CRN Pipeline 2024 Day One Photos: AI, mega-trends and transformation
Technology partners unpack channel evolution.
What a day at CRN Pipeline Day 1 on August 13! The Goldie didn't live up to its sunny reputation, but the IT channel did not disappoint. Below are some brief observations, but this is barely touching the surface of what we heard:
- 12-18 months ago there were "so many doors" for IT partners to open. Now, customer priorities coming back to three areas, including cost and productivity, the CRN Australia-Tech Research Asia 100:100 survey of found.
- “AI-washing is probably the hottest topic on Wall Street," commented AvePoint's Oliver Gohl.
- Some partners are viewing Windows 11 as an opportunity to do much more than device refreshes, such as moving them to Microsoft 365 and Modern Management.
- "Half the challenge" today when it comes to partner-distributor relationships is "getting the right support at the right time from the distributor. The good distributors are doing it well by having the right people," noted Chuong Mai-Viet from Fuse Technology.
- Be careful how you target the market: "Nobody's interested in generalists," except in the SMB market, commented Trevor Clarke.
- Nick Beaugeard's latest book, "The MSP v.next: Scaling success through automation and AI" flew off his stand like hot cakes at Pipeline.
- For partners willing to dive in with Copilot, land and expand - spending time to explore use cases and setup foundations for success before expanding - is the endorsed approach, Pipeline attendees heard.
