Utah Business: "Forty under 40" List (2009)

Wow! What an honor to be named to Utah Business magazine's "Forty under 40" list, which recognizes 40 executives under the age of 40 making waves in our state. This is a list I have followed for a number of years, and have awed at the talent that is annually applauded.

This award is more a tribute to the talent and hard work or our team here at Wasatch Software than to me. Even during this economic downturn, Wasatch Software has been able to grow our revenues substantially, and we hope this will continue throughout 2009.

What are the reasons that we have been so successful in this economy, and have garnered awards of this nature?

• Our sales team has improved drastically in terms of taking good care of our customers. Kudos to Trevor Brandol for his efforts on this.
• Our relationships with key distribution partners have garnered better margins and more opportunities. Jake Boden has been and will continually work to improve this area.
• Our marketing efforts have been a huge success. Our team continues to find new ways to locate new customers and maintain existing ones. From web efforts to outbound telemarketing, we’ve been on target. Also, Danielle VanHorssen has been great in planning and managing our customer events, including our Utah Jazz event last November.
• We continue to raise our profile with key vendors based on our sales volume and growth. Some of these vendors include Microsoft, Symantec, Kaspersky and HP, among others.

Again, thank you to everyone on our team here at Wasatch Software (and also to Brandy Wilkins) for the work that you’ve done in helping me achieve this award. Also, thank you to everyone at Utah Business magazine. Be sure to pick up their January issue, or check out their website today!

Spencer Ferguson
President
Wasatch Software, Inc.

Wasatch Software's Utah Jazz Event

Wow! I must say that everyone here at Wasatch Software is very pleased with how well our event with the Utah Jazz went. Over 170 people joined us for a VIP experience before the game. The event was held on Nov. 7th, 2008 as the Utah Jazz took on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Our customers had the opportunity to network with each of our vendors that sponsored the event, followed by VIP dinner, presentations, prizes, and of course, a Utah Jazz basketball game. First off, I want to thank each of our partners who sponsored the event. You can check them out by clicking on the links below:

• Microsoft, represented by Dan See and Gary Schoonover
• HP (Hewlett Packard); represented by Scott Carr
• Symantec, represented by Mahlon Findtner
• Kaspersky, represented by Hugh McLaughlin
• Red Condor, represented, by Dave Brown
• BorderWare, represented by Carrie Roberts and Donna Lowe
• Tech Data, represented by Allen Cayen and Christina Ferris

Each of these vendors was well represented, and I had the pleasure of joining most of them for a special presentation at center court prior to tip-off:

A number of our customers also participated in the 'fan tunnel' and greeted members of the opposing team as they ran onto the court prior to tip-off. I was happy to present a number of solutions during my presentation, including Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 and HP's Blade Servers. Following my presentation, Hugh McLaughlin with Kaspersky Lab introduced the audience to their network security product, and Dave Brown with Red Condor covered his company's e-mail security product.

Of course, the night would not be complete without some great Utah Jazz Basketball. By coincidence, we were able to see coach Jerry Sloan's 1000'th career victory. Thanks again to all of our vendors and customers for their participation. Special kudos go to our staff here at Wasatch Software, including Danielle VanHorssen, Jake Boden, and Trevor Brandol for their help with the event.

Spencer Ferguson
President
Wasatch Software, Inc.

Windows Server 2008 Launch Event

It’s time for another big launch from Microsoft! This go around includes new versions of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008. How can you learn more about the new features and benefits available in each new release? By attending the launch event brought to you by Wasatch Software and Microsoft! IT professionals and business executives are invited to the Salt Lake City Downtown Marriott at 12:00 PM on March 12th. Each attendee will not only get a sneak peek at Windows Server 2008 and other Microsoft technologies, but will also receive an excellent lunch. Those who attend will also receive a gift bag and be entered into a drawing for prizes that include software, an external hard drive, HP printer, Utah Jazz tickets and more!

All attendees must RSVP. You can register for this exciting Windows Server 2008 lunch/launch event by clicking here! Please contact Spencer Ferguson at spencer@wasatchsoftware.com or 801-983-3671 x111 for more information. We look forward to seeing you in March!

Kaspersky, Trend Micro Increase Anti-virus Market Share

It was my pleasure to provide some input about security and anti-virus software to Kevin McLaughlin of CRN. Here's an excerpt from his article titled "Channel Best-Sellers: Winning Security Players ":

Security vendors that manage to strike the right balance between functionality
and performance are fast becoming favorites in the channel, signaling an end to
the days of security "bloatware."

Tokyo-based Trend Micro and Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab shared the top spot in the Security Suites category of this year's CMP Channel Channel Best Sellers survey, with each seeing a 4.4 point jump in dollar volume share compared to last year. McAfee placed second with 0.7 points of growth, while Symantec and CA both experienced significant losses during the period...

...Spencer Ferguson, president of Wasatch Software, Salt Lake City, said what sets Kaspersky apart in the channel is the vendor's willingness to work with partners on an individual basis.

"We've worked with security vendors that have started working with us only to have it fall through later, but that hasn't been the case with Kaspersky," said Ferguson.

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.crn.com/security/204200883?pgno=4

As Wasatch Software is a reseller of all of the security and anti-virus software products that were mentioned, I can certainly understand why the numbers are increasing for Kaspersky and Trend Mico, and decreasing for Symantec and Computer Associates. What do you think about the climate of security software vendors?