Datto, ConnectWise, SolarWinds MSP Pack the CompTIA ChannelCon Expo Hall
Did you miss ChannelCon '19? Here are some highlights from the show floor.
![CompTIA ChannelCon 2019 Promo featuring Shaq CompTIA ChannelCon 2019 Promo featuring Shaq](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt9c5be301e50cd40f/65245aa94837afc79cfaae3f/ChannelCon-Featuring-Shaq.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
CompTIA
When Datto and Autotask merged in 2017, the channel knew that the backup and disaster recovery (BDR) space was about to grow up — and make lots of people lots of money. The merger started a rash of acquisitions by business management solution providers of BDR companies, including Kaseya’s purchase of Unitrends in 2018.
Unitrends is well regarded in the MSP space, but it has its eyes on other channels too. In January, it announced a program to incentivize traditional VARs to join the world of MRR, but the company is looking to the future. The Unitrends account executive manning the booth at ChannelCon, Buster Larkins, posited that in the next several years, the company would place a big emphasis on recruiting “emerging partners” like digital agencies, ISVs and IT consultants.
The remote monitoring and management (RMM) space grows more crowded everyday, and big names like Autotask (now Datto), ConnectWise and Kaseya still dominate. But we’re seeing an increase in the popularity of smaller providers, too. Provider Auvik is among them.
In the 2019 MSP 501, 27% of respondents reported using Auvik as a part of their security stack, and 20% said the same about their RMM solution. Considering behemoth ConnectWise owns a whopping 44% of the 501 market share, Auvik’s showing isn’t too shabby. We’ll be watching them to see what 2020 (and beyond) brings to their operations.
Any partner who was at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in April probably saw Tim Conkle, the charismatic CEO of MSP consortium The 20, get the audience laughing as he talked about how we’re all “conferencing” wrong. Conkle will be on stage at Channel Partners Evolution next month in Washington, D.C., as well, moderating a panel of MSP 501 special award winners.
The 20 is one interesting organization to watch. Conkle’s goal is to have an MSP in every geography acting as one giant shop with a national reach and expertise that’s both broad and deep. He’s fiercely guarded his “secret sauce” for MSP success for decades, but will finally reveal it to the world at The 20’s Vision conference in October.
No show floor would be complete without a visit to the ConnectWise booth. The MSP management solution provider garnered more than 44% of the 501 RMM market share this year, maintaining its whopping lead among competitors. Don’t miss IT Nation Connect in Orlando this October, where our team will hand out the first-ever ConnectWise MSP 501 Partner of the Year award. Jason Magee, the new CEO of ConnectWise, has some surprises in store this year. Read all about it on Monday on the Channel Futures website!
This was the first year we asked the MSP 501 applicants about their BDR provider, and Datto came in first place, edging out Veeam by only 1 percent, with 51% of respondents reporting using the provider. As always, Rob Rae, VP of business development, was on hand to spread the company’s MSP gospel, and networking guru John Tippett manned the booth to field attendees’ inquiries about the company’s solutions. Don’t miss Rae on stage at the MSP 501 Awards Gala at Channel Partners Evolution in September as he presents trophies to several special award winners!
Once again, SolarWinds MSP had a very respectable showing in the MSP 501 this year, earning 24% of the 501 winner market share. The RMM provider will also honor a SolarWinds MSP 501 Partner of the Year at its upcoming fall conference, SolarWinds Empower MSP, and new VP of customer experience and business strategy Mike Cullen will be honored as one of Channel Futures/Channel Partners new Top Gun 51 award winners at Channel Partners Evolution in September. The new awards program honors top channel chiefs in the industry as nominated by master agents and distributors — truly an industry award.
Our own team was onsite to chat with partners and vendors alike, as well as to soak up all the knowledge the top-notch ChannelCon speakers had to offer. We answered questions about the MSP 501; spread the word about our fall conference, Channel Partners Evolution, and the MSP 501 Awards Gala we’ll hold there; and learned about all the new initiatives going on at the many vendor booths on the expo floor.
Our own team was onsite to chat with partners and vendors alike, as well as to soak up all the knowledge the top-notch ChannelCon speakers had to offer. We answered questions about the MSP 501; spread the word about our fall conference, Channel Partners Evolution, and the MSP 501 Awards Gala we’ll hold there; and learned about all the new initiatives going on at the many vendor booths on the expo floor.
Thousands of partners, analysts and vendors converged on Vegas (where else?) this week for CompTIA’s annual ChannelCon event. The conference gave attendees four days of top-notch content, networking and arguably the best (and most surprising) keynote speaker the channel has seen in awhile in Shaquille O’Neal.
But we all know that the biggest draw for many partners is the expo hall floor, and ChannelCon’s was stuffed to the gills with vendors, media and (of course) bars. Click through the slideshow above for a peek at a handful that caught our eye.
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