In this guest blog, experienced partners and regular Citrix Synergy attendees Chad Price, Technical Architect at Burwood, and Mike Dallesandro, Business Development Manager at Burwood, share highlights from their time in Atlanta — and how partners can build a successful Synergy strategy for 2020.

Citrix Synergy is all about customers learning from other customers. It’s where our clients go to talk with their peers, share best practices, learn how others are handling their environments, and discover new ways to meet challenges.

But that’s only half the story.

For us at Burwood, true “synergy” is what happens when we attend alongside our customers.  Whether we are making critical introductions, guiding customers to training, feeding their interests, or envisioning the future together — our presence helps shape their experience. Being there with them is something we feel pretty passionate about.

Mary Thulen, Partner Relations Manager at Burwood Group, catches up with Tim Hayden, Citrix Director of Channel Sales, U.S., at the Burwood Synergy Customer Appreciation Event.

Conversations You Just Can’t Have Anywhere Else

When customers arrive at Synergy, they know that they may only be leveraging a small portion of the product. They know there are features they aren’t yet taking advantage of and systems they could be integrating.

Our goal is to help them off the fence, to get them to open up and talk about new possibilities — such as Citrix features/licensing or add-ons that can help leverage Citrix (like Liquidware,  third-party printing, and more). Synergy provides a rare opportunity to have these important one-on-one conversations in a casual setting.

That’s the aim with our Synergy customer appreciation event. Because If you want a client to seriously consider innovating their business with a new technology, there’s no webinar or asset that can build trust quite like chatting face-to-face with a peer who has already made the leap. Creating an environment where our customers can build relationships, learn from one another, and make a few memories — that’s where we’ve seen real transformation happen.

Our Top Picks from Citrix Synergy 2019

What we love most about Synergy is the Opening Keynote. If you can only pick one event to attend — don’t miss it. Big change starts with moments like these, where customers really start to imagine what the future of work looks like — and see how Citrix is positioned to lead the way.

This year, Citrix execs unveiled the roadmap to the intelligent workspace and the Citrix vision of becoming an all-in-one solution provider — and a hub for other providers. Our customers got to see first hand how Citrix is growing beyond just apps and desktops to truly enable productivity for each and every end user. The messaging about condensed workflows was a really intriguing concept for customers. It may take some time to get there but getting inspired by what’s possible is always a first step in the process. The Keynote delivered.

In our opinion, the other do-not-miss Synergy event is, hands down, the Solutions Expo. The Solutions Expo is a fantastic place to ask questions of partners, seek out resolutions, and get insight on Citrix product direction. This year, all the exhibiting partners were highly engaged with the floor, and we were impressed at the lengths they went to in drawing connections between their offerings. And there was simply no better opportunity for our customers to get hands-on with the intelligent workspace than at the Expo.

The Solutions Expo is also an ideal place to introduce our customers to new-to-them partners.

In fact, we had a particular customer in mind whom we knew would be a great candidate for IGEL. IGEL is a solution provider for healthcare, finance, and retail, specializing in helping clients extend the life of their existing endpoints. The problem was, we hadn’t been able to make time for a meeting. The Expo ended up being the perfect opportunity to introduce our customer to the IGEL team in person. We ended up having an ad hoc meeting about the technology and its integration to their Citrix environment.

It was gratifying to see our clients getting excited about the right technology for their needs. That alone was worth the time and travel investment.

Chad demonstrates how to integrate Citrix, IGEL, and Nvidia technologies at the Burwood Customer Appreciation Event.

Interactive Sessions

We all get stuck in the rut of engaging through one-sided PowerPoint presentations. That’s why the small-format discussions at the Interactive Sessions were a refreshing change of pace. There were a lot more to choose from this year. We loved the personal, intimate feel of Meet the Experts — a great change-up from the big sessions. The engagement at the Lunch Table Tech Chats was also incredibly useful, with lots of helpful guided discussions.

At the Social Hub, our own Mike Dallesandro was featured as an Ultimate Citrix partner in the Compatibility Game, a matchmaking game show for customers in need of a dream — er, deployment. Sure, it was about as far away from a date as you can get, but then again, successful partner-customer relationships really do come down to listening to customers, understanding their needs, and communicating how and why we’re the perfect fit. It was fun to get outside the box and generate brand awareness for Burwood. Who says IT infrastructure has to be dull?

Mike putting #CitrixPartnerLove into action during the Compatibility Game.

View all the key announcements and updates that were featured in the 2019 Synergy keynote with the Synergy-to-Go 2019 Partner Tool Kit. And save the date for Citrix Synergy 2020, May 19-21!

Stay connected!

Follow the Citrix Partner Network on LinkedInFacebook, and at @CitrixPartners on Twitter.

Learn how to become a Citrix Partner — or build your Citrix Partner business as a Citrix Specialist — today.

Looking to implement a world-class digital workspace, networking, and analytics solutions? Find a Citrix partner in your area.