The ASCII Group

The ASCII Group was founded in 1984, and is the oldest community of independent computer solution providers in the US. ASCII also now has communities located in Canada, Great Britain, and India. WWW.ASCII.COM

From Wikipedia.com: Membership ASCII members are computer solution providers who work with many types of customers, including businesses, consumers, educational institutions, and federal/state/local governments. ASCII members are located in every state, and the majority are small and medium sized resellers. However, there are a growing number of members selling over $100 million each, owing to group buying programs with Lloyds of London insurance and an active ASCII forum where members trade leads, technical information and general business education. The 1,000 members have overall end-user sales of billions of dollars annually. Members can take advantage of 85 programs in return for recurring membership dues. These programs include distribution pricing programs, regional conferences, business service programs such as reduced insurance rates and credit card processing rates, manufacturer group buying programs and numerous, specialized networking opportunities coordinated through an active staff around the country. Business Networking ASCII administers several programs that encourage resellers to network with each other. This includes ASCII-Link, a list-serv with over 100,000 posts to date from ASCII members answering each other's questions about technical issues, business issues, partnering opportunities, vendor recommendations and more. ASCII also has developed procedures for ASCII members to work with each other in instances where a member needs someone with a particular expertise or who is located in another geographic location. Distribution Programs ASCII has partnerships with over 10 major computer distributors, including D&H, SYNNEX, Tech Data. Each distributor maintains a special pricing level for ASCII members and the membership is encouraged in turn to support those distributors. Business Service Programs ASCII has negotiated lower rates for its members on business insurance, health insurance, credit card processing, extended warranties, and several other programs critical to the reseller’s day-to-day operations. Manufacturer Partnerships ASCII has strong partnerships with over 50 vendors that expose ASCII resellers to the latest technology both from established manufacturers and those newer to the industry. Conferences For over 10 years, ASCII has been holding regional events around the US each year. The agenda for these one-day Success Summits include networking between ASCII members, networking with various vendors, sales and marketing training, and learning from resellers on how they implemented solutions from successful vendors. ITLocator (www.ITLocator.com) ASCII's ITLocator allows customers to find the local solution provider that meets their needs based on the criteria that the customer entered. Affiliations ASCII has affiliations with key computer industry companies, including SMB Nation, CompTIA, and ConnectWise. Managed Services A large number of ASCII members are heavily involved in managed services. ASCII partners with several of those companies including Kaseya, Level Platforms, and N-Able.