Westcon Group's resellers are now being rewarded for the artfulness of opening a deal, rather than closing one.

In a partnership with vendor, Avaya, it has launched the Deal Room, a new application which has been developed for the Australian reseller market.

The new Deal Room app attempts to address the issue of deal-swooping' and rewards partners on their individual sales efforts for Avaya products.

The application encourages resellers to open more deals by then feeding the user more hot leads to assist with their sales pipeline.

In addition to offering the reseller pricing and priority pre-sales support, it also delivers a useful space for resellers to store information during the sales process. According to Westcon director of vendor alliances, marketing and innovation, Nick McMenemy, the Deal Room is a response to a significant and recurring issue for resellers worldwide. What were seeing are sales people opening a deal with a potential customer and a third-party reseller swooping into the conversation and closing the deal with a better offer on the product," he said.

"Its a universal pain-point for resellers, and we worked hard with Avaya to develop the Deal Room to address this. McMenemy said the company was now rewarding resellers on opening a deal, not closing.

"With the Deal Room we can identify resellers who open an Avaya deal, and help build out their sales pipeline in return," he said.

"The more deals they open, the more lead opportunities we can provide, McMenemy said. According to a company statement, it offers Westcons Avaya resellers with a deal registration system thats easy to use and available to sales staff on the run, with instant accessibility on tablet and smartphone devices, including iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. McMenemy said it also enabled his company to build a strategic stock profile to ensure it had the stock available to help the salesperson deliver the deal. Avaya managing director A/NZ, Tony Simonsen, said it had become clear from conversations with resellers that an application such as the Deal Room was needed. Sales people within the channel put considerable effort into starting the conversation with a potential customer and sales executives can become easily demotivated when another reseller comes in at the last minute and closes the deal," he said.

"This application is a real game-changer for resellers of Avaya products.

Tags marketing and innovationNick McMenemywestconWestcon GroupAvaya managing director A/NZdeal roomWestcon director of vendor alliancesTony SimonsenAvayadeal swooping

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Westcon launch the 'Deal Room' for resellers

Westcon Group's resellers are now being rewarded for the artfulness of opening a deal, rather than closing one.

In a partnership with vendor, Avaya, it has launched the Deal Room, a new application which has been developed for the Australian reseller market.

The new Deal Room app attempts to address the issue of deal-swooping' and rewards partners on their individual sales efforts for Avaya products.

The application encourages resellers to open more deals by then feeding the user more hot leads to assist with their sales pipeline.

In addition to offering the reseller pricing and priority pre-sales support, it also delivers a useful space for resellers to store information during the sales process. According to Westcon director of vendor alliances, marketing and innovation, Nick McMenemy, the Deal Room is a response to a significant and recurring issue for resellers worldwide. What were seeing are sales people opening a deal with a potential customer and a third-party reseller swooping into the conversation and closing the deal with a better offer on the product," he said.

"Its a universal pain-point for resellers, and we worked hard with Avaya to develop the Deal Room to address this. McMenemy said the company was now rewarding resellers on opening a deal, not closing.

"With the Deal Room we can identify resellers who open an Avaya deal, and help build out their sales pipeline in return," he said.

"The more deals they open, the more lead opportunities we can provide, McMenemy said. According to a company statement, it offers Westcons Avaya resellers with a deal registration system thats easy to use and available to sales staff on the run, with instant accessibility on tablet and smartphone devices, including iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. McMenemy said it also enabled his company to build a strategic stock profile to ensure it had the stock available to help the salesperson deliver the deal. Avaya managing director A/NZ, Tony Simonsen, said it had become clear from conversations with resellers that an application such as the Deal Room was needed. Sales people within the channel put considerable effort into starting the conversation with a potential customer and sales executives can become easily demotivated when another reseller comes in at the last minute and closes the deal," he said.

"This application is a real game-changer for resellers of Avaya products.

Tags marketing and innovationNick McMenemywestconWestcon GroupAvaya managing director A/NZdeal roomWestcon director of vendor alliancesTony SimonsenAvayadeal swooping

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Westcon Group launches the 'Deal Room' for resellers

Rockleigh, NJ, Crestron has infused the beauty, style, and ease-of-use of its TSW line of touch screens into the new TSS-752 room scheduling touch screen.

Now shipping, the TSS-752 features a brilliant 7-inch widescreen capacitive color display, bright color beacons that indicate room availability from afar, and a touch screen-centric interface with at-a-glance meeting and scheduling information. As with Crestron TSW touch screens, Smart Graphics delivers a dynamic, gesture-driven user experience with advanced, customizable room scheduling capabilities. A simple swipe of the new scrolling calendar ribbon conveniently reveals the rooms entire schedule for the day.

The TSS-752 represents a leap forward in room scheduling touch screens, both aesthetically and functionally, said Glen Marianko, Technology Manager. Its sleek, stylish, and simpler to use than our previous models. It delivers groundbreaking capabilities such as the responsive, intuitive scheduling interface, highlighted by the time-saving scrolling calendar ribbon. Now, you can view meeting details and reserve a room on the spot without having to flip through screen after screen.

No more wandering the hallways The TSS-752 features new side-mounted, multi-colored LEDs that act as beacons to provide clear indication of a rooms status. The touch screen sits just far enough from the wall to let you clearly see the LEDs from down the corridor. The TSS-752 eliminates the time-wasting, productivity-draining practice of wandering the hallways searching for an available room to hold your meeting.

Enterprise-wide integration Now, its easy to find and reserve any room on the network. The TSS-752 uses Crestron Fusion software to enable seamless integration with popular scheduling applications such as Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, IBM Notes, CollegeNET R25, and Google Calendar.

Crestron Fusion supports the use of room occupancy sensors to detect when no one has shown up for a scheduled meeting. In such an event, the current reservation can be cancelled automatically to make the room available to others. If a meeting ends earlier than scheduled, a touch of the End Now button makes the room available to others immediately.

New advanced room scheduling capabilities The Find room function lets you quickly locate an available space nearby. End or extend a reservation with one button touch, and reserve extra setup time ahead of the actual scheduled event. Scheduling panels also display broadcast messages sent from Crestron Fusion for emergencies or notices, such as an upcoming fire drill.

Simple, versatile mounting The TSS-752 can be installed in places other touch screens cant: on a wall over a standard 2-gang electrical box, or mounted to virtually any flat surface even glass, granite, or marble. An optional Mullion Kit (shipping soon) allows the TSS-752 to mount and route its cabling to any hollow, vertical support, or door jamb. A single Ethernet cable with PoE technology delivers operating power to the TSS-752 right through the LAN wiring.

Learn more For more information, including specifications, photos, pricing, and accessories visit the TSS-752 product page.

About Crestron For more than 40 years Crestron has been the world's leading manufacturer of advanced control and automation systems, innovating technology and reinventing the way people live and work. Providing integrated solutions to control audio, video, lighting, computer, IP and environmental systems, Crestron streamlines technology, improving the quality of life for people in corporate conference rooms, hotels, classrooms, auditoriums, and in their homes. Crestrons leadership stems from its dedicated people who are committed to providing the best products, programs and services in the industry. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. Discover the world of Crestron by visiting http://www.crestron.com.

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Capacitive Touchscreen suits room scheduling applications.

The new hospital addition under construction in Rock Island is exciting some health experts with a new emergency room design that takes a calming approach to patients with behavioral health issues.

Designers of the Trinity Rock Island construction project have included a large "living room" to the mental health crisis unit within the emergency department.

Trinity's new addition, to be completed in 2015, is being done by a nationally known firm called Cannon Design that has announced the living room project will be part of a multi-year research study with implications across the country.

"This could be a national model," said Dr. Whitney Austin Gray, the lead health researcher for the global firm that has offices in 15 cities around the world, including Chicago.

The data will show whether it is an effective way to treat some patients who come to receive care in the emergency department, Gray said, adding that there is no empirical research on such a program at present.

It is better understood how patients in crisis react in a normal emergency setting, said Mary A. Petersen, a registered nurse who is the director of behavioral health services for the Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health. The area is typically very busy, she said, and there can be cardiac emergencies, people with broken bones, cuts that need stitches and constant noise from alarms, announcements and ambulance sirens.

That is typical, she said. Emergency departments across the nation usually have all their patients in one general area.

"With this new model, we believe we can positively impact the care and safety of the patients," she said.

The $61.3 million addition is the biggest in the history of the hospital. Besides the emergency department, the addition is for Trinity's heart center.

The new emergency department will include a crisis stabilization unit, or CSU, Petersen said. Inside that will be the living room, a separate space with woodwork, comfortable seating, artwork, a dining room table and a saltwater fish tank.

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Trinity Rock Island's new ER to include a 'living room'

Dream Sun Room Addition

By: RAL Architecture + Design

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Dream Sun Room Addition - Video

April 26, 2014

EAST LANSING, Mich. - A leadership gift from former Michigan State All-America offensive tackle, Flozell Adams, brings the fundraising efforts for Spartan Stadium's North End Zone Expansion Project to over $20 million. The two-story, 50,000-square-foot structure features new locker rooms, training room, media center and recruiting lounge. The $24 million addition is scheduled for completion in July 2014.

Adams' $1.5 million gift is among the largest donations Michigan State Athletics has received from a former student-athlete, and it will enhance the home locker room area. Pending Board of Trustee final approval, the home locker room in Spartan Stadium will be named for Flozell's late mother, Rachel Adams.

"The primary reason I made the financial commitment is because there's a real need for the new facility," Adams said. "The reality is that the locker room has changed very little over the last 30 years, so it's time for a major makeover."

Before she passed away in 1996, Rachel Adams would wait for her son in the tunnel outside the Spartan locker room to greet him after his games. She was proud of Flozell's athletic accomplishments as well as his academic success. Adams recently launched The Fairman-Adams Project, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to aid those diagnosed with breast cancer. Adams lost his mother to breast cancer and in addition to his gift to MSU, he will pay tribute to her legacy through the work of his foundation.

"My mother was my rock. I could talk to her about anything and everything. We spoke on Fridays before every game, and I looked forward to her hugs after every home game. This donation and naming opportunity is the appropriate way to thank her and pay tribute to her. She was certainly a difference-maker in my life, and she loved Spartan football Saturdays."

A four-year letterman and three-year starter while at Michigan State, Adams earned Walter Camp First-Team All-America and Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year honors as a senior in 1997. A first-team All-Big Ten pick by both the coaches and media as a senior, he started all 12 games at left tackle and helped the Spartans rank No. 24 nationally in rushing offense.

Adams was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (No. 38 overall) of the 1998 National Football League Draft and became a five-time Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008). He spent 13 years in the NFL, including 12 seasons in Dallas (1998-2009) and one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010). In 2009, Adams was ranked among the Cowboys' Top 50 all-time players (No. 43). He played for the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010 and started in Super Bowl XLV against Green Bay.

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Football. Flozell Adams Provides Leadership Gift For Stadium Project

A shift in the wind Saturday afternoon apparently sent embers from a nearby fire into an old one-room schoolhouse in New Liberty, destroying the structure.

No one was hurt in the midday fire, but the loss of the stone building surely will be noticed by people who live in the area and often used it as a local landmark.

New Liberty firefighters said a member of the family that owns the building was burning debris in a nearby ditch when the wind evidently shifted and ignited the building.

By the time firefighters arrived, the roof had collapsed, and because the building was not insured, they allowed it to burn rather than risk injury trying to fight it. A large part of one of the walls had already collapsed long before the fire even started, they said.

A handful of rural Scott County fire departments responded to the blaze.

As firefighters kept watch over the building to make sure the fire didn't spread, people watched from across New Liberty Road, some of them taking photos.

Among those gathered was Beverly Meyer. She was in the last eighth-grade class to attend school in the building during 1952. She lived just across the road, Meyer recalled, so it was easy to get to school in the morning and go home for lunch.

Meyer also recalled that the school housed kids from kindergarten through eighth grade, all in one room. She said that while one class was taking instruction, the rest would move to the back of the room and quietly do their studying.

Like a lot of old schoolhouses, this one had been used as a barn.

Lynn Sievers, the owner, who lives across the road, said she had chickens in it. But because of its condition, she had been thinking of tearing it down.

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Old one-room rural school burns

MANHATTAN Bill Snyder has a nostalgic side.

So do I.

We were walking off the field after Kansas State concluded its football media day one fall, and I wondered about the Big Eight Room in the Vanier Complex. Usually, thats where Snyder conducts his weekly media sessions.

Not that day, however. So I had to ask whether the room, with ornate carvings depicting logos of all the Big Eight members, was being removed or remodeled.

Oh no, he said. As long as Im here well have the Big Eight Room.

Now, however, it's in jeopardy. And thats a good thing.

Plans and drawings were released Saturday detailing a complete makeover of K-States football complex. It will be gutted Big Eight Room and all to provide facilities more suitable for competing in the big time, beginning with the Big 12.

The project, priced at $65 million, is ambitious, aggressive and appealing. Necessary, too.

The arms race in college athletics requires teams particularly in football to compete between white lines, while hoping to keep budgets from curdling in red ink. K-State athletic director John Currie is confident this overhaul can be managed after the namesake of the complex the Vanier family provided $20 million in seed money.

Five months ago no funds had been raised for the do-over on the north side. Now, roughly $38 million has been donated, a nice chunk of the $50 million K-State wants to raise with private funds. The final $15 million will come from athletic department revenues.

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Kevin Haskin: New complex much needed for K-State football

Dubai: A unique edible chocolate room is showcased as part of the first Home and Garden Festival hosted by the Dubai Festival City Mall which will run until May 3.

The chocolate room is especially crafted for the occasion by celebrated international artist Sid Chidiac.

We are very delighted that many of our key retailers at Dubai Festival City Mall are joining us to make the first Home and Garden Festival a major success. In addition to having international artists showcasing exquisite room set designs by using the latest global trends in home furnishings and accessories, we are also introducing a room made entirely out of chocolate, said Murray Bell, Managing Director, Retail, Dubai Festival City Mall.

A bespoke Home Trend Guide from Dubai Festival City Mall offers design enthusiasts advice by experts to help create highly efficient and exquisitely designed rooms and kitchens. Gardening lovers are also provided a host of tips by acclaimed horticulturist and gardening expert Jemuel del Rosario.

The guide also features many exclusive offers from selected retailers that are valid until May 17.

Shoppers who spend over Dh150 at any Dubai Festival City Mall store will enter into a draw for a chance to win one of two home make-overs worth up to Dh200,000. Those who shop at home, garden and electronics stores will double their chances of winning.

The mall also introduced a competition on Instagram for gardening enthusiasts, inviting them to post a picture of their unique and outdoor settings.

This festival is not only for the adults but also for our little ones to join in daily Arts and Crafts available in the Toys R Us Court. Children will have the opportunity to design flowers resulting in a beautiful garden that will come to life during the course of the event.

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Chocolate living room at festival

How to make a stone ladder.
David #39;s Renovations Quality home improvements at an affordable price. We specialize in making your home market ready! Whether it is an updated kitchen, an extra bathroom, or a room addition;...

By: David Terry

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How to make a stone ladder. - Video