---
title: "Channel Strong in Kansas City: Local support means many things"
description: "The Channel Strong: Positive Vibes Tour keeps rolling down the road, and the Kansas City stop at Blue Tree Technology was an extremely fun event"
canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/channel-strong-kansas-city-local-support-means-many-things/
locale: en
last_updated: 2026-10-11
---

[Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/)
# Channel Strong in Kansas City: Local support means many things

Our Channel Strong: Positive Vibes Tour keeps rolling down the road, and the Kansas City stop at Blue Tree Technology was an extremely fun event.

[Try Now](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/trial/)

[![Image 2: Amy Luby](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/4ebd2c6ab90855a20d45286557169382.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/amy-luby/ "Amy Luby")

[Amy Luby](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/amy-luby/)

2 min read

Last updated 13 August 2020

Our Channel Strong: Positive Vibes Tour keeps rolling down the road, and the Kansas City stop at Blue Tree Technology was an extremely fun event.

We got to meet our hosts, the Blue Tree team, and tour their office – with each member of the Channel Strong group visiting the office one person at a time. Blue Tree has a great business right in the heart of Kansas City servicing small- and medium-sized businesses in the greater KC area.

Matt Horning and his wife Isadora, the co-owners of Blue Tree, were amazing hosts and their team was a lot of fun. I’ll post a video interview we did soon, but my main takeaway was Matt and Isadora have created a great culture. In fact, when I asked them what their one piece of advice would be to anyone starting a new MSP business, they said culture – the single best thing one could do to ensure their business’ success is to build a great culture. Then make sure that anyone you hire is a great fit for your culture.

Well after hanging with their team this afternoon, it’s clear that they’ve done that.

### Channel means community

For most of our colleagues in the channel, the drive to help local businesses and our local community is strong. After all, as local MSPs, we live and work in the same community and we all want a great place to live. Being an engaged corporate neighbor is natural, and that commitment to all things local is playing a role on our Positive Vibes Tour.

At each stop along our tour, the price of admission to the Channel Strong event is a couple of canned goods that will be given to a local food bank. The Blue Tree team really came through in that regard. Not only did they help bring other attendees to the tailgate event, but we collected even more canned goods to be donated to those in need.

![Image 3: MSPs care about community](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/0dec6dd6596c31a6e61ac00aba223d08.png)

MSPs care about community

### MSPs serving security

As it did in [Chicago](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/channel-strong-chicago-talking-msp-vs-mssp), our conversation eventually turned to delivering security services to clients and I was able to speak in-depth with Blue Tree about how they’ve grown and evolved over the years. Blue Tree is an Acronis partner that has built its business by focusing on security. In fact, that’s what they’ve done for years.

Matt explained that for Blue Tree, the only difference between their MSP business and an MssP is that the MssPs tend to focus on a specific compliance vertical. Meanwhile, Matt, Isadora, and their team service organizations across all industries.

### On the road again

Of course, before heading down the road to our next stop, we had to stop for funnel cake. You can’t go to Kansas City without eating funnel cakes. Enough said.

Our next stop is mile-high Denver...here we come! Until we get there, stay #channelstrong (and always #CyberFit).

![Image 4: Funnel cakes in KC](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/6c5f88817643be77d5e66eacf4afb8ed.png)

Funnel cakes in KC

[Data protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/data-protection/)  
[Cloud backup](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cloud-backup/)

## Written by

![Image 5: Amy Luby](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/4ebd2c6ab90855a20d45286557169382.png)

Amy Luby

[Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/channel-strong-chicago-talking-msp-vs-mssp/)  
[Channel Strong in Chicago: Talking MSP vs MssP](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/channel-strong-chicago-talking-msp-vs-mssp/)

[Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/channel-strong-denver-positive-vibes-tour-rolls/)  
[Channel Strong in Denver: The Positive Vibes Tour rolls on](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/channel-strong-denver-positive-vibes-tour-rolls/)

About Acronis

Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

[Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com)

## Related stories

Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog.

[Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/)

![Image 6: From AI vision to MSP action: The journey continues this October](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/65821c3bd72f935cd680e584fe43de66.png)

[From AI vision to MSP action: The journey continues this October](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/from-ai-vision-to-msp-action-the-journey-continues-this-october/)

The first event answered why AI matters and the second event demonstrated what's possible. Acronis Accelerate: Time to Act brings those ideas to life through a practical, workflow-driven experience that follows a future day in the life of an MSP.

**September 23, 2026**4 min read

![Image 7: Why the best vendor relationships go beyond technology in Australia](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/5e04b89948d9f1fa28095b7ff7206957.png)

[Why the best vendor relationships go beyond technology in Australia](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/why-the-best-vendor-relationships-go-beyond-technology-in-australia/)

Many MSPs know their clients well but have limited time to build campaigns from a blank page. Effective vendor marketing support removes work while preserving the MSP’s own brand and market position. Sports marketing can add another dimension. Through the Acronis #TeamUp Program and Acronis #SportsIgnite Program, participating MSPs can use opportunities such as premium hospitality, business development events, brand exposure

**September 11, 2026**5 min read

![Image 8: IEC 62443: the industrial cybersecurity standard explained](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/b9ffaf41bd2bebd037b7b210e1e1974a.png)

[IEC 62443: the industrial cybersecurity standard explained](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/iec-62443-explained/)

What is IEC 62443? A practitioner's guide to security levels, zones and conduits, certification types, and how it maps to NIS2 and NIST SP 800-82.

**September 09, 2026**13 min read
