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A cover story is presented that profiles various businesspeople under the age of 40. Those discussed include Brendan Bechtel, the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the engineering and construction company Bechtel Group, Ye Jianming, the chairman and executive director of the CEFC China Energy company, and Jake Sullivan, the Senior Policy Adviser for the Hillary for America political campaign. Additional details regarding those noted are also offered, including their corporate history and whether or not they work for a family business.

The article offers information on several people in the sports, health care, finance, real estate, and entertainment industry who are considered the most influential people in the 40 Under 40 list from the "Fortune Magazine." The people included in the list are Adam Neumann, Ryan Graves, and James Park. Also included in the list are Taylor Swift, Jessica Alba, and Ronda Rousey.

The article discusses mobile technology used by U.S. field technicians to improve their work. Topics include the acquisition of the field technician technology firm Service-Max by the company General Electric Co. (GE), the use of technology to predict which parts will be needed in repairs, and the use of technology to schedule appointments more accurately.

The article profiles the top entrepreneurs and executives of 2016 under the age of 40. Topics discussed include the career history of Brendan Bechtel, chief executive officer (CEO) of the engineering and construction company Bechtel Group, the strategies employed by CEFC China Energy chairman Ye Jianming to establish the Chinese oil company and the roles played by Jake Sullivan in U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and during her term as U.S. Secretary of State.

The article presents the 2016 edition of the 40 Under 40 list compiled by the magazine "Fortune." Bechtel Group chief executive officer (CEO) Brendan Bechtel topped the list, followed by CEFC China Energy chairman and executive director Ye Jianming, Hillary for America senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan, and former French economy minister Emmanuel Macron. Their achievements in their respective organization are provided, including awards they received.

The article discusses the Salesforce.com Inc. (Salesforce) cloud-software firm's 20 billion dollar revenue target, and it mentions executive Marc Benioff, as well as Salesforce's assemblage of a team of strategists who are tasked with convincing companies about the benefits of investing in digital technologies such as data analytics, mobile devices, and cloud computing. Sales of Salesforce's business development-related Ignite mobile app are assessed, along with spending on sales and marketing.

The article profiles 40 business and culture leaders under 40 years of age including Wework co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Adam Neumann, Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park, and DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins. It also profiles entertainer Taylor Swift, TaskRabbit chief operating officer (COO) Stacy Brown-Philpot, and mixed-martial-arts fighter Ronda Rousey.

The article presents information on people in the sports, health care, finance, real estate, and entertainment industry who are considered the most influential people in the 40 Under 40 list from the "Fortune Magazine." Some of the people included in the list are founder of WeWork Adam Neumann, Uber executive Ryan Graves, and Fitbit chief executive officer James Park, as well as singer Taylor Swift, actress Jessica Alba, and mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey.

The article discusses plans by large U.S. companies to move away from performance reviews and offer more frequent feedback between employees and managers.

The article presents questions and answers related to software-as-a-service including the handling of penetration testing and how it is done, the sign-on, access and authentication policies, and the encryption policies that would protect data when transferred or stored. INSETS: ONE & DONE;UP TO STANDARD?.

The article discusses the AMD Validated Solutions (AVS) motherboard replacement program of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in the U.S. According to the author, the program promises to provide a new set of services, including a 15 month stability guarantee on their products, 48 hour return services, technical support and a 24x7 access to support site. AVS is one of the several channel initiatives to be offered and marketed by AMD in preparation for their new product launching.

The article looks at issues that will be discussed at Velocity 2006, the annual partner conference of Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft will assure its partners with revenue growth and profitability increases arising from its development of the next-generation People Ready software portfolio. Microsoft launched enhanced partner programs. It will also launch expanded Office suites and servers and will promote the use of Vista, its first major Windows client upgrade in five years.

The article discusses the result from the 2006 CRN Channel Compensation Survey citing the profit margins of high-technology vendors in the U.S. It was observed that solution providers concentrated on the recurring revenue that their value-added services deliver than their margins and rebates. Infrastructure integrator Networked Information Systems' co-president Bob Murphy considered beneficial margins to be in the 15-20 percent range. INSETS: Marginal Improvement;Satisfaction Vs. Importance.

The article presents an interview with Henri Richard, Executive Vice president and chief sales and marketing officer of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). When asked about his top priority in system building for 2006, he refers to the strategic priorities of AMD as a whole. Richard believes that the system builder community has a large role with regard to expanding its company's success in marketing. He comments on the share of system builders in the server market.

The article reports on the developments related to the field of innovative technology in the U.S. Managed services are expected to have an increase, according to surveys. Hewlett-Packard chief vowed to be more stringent in teaming with solution providers. Industries struggled to be savvy with the notion of Software As A Service. The development of mobile application has increased according to research. The national service networks facilitate services for customers of solution providers.

The article reports that solution providers are finding new and innovative ways to sell emerging technologies to their SMB customers. Ducharme, a channel pioneer in unified messaging systems back in 1999, said what makes solution providers all the more convincing in representing emerging technologies to the small-business market is that many are themselves small businesses. Ducharme said the importance of finding the right champion within an account also cannot be underestimated.

The article presents information on the importance of trusted relationships in businesses. Despite ongoing debate over the value of indirect vs. direct sales models, the fact remains that high-tech vendors need solution providers to generate demand for their products and technologies in a significant subset of the information technology (IT) market. An exclusive survey examining the dynamics of IT decision-making among business and IT executives at end-user organizations shows longstanding relationships are by far solution providers' most effective form of sales demand and revenue generation.

The article informs that Microsoft Corp. revises 18-month-old Next-Gen Partner Program to cash in on what it sees as a billion-dollar opportunity in small business. One highlight of the numerous channel program revisions unveiled last week to some 6,000 solution providers at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference is a new Small Business Specialist designation, which could prove a balm for smaller Registered partners. The vendor also is adding new Custom Development and Mobility Solutions competencies to the still-evolving Next-Gen Partner Program and, as promised, it outlined Licensing and System Builder paths.

Focuses on the attempts of national services organizations to increase its solution providers and systems integrators. Offers of Coast Solutions Group and INService; Background of INService; Factor that attracted major manufacturers in the networking space according to Network Computing Architects President and CEO Tom Gobielle; Advantages of the recruiting solution providers and systems integrators. INSET: COAST SOLUTIONS LETS VARs SHARPEN SERVICES FOCUS.

Focuses on the relation of the Cisco Systems Inc. with its solution provider channel partners. Leadership of the company in the IP communications, wireless and computer security markets; Attitudes of solution providers towards the company; Strategies employed by the company to improve its relation with channel partners. INSET: CISCO FORGES TIGHTER LINKS BETWEEN SALES TEAM, PARTNERS.

Provides information on several offshore companies that will be at the 2004 Outsource World Conference in New York looking for U.S. solution providers to partner with. Infosys of Bangalore, India; EPAM of Russia; ComArch of Krakow, Poland; CGI Group of Toronto, Ontario.

Offers a look at vendor deal-registration programs among solution providers in the U.S. Benefits of deal-registration programs in preserving solution provider margins; Information on major computer companies that offer deal-registration plans for solution providers; Flaws of the program. INSETS: IBM PARTNER LOGICALIS: DEAL REGISTRATION CAN IMPEDE GROWTH;Rewarding Disclosure.

The article looks at employee training, reporting on a trend toward shorter-format, video-based training materials such as mobile apps for use on smartphones and tablet computers. It says the trend reflects the goal of making training more effective with contemporary workers used to the fast pace of online social media. Companies cited include retailer Walmart and Internet payments company PayPal.

The article presents a profile of the chief executive officer of the customer service software company Zendesk Mikkel Svane.

The article focuses on how financial services company Mastercard monitors marketing campaigns through the use of its Conversation Suite which consists of marketing tools such as Insights Alley and Real-Time Marketing Lab. It says that the hub provides better access to data, reveals messages that are most effective, and helps the marketing teams to control expenses in creating videos, slogans, or images. Comment from Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing officer of MasterCard, is also mentioned.

The article features April Underwood, vice president of product at computer software startup Slack, who plans to change the company's messaging software into a place for workplace collaboration.

The article discusses the use of biometrics-driven software by energy company Williams Cos. to reduce health care costs for employees. The system is part of a deal secured with software startup Limeade in 2014. The system is said to be capable of tracking fluctuations in biometrics that could pose problems to the job and using them to encourage participation in fitness programs. Employees at Williams can get a discount on medical plan premiums if they reach certain fitness goals.

The article discusses the implementation of environmentally friendly initiative for solution providers companies. Companies across the channel discusses energy efficiency, recycling, refurbishment and other environmental initiatives of high-profile publicity and advantages of new state laws regulating the aging technology. Furthermore, investors, local universities, utilities and private sectors are focused on clean energy alternatives.

The article reports career developments of executives from the hardware and security industries in the U.S. Sharon Brindley was recruited as vice president of the U.S. channels at Lexmark International Inc. John DiLullo, former executive at Cisco Systems, was hired by Sonicwall Inc. as vice president of worldwide sales. Keith Goodwin was promoted to senior vice president of worldwide sales of Cisco Systems Inc. John Johasky was appointed by Samsung Information Technology Division as vice president of marketing. Jerry Lumpkin has joined Toshiba Digital Products Division as vice president of business channel sales.

The article reports that, through its benchmarking research of approximately 650 solution provider organizations, Service Leadership has identified three primary models by which VARs, resellers and IT services organizations can be categorized. The first, dubbed Product Resale, describes a company that relies mainly on product sales for 60 percent to 85 percent of its revenue. The second model, called Project Services, refers to solution provider organizations that drive revenue through a series of definable projects that combine product sales and services engagements. The final structure, Recurring Services, is for companies that have tied at least 40 percent to 60 percent of their revenue to service offerings with a predictable, ongoing payment stream. INSETS: Giving Employees An Ownership Stake Pays Off For Services Firm;IT Solutions Takes A Not-One-Size-Fits-All Services Approach.

Vendor deal-registration programs are becoming more popular, as of June 2004. Channel reaction to the programs runs the gamut - they can offer protection and add margin to a sale, but they can also be tough to manage. For most solution providers, the growing popularity of these programs is forcing them to weigh the protection offered against the internal resources needed to administer the process. This article focuses on how information technology professionals who use the programs, think they can earn substantial margin by playing the game. INSET: Rewarding Disclosure.

The article features ten United States-based solution providers that are experiencing fast growth in the area of security. The companies are profiled in terms of years in business, number of employees, sales growth in 2003, percentage of sales in security, product-to-services revenue mix, key vendors and key distributors. These companies are: Kansas City, Missouri-based Fishnet Security; Branchburg, New Jersey-based Atrion Communications Resources; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Redsiren; Cincinnati, Ohio-based Cadre Information Security; Fairfax, Virginia-based Anteon International; Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Adaptive Communications; Holliston, Massachusetts-based Conqwest; Knoxville, Tennessee-based Sword & Shield Enterprise Security; Centennial, Colorado-based DirSec; and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Global Linking Solutions.

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s chairman and chief executive officer Carly Fiorina has detailed her plans to unify the company's commercial and enterprise units, at the annual Americas Partner Conference held in Los Angeles, California in the week prior to March 29, 2004. She also outlined the five reasons for partners to align themselves with Hewlett-Packard. These are: its scope and scale; its four billion dollars annual investment in innovation in areas such as management, mobility and security; its ability to assemble compelling solutions and services offerings the channel can in turn sell to customers; its continued investment in programs; and its commitment to mutual profitability. Company's partners welcomed the channel message however some are worried that the channel march will not be embraced by the field.

Vendor channel executives are shifting direction, no longer able to ignore the fact that to capture new markets they must reward solution providers and distributors for their ability to represent end-to-end solutions and business applications. Veritas Software Corp., for one, is using its distributors to identify prospects, build custom financing programs and develop bundles specific to the SMB market. Likewise, Cisco Systems Inc. is aligning with its distribution partners to identify and profile viable SMB customer targets. Elsewhere, the channel team at Intel Corp. is busy on two main fronts: shoring up support of distribution partners that work closely with smaller VAR and forging alliances that pair its offerings with those of other key vendors. Software developers Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp., meanwhile, are also creating alliances with other vendors. And from all indications, ongoing channel reorganizations at IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Sun Microsystems Inc. will provide partners with a single entry point for channel concerns and are also designed to better position the major systems companies to accommodate the solution-selling mind-set. INSETS: NEW ALLIANCES TAKE MANY FORMS, BUT ALL ARE CHANGING . . .;VENDORS GET BACK ON TRACK.

Focuses on the trends in buying behavior of solution software providers in the U.S. Factors driving sourcing decisions; Buying relationships with business-critical vendors; Loyalty to broadline distributors; Evidence that some value-added resellers are open to considering bundles.

Presents a roundtable discussion on customer education regarding computer network security in the U.S. Professional background of the participants in the discussion; Issues in the computer industry which were talked about by the participants; Views on the concept of return on investment in the sales of security solutions; Utilization of security appliances. INSET: MICROSOFT'S SECURITY WOES A BOON TO CHANNEL.