…multiple generations working together. How do you define a generation? What are the stereotypes? Is the Boomer vs. Millennial clash real? Do younger generations feel more stress? Don’t we all kind of want the same things? It’s the episode where two Gen Xers probably sound older than they planned to!
#VARValue - What should VARs do to make their business more welcoming to all generations?
What did NOT TEConnect with us?
Dean - Snapchat
John - Facebook
Sponsored by:
Honeywell QSR Drive-Thru Solutions
Zebra Ruggedized Devices eBook
Thursday Jul 02, 2020
Thursday Jul 02, 2020
Retail technology has come a long way in just a couple decades. Green screens gave way to Windows, Android, Linux, cloud-based, mobile and now we’re looking at retail as a multi-channel experience for consumers to shop wherever and however they want. This week, we’re joined by Sonal Apte, who has a wonderful depth of knowledge on these topics and more. Where does the Windows vs. Android debate currently rest? What is Unified Commerce? What innovations are on the horizon? It's the episode where John tries to whistle badly and we once again reference "Minority Report" but are not getting paid to do so!
#VARValue - How do VARs position themselves for the future of retail technology?
TEConnecting with Us:
Sonal: Avi Schiffman's Coronavirus Tracking Site (Business Insider article)
Dean: Real-Time Inventory
John: Wind of Change podcast (Original Scorpions song)
Sponsored by:
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Terms like artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics get thrown around in many industries and may still feel like high-level futuristic concepts, but they are not and they are actively improving outcomes, especially in healthcare. Matt Jordan returns to the podcast with special guest Chris Sullivan, Zebra's Global Healthcare Practice Lead, to dive into how these concepts are making a difference right now. Where is AI currently in use and how did the pandemic accelerate that? What is machine learning? Is predictive analytics as simple as putting data you already have to work?
*We had some technical difficulties just before shifting to our recurring segments so the audio for Chris & Matt changes a bit at that point.*
#VARValue - How do VARs fit into the process of implementing these high level initiatives in healthcare?
TEConnecting with Us:
Matt - VR in Medicine
Chris - Bluetooth Portable Stereo & Zebra MotionWorks Proximity
Dean - SpaceX' Dragon Capsule
John - SNES Classic
Sponsored by:
Thursday Jun 18, 2020
Thursday Jun 18, 2020
Unattended kiosks were already growing as benefits like line-busting, auto-upselling and reallocation of resources caught on. As the need for fewer points of face-to-face contact increased in recent months, they took on a new safety role as well. This week, we talk with Augusto Echecopar, Star Micronics’ Channel Partner Executive and Kiosk Champion (such a cool title)! Will the new norm of kiosks continue on post-pandemic? Where does the barrier-to-entry sit for resellers? How is AI transforming the retail kiosk landscape? How does the 2002 Spielberg film “Minority Report” fit into this conversation?
*This episode was one of our earliest recorded (late April). John was remote, his dog was barking in the background and he made an unedited flub at the end. Thankfully, he got better at this hosting thing.*
#VARValue - What are some of the perceptions and misconceptions around selling kiosk technology that VARs should let go of?
TEConnecting with Us:
Augusto - Quantum Computing
Dean - Video Conferencing
John - Streaming TV
Sponsored by:
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
BlueStar's James Korte returns (see our first episode!) to discuss email marketing. Reaching customers via email might feel archaic after over two decades of use, but it's still one of the most effective and easy-to-use marketing tools. In the clutter of messages filling inboxes, how do you make yours stand out? What are some simple, free tools you can use? How do you give subscribers control over the content they receive from you?
#VARValue - Where should resellers begin to improve their own email marketing?
TEConnecting with Us:
James - Duolingo
Dean - K-Cups
John - Letterboxd
Sponsored by:
Zebra Media & Consumables
Honeywell Pharmacy Barcode Scanning Solutions
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Getting patients involved in their own care is an important aspect of public health, so the growth of mobile technology, telehealth and self-service is important to shifting attitudes and giving providers more actionable information. Elo's Director of Healthcare, Jeff Fountaine, joins us to discuss how new tech is streamlining the experience for patients and clinicians alike. What technologies that suddenly became vital during a pandemic will now be the norm? Where are we encountering stumbling blocks? What's the future of check-in, the exam room and post-visit?
#VARValue - How do resellers help promote patient engagement?
TEConnecting with Us:
Jeff - Drone Technology
Dean - FLIR Systems Temperature Technology
John - WordPress app
Talk to Us!
@TEConnectPod on Twitter
Sponsored by:
Thursday Jun 04, 2020
Thursday Jun 04, 2020
The U.S. is pretty far behind the rest of the world in adopting contactless and mobile payments, but that's likely to change dramatically as retailers and customers look to eliminate touching terminals that hundreds or thousands of others have touched as well. Toby Hutchinson, BlueStar's Payment Sales Manager, joins us to talk about the demand shift. What are the benefits beyond the obvious? How does pay-at-table improve business? What was slowing down the adoption before?
#VARValue - How does BlueStar assist with payments?
TEConnecting with Us:
Toby - Cryptocurrency
Dean - Telemedicine
John - Newcomers podcast
Talk to Us!
@TEConnectPod on Twitter
teconnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Zebra's Entertainment Industry eBook
Honeywell's BOPIS Solutions