OpenEd.co

( )pening the world of education for every learner. OpenEd is the home of the OpenEd Daily, the OpenEd Podcast, and our programs serve 12,000+ students with our open education model aimed at transforming millions of lives across the United States. We help families and schools help their students reach new heights with their individualized needs.

Partner & Chief Operating Officer

Liberty Ventures

Investor, Limited Partner & Advisor

Reveal

Reveal and Crossbeam merged June 24, 2024 in the biggest news in partner tech history!

Chief Partner & Ecosystem Officer (merged with Crossbeam)

nearbound.com

Formally PartnerHacker (acquired by Reveal, 2023), Nearbound.com is the media company covering the news, stories, tactics and experiences of the Nearbound Era. 

Nearbound makes the world go ‘round.

Co-Founder & CEO (acquired by Reveal)

Nearbound Podcast

The number 1 podcast in the Nearbound Era - The Nearbound Podcast

Producer & Co-Host

Cloud Software Association

Member, Board of Directors

Pillar

Member Of The Board Of Advisors

University of South Florida Muma College of Business

Member of The Board of Advisors, Guest Lecturer

Curu

Drift

A LinkedIn Top 50 Startup for 4 years in a row, Drift is one of the fastest growing B2B SaaS companies, ever. 

As Drift's first ecosystem executive, I was responsible for creating and scaling the Drift Ecosystem through global channel, strategic alliances, technology partnerships, and integration of Drift's GTM engine. Built Drift/Adobe Alliance from zero to Adobe Partner of The Year. 

Creator of the Conversational Marketing Blueprint - the underlying methodology used to certify thousands of marketers on Conversational Marketing.

Creator of Conversational ABM - launched at Adobe Summit during the Keynote to an audience of 19,000+ people as the only non-Adobe company present on the main stage.

Founded Drift's Tampa Bay office, our fastest growing regional location. Sourced and hired recruiting leadership, customer support leadership, and sales development leadership that now supports over 50 employees and growing rapidly in the region.

Sr. Director, Global Partnerships (acquired by Vista Equity Partners)

Passion is the primary ingredient to my being. About me 👇

I forge movements behind undeniable shifts in the world.

I remodel companies from participants to change agents. 

I build teams who's careers are transformed by the audacity of an unshakable vision & intense pace.

Back-to-back unicorns (PandaDoc, Drift). Board experiences in capacity as an executive, founder, small investor, and advisor (and plenty of lessons from my failed startups too, of course). 

Co-Founder of PartnerHacker (acq 2023), Co-Founder of Nearbound.com, Chief Ecosystem Officer at Reveal, and currently leading the nearbound industry in the best ecosystem in B2B - the partnerships ecosystem.

Always willing to help those who ask. I've taken hundreds of calls with first time entrepreneurs, revenue leaders, and partnership professionals. Help first, good follows. 

Play long term games with long term people 🤝

Jared Fuller

Venvito

Born from a necessity to find more cost-effective and efficient ways to connect with Microsoft's customer base. 

Venvito was formed to teach other Microsoft partners how to harness the scale and reach of Microsoft's field teams.  Sharing with other owners, founders, and leaders the messaging, the mechanics, and the mindset necessary to partner with Microsoft, growing your Microsoft practice through mutually beneficial relationships at all levels within Microsoft.

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Founder

Patriot Consulting Technology Group

Our Mission is to help customers protect their Microsoft 365 corporate identities and data while taking full advantage of the productivity benefits. 

Regardless of the Microsoft 365 technology you are considering or currently using for your end-users we always explore how you can maximize the protection of each end user identity and their data. There are over 260 settings within Microsoft 365 that could affect your security posture, end-user identities and access to data. By being aware of each of these settings we believe our US based engineers and security specialists are best are best equipped to guide your team to a successful and secure deployment taking full advantage of you Microsoft 365 investment and security features.

Co Founder/Owner

Strategic Products and Services (SPS)

Strategic Products & Services (SPS) is a Unified Communications Systems Integrator with expertise in:

 MS Lync Integration (MS GOLD Partner)
 Video (Polycom Platinum Plus/Cisco Master ATP/LifeSize/Acano/Pexip)
 Voice/Contact Centers

We deliver all of the Managed Services (on-premise, cloud-based or hosted) to support those technologies.

Senior Account Manager

ExtraTeam

Extrateam has a deep appreciation for the technologies, partners and customers who we are honored to work with every day.  ExtraTeam was acquired by SPS March 2015.  ExtraTeam specialized in three key areas:
Collaboration
Data Centers
Network Infrastructure

Avotus

In this consultative sales role I worked with internal and external business leaders to analyze existing telecommunication management systems, strategies and processes.  I worked with each of my customers to develop solutions that will met both short and long term needs, ranging from advisory and managed services to full BPO outsourcing.

Account Executive

Identified, negotiated and managed strategic relationships with hardware technological partners, including ATT, Cisco, Sprint and Nortel. Managed the marketing, sales and product release to the business development initiatives at each of these partners.

Business Development Manager

OSHIMS Software

At OSHIMS (Occupational Safety & Health Information Management Systems) I was responsible for the original development of the product and release to the market place.  The company was founded back in 1993 and later sold to a large HR Outsourcing company.

Manager - Marketing & Sales

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

At the WSIB I was responsible for the adjudication and payment of Workers Compentation injuries and claims.

Workers' Compensation Adjudicator

Demystify working with Microsoft, learn what it takes to become one of Microsoft's "Go-To" partners.

Each time I built a new Microsoft practice or helped to grow an existing practice.

Unlocking the doors that protected Microsoft's people, programs, and prospects was one of my biggest challenges.

For the past 15 years, I've focused solely on the Microsoft ecosystem. At the start of that journey, it seemed like an arduous and impossible endeavor. 

Initially, I  felt like I was just another partner in a long line of Microsoft partners. 

I wasn't on the "go-to" list of partners. Can you relate?

It wasn't until I realized three factors influenced how Microsoft saw me.

Once I uncovered and took advantage of these three factors, Microsoft saw my business in a new light. 

It changed the trajectory of my business with Microsoft.

In 2015, using the same three principles,  I started and grew my own Microsoft partner from zero to millions of dollars in annual revenue in only a few years, beating out companies with massive marketing budgets and teams of salespeople.

After a successful exit, I've now turned my attention to helping other founders, owners, and leaders of Microsoft partners replicate the success factors to grow their businesses.

Rob Fegan

Microsoft quietly updated the Partner Benefits again — and Copilot just became a core benefit.

Here are the changes that actually matter:

✳️ 1 Copilot is now officially in the benefits stack
This is new.

Partners now receive:
 🔷 Microsoft 365 Copilot seats
 🔷 GitHub Copilot Enterprise funded via Azure credits
 🔷 Copilot Studio credits (new for 2026)

This wasn’t in earlier versions of the benefits program.


✳️ 2 Solutions Partner designations got Copilot upgrades

Modern Work, Business Apps, and Security all include Copilot allocations.
If you hold a designation, your internal Copilot usage just expanded.


✳️ 3 Specializations add even more Copilot value

Across Modern Work and Business Apps, partners get additional Copilot seats and credits layered on top of their core benefits.


✳️ 4 Azure credits increased in multiple tiers
More credits now cover GitHub Copilot Enterprise and other AI-heavy workloads.

This is one of the biggest behind-the-scenes changes.


✳️ 5 2026 adds new Copilot-related benefits

 🔷 The “NEW 2026” tags in the guide include multiple workloads tied to AI, Copilot, and modernization.


👉 Bottom line:

Microsoft is pushing partners to adopt Copilot internally — not just sell it.
 
If you want to show up credible in FY26, your Copilot plan needs to start now.

#MSPartner #MSAdvocate #RyzePartners #MicrosoftAI #CoSell #Marketplace #Copilot

Demystify selling with Microsoft. Learn what it takes to sell with Microsoft.

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Thanks Sam Valme for the invite to the #AvepointRED party!

This year didn’t go the way I planned. It went better — but only because of the people who kept showing up.

Thanksgiving hits different when you’ve spent a year building something that demands every ounce of courage, grit, and belief you’ve got.

RYZE grew because partners believed in a bigger future.

This community kept leaning in, trying, experimenting, and refusing to settle.

And every conversation — every DM, every comment, every “I’m stuck, can you help?” — reminded me why this work matters.

I’m grateful for the people who challenged me, supported me, and stayed in the fight alongside me.

If you’re building, growing, or pushing through setbacks right now… I see you. Keep going. The work pays off.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your people.

#MSPartner #MSAdvocate #Thankful #Gratitude #RYZEpartners #Leadership

Most partners walk out of Ignite fired up… and change absolutely nothing.

Hard truth:

Ignite doesn’t grow your business.

What you do in the seven days after Ignite does.

If you attended in person or virtually, you’re sitting on ideas that could move your company forward.

AI. Copilot. Security. Marketplace. Modernization.

But if you don’t turn those ideas into action fast, they fade.

Your team gets busy.

Your calendar fills up.

And you’re back to business as usual.

I wrote something for CEOs who want this year to be different.

Simple English.

Clear steps.

No hype.

Just what to do next.

If you went to Ignite, read my latest article.

#MSPartner #MSAdvocate #RyzePartners #MicrosoftEcosystem #Copilot #AI #Azure #Marketplace

Most CEOs walk out of Microsoft Ignite buzzing with ideas. You saw Copilot everywhere. You heard “AI-first” in every session. You listened to story af

Open article: Ignite Doesn’t Change Your Business. What You Do This Week Does. by Rob Fegan • 4 min read

Ignite Doesn’t Change Your Business. What You Do This Week Does.

Most partners are treating AI like an IT project.

Microsoft’s new Frontier Firm research makes it clear… it’s not.

Here are the parts that jumped out as I read it.

Reimagining work comes first.

Microsoft says you have to expose how work actually happens before AI can improve it.

Most organizations skip this. They automate guesses instead of reality.

Guardrails matter more than tools.

Before copilots or agents, leaders need clarity on what stays human, what gets automated, and how decisions flow. Without this, AI just creates chaos.

Not all AI is the same.

Some problems need simple copilots. Others need low-code automations. Some require full agent-based workflows. Picking the wrong approach slows everything down.

Roles need to evolve.

You can’t bolt AI onto old job descriptions. Microsoft learned that adoption sticks only when roles, responsibilities, and team rhythms are redesigned.

Experimentation is the new operating system.

Test. Learn. Adjust. Repeat. The companies winning with AI are the ones building this muscle, not the ones waiting for a perfect roadmap.

The big takeaway from Microsoft’s message?

Frontier Firms aren’t “ahead on AI”… they’re committed to the internal work most companies avoid.

And that’s the separation.

#MSPartner #MSAdvocate #RyzePartners #MicrosoftAI #CoSell #FrontierFirm #Marketplace

Microsoft’s November updates just dropped — and they’re big.

🧠 AI Cloud Partner Program:

🔹 Learning Profiles are getting smarter — you can now link multiple Microsoft Learn accounts (MSA + AAD) and view all your certifications in one place.
🔹Cleaner UI, better filtering, and a foundation for AI-driven skill recommendations coming soon.

⚙️ CSP Program:

🔹 The Partner Launch Calendar is live (bookmark it).
🔹 November’s Bimonthly Update newsletter and CSP Community Q&A are out — join if you manage licensing or want to keep pace with NCE, M365, and pricing shifts.

💼 Microsoft 365 + Teams:

🔹 As of Nov 1, the global licensing shake-up is official. You’ll now see “with Teams” and “no Teams” suites across M365 and O365 Enterprise, Business, and Frontline.
🔹 CSP price lists have been updated accordingly — check your margins before quoting.

🧩 Extended Service Terms (EST):

🔹 Now live in sandbox only. Test before April 2026, when certain subscriptions will auto-move into EST at renewal if auto-renew is off.

Takeaway for Partners:

This month is all about simplification and readiness — unified credentials, flexible licensing, and a clear runway to AI-powered partner growth.

Most Black Friday deals save you fifty bucks. This one could change your Microsoft business forever.

Here’s the only “deal” I care about today:

A Microsoft partner who finally stops guessing, stops spinning, and starts using the same system top performers use to get pulled into deals.

If you’re serious about growing in FY26, the real discount isn’t a price cut.

It’s removing the cost of wasted time, misalignment, and opportunities slipping through your fingers.

So here’s my Black Friday offer to you:
💥 Get serious about mastering the ecosystem.
💥 Learn the motions.
💥 Align with the right people.
💥 Execute the framework.
💥 Do the work your future pipeline will thank you for.

RYZE Partners is open.

No hype. No flashing banners.

Just the operating system that moves your business forward.

https://lnkd.in/giZyjvme

#MSPartner #MSAdvocate #BlackFriday #RYZEpartners #MicrosoftEcosystem #SMB

taplio

The Battle

Jared Fuller

Rob Fegan

Followers

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Performance ScoreRob Fegan's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jared Fuller

Rob Fegan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rob Fegan's LinkedIn Performance

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