BTA ‘Capture the Magic’ Conference Recap

This past week the Business Technology Association (BTA) held the ‘Capture the Magic’ conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a two-day event with many educational sessions, networking opportunities, and informative speakers. Bicom Systems, a member of the BTA, attended this conference as a vendor.

The BTA was founded in 1926 for the purpose of serving office technology dealerships, resellers, manufacturers, distributors and service companies. The main members of the BTA are office technology dealerships. The copier business industry is starting to diminish. The world is going paperless and many new companies are jumping on board with the digital trend. Many speakers stressed how the industry is declining and how they should get into the VoIP and IT service industry. They are similar industries and we thought it would be a good opportunity for Bicom Systems to attend this conference.

So off we sent one of our account managers, Eric Johnson, to Las Vegas and here is what he had to say!

Q: What did Bicom Systems do at the conference?
A: Everyone and everything was in the same room. This was really convenient because you didn’t miss out on anything. I got to participate in all the educational sessions, network, speak to potential customers and listen to all keynote speakers.

Q: Did we have a booth?
A: Yes. We had a table set up and my most common question from the attendees was “what do you do?”

Q: You mentioned earlier that you got to participate in the educational sessions. What was that like?
A: They were great! All the speakers were really interesting and extremely informative. My favorite was Sally Brause, a director of human resources consulting with a company called ‘GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.’ She spoke about the challenges to change and how businesses and people are reluctant to change. Harry Hecht, a business coach, industry adviser and consultant, also gave a speech which was very engaging. He gave some social media tips and insights on how to engage customers using social media platforms.

Q: What kind of people attend this conference? Companies? Techies? A: A lot of business owners. Companies in the copier business who sell copy machines, faxes, scanners etc., Email marketing companies and IT organizations. Also, business owners who are looking for more revenue. Persons who are looking to add more to their offering to increase revenue.

Q: What was your main takeaway?A: That since the world is going paperless that companies in the copier business need to consider other revenue sources. I learned that a lot of people don’t realize the easiest way to add to that revenue stream is to add telephone services. Everyone and business needs/uses a phone. It is an extremely competitive industry and with the right provider, is easy to enter.

Q: If other businesses and customers were to ask if BTA was worth attending, what would your advice be?A: Yes! It was super beneficial to attend the ‘Capture the Magic’ conference this year. The speakers were great, the educational sessions were really informative and I learned a lot. The way businesses and consumers communicate all connect. VoIP and IT Services all flow into the fax, copier and scanner industry. The network opportunities at this conference were terrific. In my opinion, it was a home run shot.

If you want to learn more about the ‘Capture the Magic’ conference visit the BTA’s website or send Eric an email at