Channel Futures is a destination for the information technology and communications industry. We provide news and information, analysis and connection for the entire channel ecosystem, including solution providers (SPs), managed service providers (MSPs), managed security service providers (MSSPs), cloud service providers (CSPs), value-added resellers (VARs) and distributors, technology solutions distributors (TSDs) and technology advisors (agents), as well as leading technology vendor partners and communication providers.

Our properties include the Channel Futures MSP 501, a list of the most influential and fastest-growing providers of managed services in the technology industry; Channel Partners events, which delivers unparalleled in-person events including Channel Partners Conference & Expo and MSP Summit. Channel Futures is where the world meets the channel; we are leading Channel Partners forward.

Channel Futures is part of Informa Tech, a leading provider of market insight and market access to the global business technology community. Through in-depth expertise and an engaged audience community, Informa Tech helps business professionals make better technology decisions and marketers reach the most powerful tech buyers and influencers in the world. Across its portfolio of over 100+ trusted brands, Informa Tech has over 1000 industry experts, including over 400 research analysts and consultants in global research group Omdia, and a monthly audience reach of over 125 million. Informa Tech is a division of FTSE 100 company Informa plc.

The Story

Channel Futures is leading channel partners forward with the timely insights, deep industry analysis, meaningful peer engagement and real-world business information they need to grow their organizations and build their sales practices. Driven by an accelerated evolution of business models focused on cloud, communications, information security and emerging technologies, Channel Futures is a unique destination for the information technology and communications community.

Through our digital media platform, webinars, industry-recognized research and in-person events, Channel Futures explores and explains the trends disrupting today’s business world and provides our audience with the information, guidance and tools they need to achieve business success. We take our audience behind the scenes to learn from the channel organizations that are transforming the industry and help them incorporate those lessons into their own businesses.

We provide comprehensive marketing-as-a-service offerings via our Informa Engage platform which is used by today’s leading information technology and communications providers, advertisers and sponsors to better communicate directly with their trusted channel partners.

Channel Futures is part of the Informa Tech media family, which enables us  to deliver what no other tech media or events company can: end-to-end visibility into, and one-on-one relationships with, the information technology and communications industry — from developers to sellers to buyers. Together, we deliver the resources of the world’s largest conference and expo organizer while working to bring one of the largest databases in the B2B tech market directly to the channel marketplace.

Where the World Meets the Channel

Channel Futures provides much needed context and delivers fresh voices, analysis, research, lists and insight from the most diverse collection of influential leaders across the tech spectrum. We recognize that changes in the industry, new technologies and the impact of cloud computing — as well as the recent pandemic and “work from home” shift — have significantly changed the way our readers and event attendees conduct business and sales. Our strategic response was the development of Channel Futures as a destination site to reduce information overload, simplify advertiser and sponsor communications, and focus on providing a streamlined customer experience for our combined audiences. At the core, we deliver a platform for our channel communities to come together — virtually and in person.

Media

Our content is founded on an impressive set of media and events, including The VAR Guy, MSPmentor, Talkin’ Cloud and Channel Partners Online. Together, these media properties provided a fresh source of information, guidance and community for the entire channel. Today, we have leveraged this strong content and our Channel Partners events to provide channel program updates, introduce new and advanced technologies, deliver strategic business advice and more. Our Channel Futures website can be navigated by partner type and technology, and our sponsors can target specific partners for communications.

The Channel Futures MSP 501

The Channel Futures MSP 501 has become the definitive listing of the most influential and fastest-growing providers of managed services in the technology industry. The standard of success in the tech sector is the ability to build a business around recurring revenue. The MSP 501 helps MSPs make decisions about where they will focus their business-building efforts by examining the growth of specific solutions and the impact of cloud and other emerging technologies each year. It also includes a quarterly confidence poll of MSP 501 executives that further extends the Channel Futures franchise.

Events

For over 25 years, we have held the largest independent channel event in the world — Channel Partners Conference & Expo. In response to the community’s needs, we have expanded on this over the years, adding the MSP 501 Awards Gala and the MSP Summit.

Hosting more than 10,000 attendees annually, our events provide executive-level programming and invaluable face-to-face connection with peers and vendors for business solutions and services. The Channel Partners Conference & Expo co-locates with the MSP Summit in the spring and we host a fall MSP Summit to strengthen our position as the industry-leading, in-person destination for the entire channel community to meet, conduct business and outline plans for the coming year.

Research

As an Informa company, we can leverage advanced, targeted research as the foundation for helping the entire channel ecosystem  identify buyers’ needs and gaps to better inform their sales and marketing strategies. This research provides valuable insight and guidance at every phase — from discovery to purchase intent to advocacy — helping our community  better understand the channel audience, expand into new markets, test product concepts or refine strategic plans. Informa Tech’s research division, Omdia, unifies and harnesses the depth and breadth of expertise from our legacy research brands: Ovum, IHS Markit Technology, Tractica and Heavy Reading. Omdia brings you unparalleled, world-class research and consultancy to navigate the now and create the future.

The Omdia Channel Research and Consulting Practice is part of Channel Futures’ portfolio of brands dedicated to helping vendors and suppliers of technology and communications solutions and services accelerate growth while gaining insight into the future of the entire channel.

With expert channel research, data analysis, and consulting services, Omdia Channel Research provides actionable data intelligence and strategic insights into the key market trends, technology innovations, and strategies shaping the evolving partner and supplier channel.

The foundation of the channel research and intelligence is the proprietary data from Channel Futures’ MSP 501, the first, largest, and most comprehensive survey and ranking of managed service providers in the world for over 17 years. When combined with world-class vertical market data and analysis from research partner Omdia, we bring a unique and holistic view into the entire technology channel ecosystem.

Our Commitment and Actions for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and Sustainability

We are committed to leveraging our channel media and event platforms — and empowering the channel community they serve — to support human rights and the critical nature of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the channel. Our DE&I Community, with input and direction from our DE&I Advisory Board, Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council and the Alliance of Channel Women, strives to create and deploy a consistent message with actions to educate the channel community on issues surrounding diversity.

As part of this community’s work, Channel Partners events hosts an ongoing series of live, online DE&I workshops that focus on the business benefits of maintaining a diverse workforce. Each workshop features business leaders, thought leaders and experts who are invested in DE&I.

In addition, we honor and celebrate those who have often been underrepresented in tech channels, whether senior-level executives or future leaders, in special-focus articles and our annual DE&I 101 list. The list is comprised of ICT professionals in businesses ranging from startups to enterprise organizations who are changing the face of the technology channel.

Channel Futures also actively follows Informa's sustainability guidelines in an effort to become an ever more sustainable, positive impact business. FasterForward is Informa's five-year sustainability program, featuring ambitious commitments to embed sustainability into everything the company does and to help its customers and markets do the same.

In conjunction with our events − the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and the MSP Summit − we focus on the areas in which we can make the most significant contribution: our operations, the content and knowledge we provide and in the communities in which we work.

Marketing as a Service

Our Informa Engage marketing services business reaches an audience of 30 million B2B professionals in 180 countries. This includes 5.4 million business and technology professionals — the builders, sellers and users of technology solutions and services — in a $2 trillion marketplace. The power of Informa Engage allows Channel Futures’ customers  to use us as an extension of their marketing teams, delivering research, direct marketing, digital events, custom content and lead generation services to clients.