I had the privilege of attending HTG Peer Group’s first quarter meeting for 2016. During the meeting, I had a chance to meet with all the “important” people, including the CEO and Owner, the head of vendor sponsorships, and the President. Throughout my tour, the HTG group stood out as a family, a close-knit community of MSP partners (including the vendor reps). If it truly does “take a village to raise a child,” then why wouldn’t the same apply to a MSP, VAR, or any business? There are many peer groups, networking organizations, and associations for professionals in the IT channel. Here are a few reasons why you should consider joining one to help you reach your goals and objectives:

According to CNN, this year’s Super Bowl drew nearly 120 million viewers— and that excludes tablet views, streaming and good old-fashioned sports bar watching. Year after year, millions of people tune in to the Super Bowl and watch this spectacle of athleticism and commercialism. As I’m awash in a sea of commercials for Doritos, domestic beer, and luxury sedans, the inner marketing fanatic in me was wondering: what does the ROI look like when an ad is on such a large stage?

The level of interest in Microsoft Azure from Managed Service Providers (MSPs) is off the chart—it is easily one of our most popular cloud “topics” and building momentum.  And while the typical areas of Backup/DR, Active Directory, and Virtual Machines are driving much of the interest, there are a slew of potential points of leverage for the platform, many of which lie beyond the IT department.

Editor's Note: This blog was originally featured as a guest blog on The VAR Guy. To read articles similar to this one, visit The VAR Guy or visit our website.