Three of the best known and most influential technology mavens in the meetings and hospitality industry have come together to form a consultancy focused on providing solutions to diverse technology issues that impact meeting professionals.

Adding to successful solo careers and a decade of collaborative projects, Corbin Ball, CMP, Rodman Marymor, CMP, and Jeff Rasco, CMP created Tech3 Partners (T3P) to bring a new level of technology expertise and guidance to the difficult decisions planners and suppliers face today when confronted with automation.

“The bottom line has never been more top of mind,” says Ball. “Organizations are looking to invest in systems that can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and if the correct selections are made, they can save millions. We bring a breadth of experience and objectivity that strategic-thinking meeting professionals and their executive stakeholders can use to be certain their decisions will have the positive impact they desire.”

In addition to being a principal in Tech3 Partners, Ball is President and Founder of Corbin Ball Associates of Bellingham, Washington. His books and new interactive index of technology companies, The Ultimate Technology Guide for Meeting Professionals, are the industry’s de facto standards, and his website is the leading resource for objective information on meetings technology. Ball also brings nearly a quarter century of experience in meeting planning, primarily in the association sector.

Rasco brings similar planning experience to T3P, but from an institutional background. Like the other partners, he has focused on technology education and consulting within the industry for two decades. Besides Tech3 Partners, Rasco heads interactive registration service provider Attendee Management, Inc. in Wimberley, Texas.

“People ask why we didn’t do this sooner, but the truth is we’ve been working together unofficially for at least ten years,” Rasco explains. “Each of our other businesses run smoothly, so we can each afford to shift focus slightly in a combined effort to tackle some lingering technology issues in the industry. Things seem to be getting thornier instead of simpler. The timing is right for us to make this move.”

Marymor agrees. “It is more difficult than ever to evaluate and wade through the options for technology upgrades. Most folks in our part of the industry do not even know where to begin. With emerging momentum around things like online meeting management, meeting and travel consolidation, and Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, our combined efforts bring a unique knowledge trust. T3P’s focus on consulting, analysis, research and education comes at a time when it is most needed.”

Marymor’s company, Cardinal Communications of Berkeley, California has been at the forefront of industry innovations since the launch of the Meetings Industry Mall in 1995. They also were the first to offer requests for proposals (RFP) for hotel services online, and their revolutionary RegWeb software remains the standard for online registration technology.

Marymor and Ball have both been named multiple times to the MeetingNews list of the 25 most influential people in the meetings industry. All three principals have been honored by Meeting Professionals International with prestigious awards, including Planner of the Year (Rasco), Supplier of the Year (Ball), and Chapter Leader of the Year (all three).

“If two heads are better than one, then T3P has cubed the equation,” asserts Rasco. “We hope to bring not only technology expertise, but combined experience spanning three quarters of a century on both sides of the industry.”