Kaseya’s first ever, fully virtual conference captivated crowd with one of a kind attendee experience, live streamed concert, awards ceremony and a Tesla giveaway
Sept. 2, 2020 — MIAMI and NEW YORK — Kaseya®, the leading provider of IT infrastructure and security management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), last week wrapped its first ever, fully virtual, annual, global event, Connect IT 2020. The four-day conference welcomed over 2,100 registrants from around the world, who were treated to over 80 sessions that included talks with world renowned guest speakers on innovation, security, brand strategy, sales training and more. Registrants can view the show’s content for 30 days, giving them unrestricted access to all Connect IT has to offer without the fear of missing out on any session.
Unlike any other event in the industry, Connect IT pulled out all the stops to make this year’s conference a one of a kind, impactful experience with social distance in mind. Highlights included:
- Each morning kicked off with a virtual yoga class sponsored by Dell to help attendees get focused and centered for the day’s activities.
- All main stage sessions were filmed live in a state-of-the-art production studio to convey the scale, excitement and importance of the latest Kaseya product releases.
- Prominent guest speakers included David Robertson – MIT lecturer and innovation expert, John Barrows – international sales training guru, Johnny Eark – entrepreneur, brand hysteria expert and founder of Johnny Cupcakes, Alex Stamos – former Facebook and Yahoo chief security officer and Zoom’s current external security consultant, and Donald Long – Secret Service Special Agent, who spoke on the U.S. Secret Service’s Threat Outlook for 2020.
- The first 1,500 registrants received Kaseya’s exclusive swag bag mailed to their homes, which featured a cocktail kit for enjoyment during evening entertainment, a Dominoes gift card to grab lunch during the conference and much more.
- Attendees got to enjoy a live, streamed concert from 80s cover band Rubix Kube – combined with a presentation of this year’s Techie Award winners – from the comfort of their homes.
- An interactive, in-platform scavenger hunt engaged attendees in levity and fun throughout the week. Attendees could uncover hidden “Easter Eggs” in the platform themed around essential items that have taken on new meaning in light of the current pandemic. By finding rolls of toilet paper, bottles of hand sanitizer, cans of Lysol and face masks, attendees earned additional prizes and increased their chances of winning the Tesla.
- Triple the technician training sessions and certification as the year before.
- $500 cash prizes to three attendees that led the way in the conference’s Engage, Earn, Win leaderboard contest.
- The Kaseya Composer Contest invited participants to make a contribution to the Kaseya Automation Exchange, the industry’s largest marketplace for IT automation scripts, reports and other automation assets. Alex Yantifovich from Atomic Data won the $2,000 grand prize for his entry: Full Base Monitoring Automation. Gabriel Dzsurdzsa & Dan Demers from Bercell Integrated Technologies took home $100 in the Agent Procedure Category for their entry: Execute SSH Commands with PowerShell. Pieter Jorritsma from ViaData was awarded $1,000 in the Monitoring Category for his entry: Audit or Monitor Shodan Results in Kaseya VSA & Monitoring M365 Azure AD Sync
- Last but not least, a Tesla three-year lease giveaway from sponsor MailProtector that was won by Scott Minneman from NetStandard.
Headlining news that came out of Connect IT 2020 was Kaseya’s momentous acquisition of Graphus, an industry-leading, AI-based, email security and automated phishing defense platform purpose-built for MSPs and SMBs. Additionally, Kaseya released its latest innovation cycle that featured new workflow integrations and product enhancements that further cemented the company’s dominance in the industry and its commitment to delivering a modern, comprehensive, workflow integrated, and cost-effective platform to serve all SMB IT needs.
“The word ‘Connect’ could not be better suited for the name of this event and the entire experience it represents,” said Adam Schwam, CEO, Sandwire. “Kaseya has done with its conference what no other company has. They were able to bridge the gap from physical to virtual, right down to the throwback 80’s concert, where I got to hear all my favorite tunes. We live in a crazy world right now and Kaseya has kept me Connected in more ways than one!”
“Without the constraints of ballrooms and physical meeting spaces, we blew the doors off Connect IT to bring our attendees a show that was bigger and better than ever before,” said Fred Voccola, CEO, Kaseya. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team for what we put together, and in the span of just a handful of weeks, no less. What other show in the industry brings you daily yoga classes, studio quality sessions, a live streaming concert, some of the world’s best guest speakers and a Tesla giveaway? Connect IT 2020 was truly a world-class virtual event.”
Rounding out this year’s conference are the winners of the 2020 Techie Awards, sponsored by Bitdefender, which honored companies and individuals for their outstanding achievements. This year’s winner are:
- The Community Award – LAN InfoTech
- The Efficiency Award, MSP – SabinoCompTech
- The Efficiency Award, IT Admin – Pinnacle Treatment Centers
- Techie of the Year – Matthew Urbano, Coretelligent
- IT Admin of the Year – Justin Javens, PA Cyber
- IT Superhero Award – Nextrio
- MSP of the Year – Eclipse Networks, Inc.
Registration for Connect IT Europe 2020 from Oct 20-22 is now open at https://europe.connectit.com/. For more information on all Connect IT conferences, visit www.connectit.com.
