Highlights: 2024 MSP Summit Keynote Stage
More speakers, more content. The 2024 MSP Summit keynote stage is packed with more experts. Our image gallery has the highlights.
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Kelly Danziger, general manager of Informa Tech Channels, and Robert DeMarzo, vice president of content, opened the MSP Summit with some of the big trends, including AI, that MSPs and other channel partners are using to profit and meet the needs of their customers.
In our new "Hot Data" segment, Canalys chief analyst Jay McBain relayed the latest trends affecting the future of the channel. He discussed how the rest of 2024 is poised to be a year for growth, as well as which products, sectors and industries will have breakthroughs.
We gathered some of the biggest AI players in tech who said that AI no doubt will be truly transformative in the years to come. Representatives from HPE, Lenovo and MongoDB told Canalys' Jay McBain that AI will have a huge impact on channel sales and customer engagements.
The delved into what AI technology can do and presented the opportunity for managed service providers to bring customers together with this burgeoning technology.
We debuted our Channel Futures Newsmaker series, which features industry influencers whose moves have made headlines on the Channel Futures website.
Here, SonicWall's Michelle Ragusa-McBain, this year a Channel Futures Channel Influencer and a member of our Circle of Excellence, sat down with Channel Futures editorial director Craig Galbraith to talk about everything from cybersecurity opportunities to (of course) AI to her efforts to get more women into the channel.
ThreatLocker once again is the title sponsor of the MSP Summit.
CEO Danny Jenkins took to the keynote stage for "How to Create Malware and How a Zero-Trust Approach Can Protect."
While generative AI can successfully create malware to wreak havoc on a partner's customers, taking a zero-trust posture can head off those attacks at the pass, Jenkins contended.
Microsoft, Google and AWS are such behemoths that partnering with them might seem like quite the undertaking. But if you aren't, you're likely missing out.
This session featured a panel of partners who work with the hyperscalers tackling such topics as whether cloud marketplaces are friend or foe, adjustments to the cloud providers' partner programs and how well they work with SMBs.
We offered a "Taste of DE&I" on the keynote stage to offer our audience insights into diversity, equality and inclusion from some of the top channel DE&I experts.
It included not only a panel on the business impact of DE&I, but also quick roundtables on a variety of related topics, hosted by members of the Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council.
Another of our Channel Futures Newsmakers, Google Cloud VP of channels and partner programs Colleen Kapase got 10 minutes on stage to talk about opportunities around AI, her passion for service delivery and what makes an ideal partner for the hyperscaler.
That's Cody Easterbrook (pictured) of American Idol fame joining Fornix Marketing CEO Charlene Ignacio on stage in a session called "The One Best Thing You're Not Doing."
Ignacio told the audience that Fornix, after surveying thousands of MSPs, MSSPs and cybersecurity pros, identified that one thing they aren't doing -- and it doesn't cost them a dollar. Hope you were there to find out what it was!
We had more hot data for you in the afternoon, and yes, more AI.
That's Peter Kujawa of Service Leadership, a ConnectWise solution, who carefully measures MSP revenue and profit trends, along with other key trends that signal the health of the managed services industry.
Whom better to get advice from than the 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 Lifetime Achievement honoree, Chance Weaver of New Charter Technologies.
He shared his secrets to success, answering questions from Omdia's Debbie Kane.
Just how are cloud marketplaces impacting the channel?
We set out to help you answer that question in this panel led by moderator Vince Menzione of The Ultimate Partner.
Cloud marketplaces have clearly shifted from being transaction vehicles to becoming a leading revenue channel for software and service providers of all sizes. But how can the channel take further advantage of this trend? Our panel of experts weighed in.
Len DiCostanzo, CEO of MSP Toolkit, moderated a discussion among MSP business experts on how to manage a fast-growing MSP business in an increasingly more complex environment.
No longer do you need just a few building blocks like PSA software. Now platforms are multilayered and demand much more knowledge from MSPs. With that said, these platforms are crucial to MSP success.
The audience walked away with more business knowledge and confidence that will boost their operations.
Len DiCostanzo, CEO of MSP Toolkit, moderated a discussion among MSP business experts on how to manage a fast-growing MSP business in an increasingly more complex environment.
No longer do you need just a few building blocks like PSA software. Now platforms are multilayered and demand much more knowledge from MSPs. With that said, these platforms are crucial to MSP success.
The audience walked away with more business knowledge and confidence that will boost their operations.
CHANNEL PARTNERS CONFERENCE & EXPO/MSP SUMMIT — Day one of the MSP Summit, co-located with the Channel Partners Conference & Expo at the Venetian Las Vegas, was packed with information on the keynote stage that managed service providers and other partners interested in recurring revenue could take home to improve their businesses.
Not surprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) was a significant topic, with several keynotes either wholly focused on AI or spending at least some time addressing it.
After an introduction on the state of the market by Channel Futures executives, Jay McBain, chief analyst with Canalys, now a Channel Futures sister company, offered up some compelling stats as part of our "Hot Data" series. The fast pace continued through the morning and afternoon with no presentation longer than 20 minutes.
It concluded with consultant Debbie Kane of Omdia (also a Channel Futures sister research company) interviewing Chance Weaver of New Charter Communications. Weaver, the Channel Futures MSP 501 Lifetime Achievement winner for 2023, offered his advice to MSPs looking to be as successful as he is.
In between, audience members heard from top channel brass at Google Cloud, SonicWall, Lenovo, HPE and many more big names in the industry.
See our slideshow above for a recap of day one on the keynote gate.
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