Channel Conference 2012 will explore how best to cultivate results in a fast-evolving channel landscape
One might be forgiven for thinking the channel environment has become something of a desert in recent years, relatively featureless but for the clouds lying heavily overhead.
Fortunately, there is a much-improved forecast. Resellers thirsting for the aqua vitae of economic growth can draw sustenance from this year's CRN Channel Conference, which will drill down through the industry's shifting sands to help found future VAR strategy.
The all-day event on 11 October at London's Thistle Marble Arch Hotel will indicate an increasingly important role for business and skill differentiation against a background coloured by trends such as mobility and big data. Success need not remain a mirage, according to Futurizon's Ian Pearson, who will make predictions that suggest how resellers can adapt to profitably navigate industry change.
"Businesses that do well when the economic climate bounces back will be those keeping up," he notes. "So what will the channel look like in 10 years?"
Sara Yirrell, editor of CRN, says the futurologist's session will offer unique insight for the UK channel. This will go beyond how the clouds already here will force channel change to examine what customer businesses will be looking for in terms of security, productivity and efficiency in three years, in five, or in 10.
"I am really looking forward to the Pearson presentation," says Yirrell. "Futurologists often offer interesting takes including insights that many channel players might not have considered."
Another speaker will hail from a Platinum sponsor, networking supremo Huawei. The China-headquartered giant is expanding across Europe at a rapid rate, even while competitors are continuing to cut costs. Attend this session to find out how Huawei will grow its business by up to $20bn (£12.9bn) in the next three to five years.
"A tough economic climate can be the best time to enter a new market, and Huawei appears to have discovered that fact," says Yirrell. "The company has big plans for differentiation in an already-diverse UK market, and promises to outline its approach to the channel, especially resellers and distributors."
Pictured (right) is a group of delegates perusing the stands at last year's Channel Conference, held at Arsenal FC's stadium.
The event this year will also host a panel investigation into the much-talked-about IT skills shortage. Do falling numbers of IT graduates in fact indicate a skills shortage? And if so, how can the channel wield its influence to both solve the crisis and position itself to benefit?
Panel delegates - and the full list of speakers - are yet to be confirmed, so call CRN's sales team for more details.
There will also be three strands of 30-minute focus sessions, looking at big data, IT leasing, mobility, public sector procurement, managing sales staff, and financing for the channel. Independent analysts and senior executives will be making their predictions. Do not miss this latest CRN event.
• Register online at http://bit.ly/SRUbQw
