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

MJ Biz Daily

Ganjapreneur

BlueStar's HybridSaaS

Talk to Us:

Twitter: @TEConnectPod

Email: [email protected]

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

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

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:

Elo Healthcare Self-Service

Honeywell QSR Drive-Thru Solutions

Zebra Ruggedized Devices eBook

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:

EloPOS Retail System

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:

Zebra's Refresh Program

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:

Star Micronics SteadyLAN for mc3 Printers

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

[email protected]

Sponsored by:

Elo Healthcare Self-Service 

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

Elo 6503L Large-Format Touchscreen Signage

Welcome to the TEConnect Podcast! For the first episode, we invited James Korte, BlueStar's Digital Marketing Manager, on to discuss a timely topic...Marketing in a Crisis. Should your business address a crisis directly, indirectly or leave it alone? What kind of messages fall flat or could harm your reputation?

#VARValue - How can marketing help you right now?

TEConnecting with Us:

James - Social Distancing Technology

Dean - Wearable Tech

John - MLB.com content

Talk to Us!

@TEConnectPod on Twitter

[email protected]

Sponsored by:

Zebra's PartnerConnect Program