June 18, 2020
Salina, KS

 

 

Steve Riat has been featured by companies such as Intel, Microsoft and Sonicwall for his unique ability to integrate business and technology. Steve leads two Kansas Technology Peer Groups and two national Technology Peer Group along with presenting around the globe. An entertaining and motivating speaker, Steve speaks and facilitates seminars on technology, Business growth and Culture.

 

Do you remember when music went portable? The Walkman was revolutionary for its time; finally, you could take your tapes with you! Since the 1980s, portable music has evolved from the Walkman to the Discman, the Apple iPod, the iPhone and now we have our music with us all the time. Computers went from the size of a room to fitting in your hand. TV watching evolved from having 13 channels with a turn switch, to remote control, to the DVR and now we can watch it just by connecting to wi-fi. The constant change in technology has created amazing opportunities. We will take a humorous look at the changes through the decades and how these advances impact our everyday lives. We will then take a look into our technology crystal ball to see what advancements we might expect in the next five years - personally, professionally and for our communities.

 

 

To compete in the digital economy, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) often need to make significant shifts in their operations, from the way they’re selling, to who their selling to and even the staff they need to deliver on their evolving business goals. Many SMBs and MSPs are in the midst of their own digital transformation and are dealing with changes to their customer base where the primary customer of tomorrow might not be the top client of today.

 

Knowing who your customer is and aligning marketing strategies to talk directly and effectively to that customer are just some of the challenges MSPs and SMBs are facing. Aligning business goals to operational realities (like budgets, resources and security) while equipping staff and customers with the tools they need to interact easily with the business isn’t always easy, but it’s critical for growth.

 

As Intel’s Director of SMB and MSP Marketing for the Americas Group at Intel Corporation, Eric helps organizations through the process of realigning operations to meet emerging business goals to compete at a higher level. Adept at combining classic marketing vehicles with new social and influencing approaches, Eric helps SMEs and MSPs to effectively communicate and market services to target key growth audiences including Gen X and Millennials.