'Innovate or die' - channel players dissect the future

How the themes of disruption, collaboration and innovation are shaping the channel

Of all of the events that CRN runs, perhaps none is more important than the one which took place in London yesterday.

This is because beyond CRN telling you what is happening in the industry, yesterday's CRN On: The European Channel in 2020 event, sponsored by Agilitas, attempts to future-proof your business.

Almost every established reseller that eventually went bust spent too long thinking it would never happen to them. The cold truth is that even some of you reading this article will not be around in the next three to five years.

However, this is not an attempt to fearmonger. The channel is facing a situation where new challenges have emerged, but opportunities to solve those challenges are plentiful too. The sickness and the cure are both in full flow. For example, while the challenge of continued margin pressure pinches the channel, the opportunities in managed services, cloud and print all provide margin-rich solutions.

Opening the event, Ian Spence, founder and CEO of analyst Megabuyte dedicated a large part of his presentation to detailing the margins in the channel. Spence often used Softcat - a channel firm with an almost freakish ability to continue growing - as the yardstick for how resellers can survive and prosper.

Spence outlined how the likes of managed services and managed print services are higher-margin options for resellers, though he did warn that managed print services is boom area that won't last forever.

We heard from Agilitas CEO Shaun Lynn about how to prepare for 2020 by staying relevant to customers and he outlined the six key drivers in leading that change: disruption, collaboration, innovation, technology, finance, and people.

There was also an opportunity to hear from channel players who have successfully achieved the points Lynn outlined. Darren Spence, founder and managing director of Sales Gym 360, Boost Performance, detailed the transition from JAR (Just Another Reseller) to VAR. Chris Dunning, founder of TechQuarters and the 365 Cloud Academy outlined the challenges you face when your client is using cloud and why differentiation through innovation is key.

The agenda closed with a panel discussion with Lynn, Nettitude's Steve Ellis, Rubrik's Alex Raistrick and Exclusive Networks' Barrie Desmond on digital transformation. The key take-home was that VARs and MSPs need to be digital-ready themselves to prepare for the future.

The event took place in the wake of the demise of Misco in the UK and despite the failure of a former channel heavyweight, the message from the day was positive. As Lynn stated in his presentation, the old adage of 'innovate or die' has never been more apt. The resellers that disrupt, collaborate and innovate will continue to flourish.

There was also a detailed piece of research undertaken and unveiled at the event and that will be released later this month.