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TEConnect is the podcast that tackles the news, trends and technologies impacting the IT reseller channel, software companies and hardware manufacturers. Hosted by John Martin & Dean Reverman. Tell us what YOU want to hear about @TEConnectPod on Twitter or email teconnect@bluestarinc.com
Episodes
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Chronic Care, RPM, In-Home Tech & More w/JoAnna Witting
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
As we wrap up National Diabetes Month, we talk to BlueStar's Healthcare BDM, JoAnna Witting, to discuss how technology can assist healthcare providers with managing chronic conditions, impact public health, and improve patient outcomes. How do virtual care and remote patient monitoring help rural and underserved communities? What solutions make in-home and visiting nurse services more manageable, accessible, and safer? Where can VARs find new opportunities with healthcare providers?
#VARValue - How does BlueStar help VARs find and win new opportunities in healthcare?
TEConnecting with us:
JoAnna - Drones
Dean - Eye-scanning AI
John - Taylor Swift/Jets SEO conspiracy
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Elo M60 Mobile POS
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Warehouse Automation w/Zebra’s Andre Luecht & Hy-Tek’s John Klare
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Labor and economic issues have recently led to some contraction in the warehouse market. Still, Zebra’s 2023 Warehousing Vision Study indicates optimism and growth for the future, led by the growing adoption of automation technology. This week, Zebra’s Andre Luecht and Hy-Tek Intralogistics John Klare, Jr. explain what they see and hear from warehouse leaders and affirm the study’s findings. How are decision-makers implementing sensor-based technology? What’s frustrating (and helping) them with order accuracy and SLA demands? How is automation helping attract and retain warehouse labor? Don’t hit snooze on this episode!
#VARValue - Where should VARs focus their efforts now to move warehouse customers toward more automation, and how should they plan for the future?
TEConnecting with us:
John K. - Robotics
Andre - Spatial computing
Dean - LTA Research's Pathfinder 1 airship
John M. - It's okay to hit snooze!
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Retail Innovation & Customer Experience w/Toshiba’s Fredrik Carlegren
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
As holiday shopping ramps up, we spoke with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions’ Fredrik Carlegren, who helped us break down an excellent white paper that lays out three obstacles facing retailers to improve the customer experience through technology. What does Fredrik think got us where we are today? How do we close the gap between intention and implementation? How do brick-and-mortar stores bring digital experiences in-house and turn a profit? What should VARs & ISVs do to help their retail customers keep up? It’s the episode that’s determined to get the hottest toy of the season before anyone else!
#VARValue - Tell us a little about how Toshiba embraces innovation and focuses on customer experience.
Webinar Recording - Get to Know Toshiba Point of Sale
TEConnecting with us:
Fredrik - Corporate vs. store expectations and AI innovations
Dean - "Poison pixels" to protect artwork from AI
John - Nerfball
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Toshiba TCx®️ 810 POS
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Modern OS Architecture with Google’s Brandy Au & HP’s David Gosman
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Operating systems are necessarily more complex than ever. Still, they must also be simple to use, reliable, and secure, especially the OS that runs digital signage and kiosks for retail or hospitality businesses. This week, Google’s Brandy Au and HP’s David Gosman join the show to explain the OS progression, trends, and current needs. How are market forces and modern hardware changing operating systems? How does ChromeOS benefit signage and kiosk deployments? When should you recommend Android or ChromeOS? It’s the episode that’s not done telling scary stories about the blue screen of death.
#VARValue - Tell us more about the HP & Google partnership. How do you help VARs find opportunities and sell new solutions?
Webinar - Modernize Retail w/HP Engage & Google ChromeOS
TEConnecting with us:
David - AI/machine learning for retail
Brandy - Riding in a self-driving vehicle
Dean - What Americans fear the most
John - The end of Netflix DVD-by-mail service (Farewell video)
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Zebra TC22/27 Mobile Computers
Elo Wallaby Pro
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
TEConnect Replay: Customer Journeys & Experiential Shopping w/CDW’s Andy Szanger
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Retailers are never going to stop being interested in improving the customer experience. We have more to discuss in upcoming episodes, but we thought we should revisit this episode with CDW's Andy Szanger.
* * *
(Originally released Aug. 3, 2023) Consumers are returning to brick-and-mortar stores, but after years of convenience and digital shopping, expectations for seamless, fast, and maybe even fun visits are higher than ever. This week, CDW’s Andy Szanger joins the pod to discuss how retail tech can improve customer journeys and create an “experience” that keeps them coming back. How much do consumers value their time? Why is improving employee experience just as necessary as customers'? Are experiential solutions just for Tier 1 retailers?
#VARValue - What new retail tech, innovations, or trends should VARs be learning more about that are likely to become part of their tech stack in the future?
Referenced Articles:
Forbes - "How Tech is Making the Retail Industry More Efficient and Improving the Customer Experience"
Lightspeed - "What is Experiential Retail?"
Lowe's "Project Unlock" - Video
TEConnecting with us:
Andy - Web3
Dean - Netflix Adds New Subscribers
John - Apple Fixes "Ducking" Problem
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/lan...
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue...
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subsc...
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
Outsourcing some aspects of a business can be beneficial, but when it comes to color label printing, especially for highly regulated and rapidly changing industries, it’s best to do it yourself. This week, Epson’s Andy Scherz & Mark Middendorf, passionate advocates for color labeling, join the show to explain and help you make the case to end-users. When does it make sense financially to print in-house? How does it help with regulatory compliance? How much waste is incurred with third-party printing? It’s the episode that’s smaller and more capable than you think!
#VARValue - Epson has been very proactive with color label printing. Tell us how you help VARs address the issues we’ve discussed.
TEConnecting with us:
Mark & Andy - Cloud printing & device access
Dean - ISS falling apart
John - Crabs saving coral reefs
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Epson ColorWorks CW-C400
Zebra ET60/65 Tablets
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
TEC Bytes 13 – A Nightmare on TEC Street
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
Looking for more interesting articles, surveys, and topics to share with colleagues and clients? Dean & John are riffing on six more water cooler subjects for your listening pleasure. It’s the episode that shoehorns some creepiness in time for Friday the 13th!
Topics Discussed:
- The most famous streets in the US
- Americans' attitudes toward retirement
- What powered the world in 2022?
- Best countries for adventure
- Oldest & youngest states
- Fun facts about Google at 25
TEConnecting with us:
Dean - Coke Y3000 AI flavor
John - Earthquake lights
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Zebra RS6100 Ring Scanner
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
VARTECH 2023 Recap
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
BlueStar’s VARTECH is consistently the #1 reseller channel show, and this year’s global event in San Antonio, TX, broke attendance records. We’re recapping the highlights and key moments for those who couldn’t go. What was the theme, and how did it fit with keynote speaker/musician Jimmy Yeary? What did we see on the CodeZone tradeshow floor? Which ISVs shined during TEConnect Live? What were the evening events like? It’s the episode that wouldn’t last three seconds on an angry bull.
#VARValue - For VARs that didn’t attend, what did you learn that anyone can use?
Check Out the VARTECH 2023 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLhOzZ0CZ_E9S1PbHGYswU7jTB0gKy-Gt&si=QNPeXUjowncVwKx1
TEConnecting with us:
Dean - Alien bodies? and wine flood
John - Hollywood strikes
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Zebra TC73/78 Mobile Computers
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
How to Use Generative AI for Your Business (Live at VARTECH ’23)
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
By now, most of us have dabbled with ChatGPT or another generative AI, but what can it do to help improve our daily work and businesses? James Korte joins the guys for an episode recorded live at VARTECH 2023 with an audience that had plenty of thoughts. We recap the marketing uses, James updates us on what the image generators can do, and we look at a list of other ways you can deploy this technology. Finally, we compare and contrast ChatGPT, Bard, Bing Chat, LlaMA, and Claude.
Slides shown during the presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HSGKZW2Zi-RxjaCzq_2bsObZUP6JsF9M/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100394876516957773492&rtpof=true&sd=true
TEConnecting with us:
Dean - Star Wars X-Wing model up for auction
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Zebra Refresh the Base
Thursday Sep 21, 2023
Replacing Legacy POS in 3 Steps with Jeremy Julian
Thursday Sep 21, 2023
Thursday Sep 21, 2023
A “legacy” POS can be a reseller’s bane as they strive to introduce upgraded technology and modernization to retail and hospitality. CBS’ Jeremy Julian (host of The Restaurant Technology Guys Podcast) is back on the show to explain his three-step approach to encouraging POS replacement. How does he define a legacy POS, and why are businesses hesitant to update? What should end users consider, why is connectivity important, and what does the ideal VAR/ISV look like when an opportunity comes along? It’s the episode that owes Jim Roddy a few drinks!
#VARValue - Software often gets the most attention when discussing new POS, but why is evaluating the latest hardware just as crucial when upgrading?
TEConnecting with us:
Jeremy - ChatGPT
Dean - Flying taxis
John - EVs and auto insurance
Talk to us!
X/Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Submit your topic ideas - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html
Follow BlueStar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-star/
Subscribe to the BlueStar Nation Newsletter - https://nation.bluestarinc.com/#subscribe
Sponsored by:
Zebra Legacy Printer Refresh