Last week, the Auvik team was in sunny Orlando for the biggest MSP conference of the year: IT Nation 2015. Hosted by ConnectWise, the conference attracted more than 3,000 IT services providers for three days of sessions, vendor demos, meet-and-greets, and parties.

Here’s a peek at what happened on (and off) the conference floor.

Math checks out

One of the highlights of IT Nation—apart from Auvik’s purple presence there, of course ;)—was Gary Pica of TruMethods and his set of three sessions on achieving MSP success. I attended Picanomics: The New MSP Math, where Gary walked through the key metrics any MSP needs to manage if it wants to become world-class. Key takeaway = keep your eye on reactive service costs as this variable expense can make or break your profitability.

Gary Pica TruMethods session slide at IT Nation 2015

What a hoot

Auvik’s Nanook and CEO Marc Morin were spotted several times hanging out with Olly the ConnectWise owl. #BFFs, Olly?

Auvik Marc Morin nanook ConnectWise Olly owl IT Nation 2015

Riddle me this

How many people can you fit in a 10 x 10 booth? Auvik’s vendor exhibit was packed elbow to elbow with MSPs getting demos of our RMM system for network infrastructure. (Want to see what all the buzz was about? Request a personalized demo here.)

Auvik network operations system demo booth IT Nation 2015
A relatively calm time at the Auvik booth 😉

Lost shaker of salt

Thursday night’s theme was Margaritaville as we all converged on the Hard Rock Cafe for Jimmy Buffet covers, beach volleyball, umbrella drinks, and dancing. Parrotheads were in full attendance.

IT Nation 2015 Maragaritaville night party

Twice the Alex, twice the fun

IT Nation 2015 booth Alex Hoff
Alex Hoff, VP Product Management & Alex McGarry, Product Manager

Whoa! Intense

IT Nation 2015 Marcus Lemonis keynote
Marcus Lemonis

Friday morning kicked off with a stirring keynote from Marcus Lemonis, star of reality show The Profit. Things got intense as Marcus encouraged participants to voice their greatest fears in front of the mic. His address certainly struck a chord with many attendees.

Keynote Marcus Lemonis #TheProfit at #ITN15 got deep quick. Serious and personal stuff.

— Mike Monocello (@monocello) November 13, 2015

Is anyone else sobbing during this keynote?! Marcus is forcing everyone to get real. #ITN15

— erinn dejose (@erinnd920) November 13, 2015

This year’s #ITN15 keynote hit me in a whole different way. Made me think of my own vulnerabilities and fears and my past. I feel wierd

— Michael Mullis (@NLT_Michael) November 13, 2015

Special thanks to @marcuslemonis for his courageous and sincere keynote for @TheITNation – people must come first. #ITN15

— Don Gulling (@dongulling) November 13, 2015

Race ya!

Lucky for Auvik, our booth was right across the aisle from VAR Staffing and their F1 racing simulator. VP Product Alex Hoff and CEO Marc Morin both tried their hand at the wheel, and Nanook hitched a ride. (Bring back any memories, Dana Vandepoele?)

racing game Auvik IT Nation 2015

Ninja moves

Ted Garner, CEO of IT Weapons, delivered a great session on how to grow a service provider business. (And as fellow Canadians, we can’t help but love that IT Weapons has a hockey rink in their office!)

IT Nation 2015 IT Weapons session slide

Coffee is for closers

We loved this giveaway from Managed Sales Pros. Best swag of the show, in our books.

Managed Sales Pros swag IT Nation 2015 Auvik booth

All in all, the Auvik team had a blast. We loved meeting so many motivated and growth-focused MSPs. If we met you there, we’ll be reaching out to you soon. If you didn’t get a chance to swing by our booth, or weren’t down in Orlando with us, you can still get an Auvik demo. Just shoot us your contact details here and we’ll set something up.

See you next year!

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