Welcome to the Future
Please allow me to welcome you to the future. As we bring the Channel Partners and Channel Futures websites together into one destination, we are ushering in a new era for the channel community. One platform allows us to deliver timely insights, industry analysis, peer engagement and real-world business information that connects the entire channel. That community for us represents senior leaders who wake up each day with one goal in mind: how to better serve their customers. Those buyers need a wide range of products and services spanning technology, communications and connectivity solutions, all intended to help the business move forward.
As the pandemic accelerated business model change across the channel we realized that serving two masters in the forms of separate websites was not the best way to help our readers succeed. That readership today spans master agents and agents who are deeply engaged with service providers, MSPs, IT consultants and integrators, and cloud service providers, along with leading vendors and suppliers. Connecting those two communities is more important than ever given the industry landscape.
For us, the process of bridging our sites, spearheaded by the indefatigable Editorial Director Craig Galbraith, was an opportunity to rethink our online strategy. We engaged in deep discussions with key influencers, advisory board members, partners of all kinds and our sponsors to find out how we could better serve the channel. In those discussions, we disclosed our passion to lead the channel forward by focusing on the future. It is truly a great gift to have a brand so appropriately named at a time when everyone wants to understand how monumental trends such as AI, changing work habits, 5G and cloud are reshaping the channel. Those issues should not be housed on two separate sites but brought together so everyone’s perspective can be included to benefit all.
A Proud Heritage
We are also very proud of our heritage and the perspective that it brings to bear. Our history includes the Channel Partners brand, which has been around for more than 25 years with a loyal following. As a result of that engagement, no one knows the partners of leading communications, telco and cable companies better than our team. We also have deep roots in the IT channel where we built loyal followings around The VAR Guy, MSPmentor, MSP 501 and Talkin’ Cloud. Both audiences can now engage with equal fervor on one site that will open up new ways to partner or penetrate new market opportunities.
So today, we unveil the new home for this audience under the Channel Futures brand with a tagline of “Leading Channel Partners Forward.” We do so mindful of the issues all channel leaders need to understand when it comes to growing their organizations, but with management insight tailored to the different business models spanning the information and communications industries. While the winds swirling around the industry are all about complexity and confusion, we are focused on keeping things simple for our audience. Orlando Magic Founder and Senior Vice President Pat Williams penned a masterful book on why paying attention to the little things and keeping things simple are the keys to success. Our simple formula is to bring the channel’s future to light every day by practicing the fundamentals.
Content for All on One Website
So let’s review with you what you will find on the new Channel Futures website.
- Fresh voices on the state of the industry. We will build upon our thought-provoking coverage of what’s taking place across all channels with a fresh take on what it all means
- We now have one home where you can find our existing industry-defining research. It’s led by the MSP 501, but our readers will also see a slew of new listings and research in the coming months
- We will not only offer a fresh take on what’s transpiring in the market, we’ll also highlight the individuals who are newsmakers and what makes them special. If we learned anything through the millions of video conferences we attended — where we saw people’s dogs, families and living rooms — it’s that businesspeople want a personal connection with their peers and partners.
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Bravo, Bobby and team!!! If there was any one move you could make that would contribute most to promoting convergence of the IT and telecom channels, this is it. I look forward to seeing everything presented in the context of BOTH channels to promote better understanding and appreciation of each other. Long overdue and exciting!!!