News Feature | August 21, 2015

CompTIA ChannelCon 2015 Saw Record-Setting Run

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

CompTIA ChannelCon 2015 Saw Record-Setting Run

ChannelCon 2015 broke records this year, with more than 2,000 attendees and more than 520 technology solution providers participating in the events. In addition to the live attendees, CompTIA had more than 2,000 virtual attendees, more than double the number who attended via the initial online sessions in 2014. “By any measure, this was our most successful conference yet,” commented Kelly Ricker, senior vice president, events and education, CompTIA. “Beyond the numbers, there was a great vibrancy to our networking events, intense engagement in our educational programming, and a strong social buzz enveloping the entire conference,” said Ricker.

ChannelCon 2015 generated spirited discussions regarding the past, present, and future of the Information Technology (IT) industry and what channel partners must do to transform their business models and IT environments of the customers they serve to meet the changing landscape.

In his keynote, CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux stated, ‘Transformation does not happen overnight. The idea that you can get people (and businesses) to go from 0 to 60 in one step is a fantasy. Transformation is a continuum, not a final destination.”

“You have to mine your own gold,” Thibodeaux said. “Channel partners must be prospecting customers all the time, finding their pain points and getting them on a path to transformation.”

Among the highlights of the conference were the Best of Show Awards and the Thought Leaders Keynote address by Kevin Murai, president and CEO of SYNNEX Corporation. Murai asked his audience, “What do you want your headline to be a year from now? You must understand market shifts, your company’s competitive position, know what success looks like and have a clear and measurable plan for getting to the finish line.” That means setting “meaningful milestones” and allocating time and resources to frequently assess a company’s progress.

Datto, a provider of backup, recovery and business continuity solutions, won Best of Show and Most Innovative Solution On Display awards. Other winners included:

  • Lenovo, a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology, for Best Channel Partner Program.
  • Intermedia, a one-stop shop for cloud business applications, for Best Services and Support.
  • StorageCraft Technology Corp., a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, winner of the ChannelCon Recruitment Challenge Award.

Highlights from each session, including CompTIA's community meetings, may be found on the CompTIA blog.