Intel event to focus on mobile

Conference for resellers and system builders hits Europe next month

The autumn Intel Channel Conference for resellers and system builders kicks off across Europe next month.

More than 20,000 channel partners in 51 countries are expected to attend the free one-day events.

In the UK, Intel expects about 600 partners to attend the various events, which will offer training, networking opportunities and third-party vendor showcases.

There are three one-day events planned for the UK, starting in November in Swindon, and two others in Bolton and London during December.

System builders are of growing importance to Intel and account for over 40 per cent of all shipments in EMEA.

Intel has said that this percentage is rising overall, especially in developing countries such as Russia, where 65 per cent of all sales are through system builders.

Intel claimed that it has recognised this by taking an active role in brokering relationships at these events between system builders and original design manufacturers from the Far East.

"The channel is a key driving force for Intel's continued business growth and in return, we are continuing to make strong investments to develop and build upon its success," said Amanda McGonigle, director of reseller channel operations at Intel EMEA.

Terry Fisher, pre-sales and product manager at Compusys, said: "We never miss these events because they are very valuable. You get to hear from the horse's mouth about the state of the industry and about upcoming products.

"We have also used these events to secure some very strong relationships with suppliers and other channel partners."

Sessions at the events will cover the state of the industry, product roadmaps for PCs, notebooks and servers, and technical and marketing briefings.

A key subject at this year's event will be attracting more system builders to get into making notebooks using Intel's Centrino technology.

John Bainbridge, Intel's UK and Ireland sales director, said: "This year the main focus is on pushing innovation in the mobile space.

"There has been a shift in the market towards mobility and wireless and we will cover some of the major dynamics and encourage the channel to take advantage of what we have to offer."