Couldn’t make it to Empower ’22? Here’s what you missed

It has been a couple of weeks, and I am still coming down from my #Empower2022 high. It was phenomenal getting back out there again, hosting our partners in what is our single biggest gathering of MSPs of the year. 

This year’s event was held in magnificent Las Vegas, NV, and the city did not disappoint. They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but for Empower there were lots of amazing things to take away for both us and our partners.

Here are some of the highlights that sprang to mind for myself and my Head Nerd colleagues as we reflected on our week at this year’s Empower:  

1.     The power of the partner connections 

We had almost 500 attendees at Empower 2022. Under normal circumstances, out in the real world, many of these attendees might consider each other to be competitors. But for this one week, these 500 or so MSPs did not consider themselves the ‘competition’, but instead willingly came together to laugh, learn, and share their knowledge and expertise with one another. 

As David Weeks, our Sr. Director of Partner Engagement, said during his mainstage introductory address: “We are here to learn from each other”. I was a witness to that, and it was what moved me the most. It never ceases to amaze me how enthusiastic our partners are to openly and freely share their own personal experiences and insights with their peers, creating an even stronger N‑able partner community as a result.   

2.     Getting back on stage again

It’s been three years since I took to the stage to deliver live training to our partners, and I was honored that I was able to co-deliver a marketing break-out session with Mark Copeman called ‘Websites Teardown—LIVE’. Part of Mark’s consulting practice is evaluating MSPs’ websites and providing advice that can be used to help generate more meaningful leads. In this session, we solicited volunteers from the audience and Mark proceeded to conduct unscripted, live reviews of their individual MSP websites. He was honest but fair in his critiques, and I think those partners that had their websites assessed, garnered some important and practical take-aways that they could implement upon returning to the office.    

Marc-Andre Tanguay, Manager, Head Nerds  

1.     Having great discussions

For Marc-Andre, Empower was all about having the opportunity to engage in meaningful and fulfilling discussions. Whether those discussions took place during the Welcome Party on the opening night, in between the various main-stage and break-out sessions, or during mealtimes and breaktimes, it was great to have the time to speak with our partners face to face and get their feedback on what N‑able does well, and areas where we could do better.    

2.     Delivering an automation boot camp ahead of Empower commencing 

Marc also thoroughly enjoyed having the chance to present a boot camp the afternoon before Empower officially kicked off. For him, it was amazing to have over 200 people in a room, asking questions like:  “Can we automate taking VMware snapshots prior to maintenance?” and “How can we build a PC effectively?”. Having these partners engaged and eager to learn how they can increase their proficiency in our toolsets and better leverage our automation capabilities, was a great session to be a part of.

3.     The variety of content and topics that were covered 

According to Marc, it is the variety of content delivered at Empower by top N‑able representatives, combined with having the opportunity to see what your peers do, and being able to interact with them, that are the core benefits of attending Empower.

This year saw a wide range of break-out sessions from the Head Nerd team on a variety of topics around security, backup management, sales, and MSP marketing, as well as other technical tracks. Marc-Andre also highlighted the tracks around mergers and acquisitions. M&A continues to be a hot topic for our MSP partners and the tracks presented by Sr. Sales Director, Davide Di Labio and his team were very well received.    

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Jason Murphy, Head Nerd, N‑central

1.     A stand-out event

Jason felt that in his nine years of both working for N‑able and being a partner, #Empower2022 was the best, most memorable event N‑able has hosted. He felt that it was well done and well received, and it was our partners that made the event so amazing for him.  

Jason was thankful for the opportunity to sit down and chat with as many partners as he could during his three shorts day in Las Vegas. He told me about one partner who came up to him during the event to thank him for helping to change how he operates his MSP. He had another partner tell him that what he does as a Head Nerd was not only game-changing for his MSP, but one of the driving factors of his remaining an N‑able partner. 

2.     Meeting ‘pioneers’ of the industry

Another highlight for Jason was having the opportunity to meet some of the ‘pioneers’ of the industry who also attended our event. Joe Panettieri delivered an amazing introduction and set the stage for some key and influential folks that Jason had come to know and respect over the years, including Mike Cullen, Mark Scott, and Gavin Garbutt. Seeing them all together was a special moment.

Lewis Pope, Head Nerd, Security

1.     Reinforcing the confidence in our MSP partners to deliver on cybersecurity

Most conversations Lewis had with partners at Empower touched on cybersecurity. An almost hour-long conversation with one partner focused on the role MSPs play in bringing good cybersecurity practices and operational security to municipalities. “It’s easy to say that MSPs can and should follow best practices or an established cybersecurity framework,” said Lewis, “but it’s always a moment of validation, and no small amount of relief, when I hear from one of our MSP partners that is doing exactly that. And not only are they doing it, but that they are delivering on cybersecurity at scale to towns and municipalities in a model that is profitable.” 

There were also conversations where partners openly admitted that they are not yet where they wanted to be with cybersecurity, but they recognized this and were seeking guidance from their peers and the wealth of experience and wisdom that was present at Empower. He now has four ongoing conversations that started at Empower with partners on improving their monitoring of specific security controls via N‑sight and N‑central. 

2.     Eagerness of the next generation

One of the things that struck Lewis the most was the appetite for knowledge, skills, and tools amongst all the fresh faces he saw at Empower. “At events like Empower there are always the regulars, the MSPs and acquaintances you expect to run into, and it’s always a pleasure to catch up,” he said. “At this year’s Empower there were some new faces for me, and I was thrilled by the drive and hunger for knowledge they brought with them. The quality and depth of the conversations I got to have with them let me know they didn’t see me just as another vendor representative—I was a peer that was just as excited by and interested in the conversation as they were. It’s great to see that eagerness and it speaks well of the future of those MSPs and the positive influences they can bring to the channel.”  

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Eric Harless, Head Nerd, Backup

1.     A long-awaited homecoming

For Eric, the event space was a constant buzz of activity with dozens of familiar names and faces in every room and around every corner. He saw #Empower2022 as our opportunity to connect with new peers and partners whom we had never met face to face, and to reconnect with those peers and partners that we’ve worked closely with over the past decade or two. 

Unlike some of the previous events Eric has attended—where everything was about closing business, getting help, or solving problems—most of his discussions this year started with “Hey how are you? I haven’t seen you since [Orlando, Atlanta, or Scottsdale].” The tone was upbeat with greetings that often included a strong handshake or a heartfelt thank you for some prior script, training, or assistance that made him see the event as a joy not just a job. Eric felt we truly had a hotel full of N‑able “fans” and partners who were more to us than just customers.

2.     Collaborating with the true experts 

One of Eric’s goals with Empower was to speak with our partners—the real experts—about all of the tools they are using within their MSPs on a daily basis. We might be Head Nerds, but we’ll never be as knowledgeable as our partners and their teams when it comes to their individual businesses and the needs of their employees and customers. So, he took Empower as an opportunity, through his demo sessions and breakouts, to learn how new features, monitoring, reporting, and automation would impact our partners. Through the sharing of real-world examples and experiences, he was able to gain the context that will enable him to continue to deliver content, training, and assistance that is relevant.

3.     A peer-to-peer conference built on mutual trust and community 

Although it was N‑able that was doing the hosting, educating, and presenting at Empower, this was not our event. David Weeks stated dozens of times during the week that it was “our partners’ event”. Empower was truly a peer-to-peer conference, because of the caliber of partners that we have. This was clear in the number of raised hands, the questions, the interactions with speakers, and the willingness of partners to speak up and help others navigate through a technical, business, or product issue. It’s this level of mutual trust that the community has built over the years that shone through.

Connection, collaboration, community, and engagement…these were the constant themes that defined what #Empower2022 meant to our Head Nerd team this year. It truly was a homecoming for all of us, and we are looking forward to continuing our partner conversions next spring at Empower2023 in Prague.  

To get more content and insights from our Head Nerds, visit the Head Nerds section on our blog or check out their Boot Camps and Office Hours. 

Stefanie Hammond is Head Sales and Marketing Nerd at N‑able. You can follow her on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @sales_mktg_nerd.