Canalys announces sponsors for 2016 Channels Forums

Canalys today announced that a record number of sponsors have already signed up for 2016’s largest independent series of channels events. Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP and Lenovo have now committed at keynote level. Also participating are APC by Schneider Electric, Dropbox, Fujitsu, Acer, AMD, Brocade, Citrix, Delta, Eaton, NetApp, Ruckus Wireless, Acronis, Autotask, Bitdefender, BitTitan, F5, Impartner, LOGICnow, Mimecast, Objectif Lune, ShoreTel and SOTI. Many other vendors are set to join in the coming weeks.

This global events series celebrates the pivotal role that distributors play in the industry. They are the secret glue that joins the vendors to thousands of channel partners around the world, with ever more vendors recognizing they represent the most effective route to market. All the major distributor names are participating in 2016, including Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Avnet, Also, Arrow Electronics, ECS, Redington, Prianto, Westcon Group, Comstor, Intcomex, Adistec, Distecna, Solution Box, CompuSoluciones, Dicker Data, Innovix, Cadensworth, AxizWorkgroup, MPS, Westcoast and Canal Digital.

Néstor Cano, President, Tech Data Europe, said, ‘CCF is a great chance to meet with our most valued partners to engage in high-quality, high-impact interactions that help us all to get aligned and to accelerate our businesses. I am really looking forward to reinforcing our relationships with our colleagues from across the IT industry at this year’s event in Barcelona.’

Anand Chakravarthy, President, Redington India, added, ‘CCF not only provides a great opportunity to personally connect with our channel partners, but also gather together a large number of the top vendors and distributors to promote better working practices as partners, conduct business and learn from the experience of industry peers.’

‘The Canalys Channels Forum is a key partner initiative for Ingram Micro in the region, bringing vendors’ strategic messages in line with our company strategy,’ added Diego Utge, Vice President & Chief Executive, Brazil, Ingram Micro.

There is a huge demand to attend CCF – as shown by the large number of early registrations. Channel executives from more than 20 countries have confirmed attendance in the first two weeks of registration opening and all three events will sell out earlier than originally expected. Also, the Candefero channels community is buzzing with speculation about which CEOs will be keynoting this year.

The event, once again, will be underpinned by the most sophisticated app in the industry, and Canalys expects the number of one-to-one meetings to exceed the 5,000 that took place in 2015.

‘Digital first’ will be the event theme in 2016. Steve Brazier, Canalys President and CEO, said, ‘Digital transformation is taking place in every industry around the world. But for every step forward the IT industry makes, new challenges emerge. Only those companies that are managing this transformation correctly are succeeding. In this digital era, customers expect much closer engagement with their channel partners and vendors, requiring a more efficient, connected way of working. The rise of the Internet of Things and, more recently, virtual and augmented reality has enabled enterprises to enhance the customer experience, improve sales and boost efficiency, but it will only be those enterprises with robust and secure IT infrastructures supporting this transformation that will be able to maximize their investments and add long-term value to their customers.’

This year’s EMEA forum will return to the Hotel Arts in Barcelona from 3-5 October, while the APAC event will venture to Macau, SAR for the region’s largest channels conference from 25-27 October. The LATAM forum will run from 15-17 November and have the stunning Riviera Maya, Mexico as its destination. 1,000 delegates are expected to attend each event.

About Canalys

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. Our customer-driven analysis and consulting services empower businesses to make informed decisions and generate sales. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

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