Photos: IT buyers take centre stage at CRN Pipeline 2023

CRN Pipeline 2023 kicked off yesterday afternoon on the Queensland Gold Coast with more than 150 technology partners hearing from major IT buyers and key channel players about array of pressing business and IT issues.

Held by the beach at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Gold Coast, the event also brought together 17 sponsors and special guests from leading corporate and smaller customer businesses to share insights with partners.

Among the issues on stage on day one were cloud cost control, what AI means for channel partners, the evolving cybersecurity opportunity and sustainable power management were.

Highlights included leaders from Suncorp Group, Seek and technology challenger Alex Bank shared their pressing business and technology priorities.

CRN editor-in-chief Maher opened the conference and walked the audience through what’s in store for the next three days: from BBQs at the pool to golf, craft beer tasting, along with panel and roundtable discussions between IT buyers, channel partners and vendors.

Tech Research Asia analyst Trevor Clarke debuted the CRN Pipeline 100:100, an exclusive survey of 100 IT buyers and 100 channel players on their business and IT priorities.

The data-filled presentation was packed with data on a range of pressing issues, from hiring to IT management priorities, cybersecurity state of play and AI use cases and progress.

"Thirteen percent of channel partners say they have customers investing in AI today and another seventeen percent say they have customers in a considerations phase,” Clarke revealed.

“Only seven percent say they don't have any customer looking into AI.”

From left: Charles Pizzato (Suncorp), Adam Daly (Seek) and Con Gonopoulos (Araza) join the CRN's William Maher on stage. Panellists discussed their journey to the cloud, the role of channel partners in supporting their migration and how IT services providers can rethink their value propositions beyond traditional reseller models as they compete against cloud marketplaces.

Schneider Electric's Astrid Groves and Alex Bank's John Heaton join William Maher to discuss IT buyers' priorities, and the importance of managing rising energy costs and security.

Microsoft Global Partner Solutions Director for ANZ, Vanessa Sorenson, spoke about customer expectations around value from technology spending, and the divide between Australian organisations that have moved to cloud and are going through their second round of digital transformation.

In a sign of how far the conversation about networks, fibre and bandwidth has come, National Manager ICT Channel at nbn Australia, Andrew Charitou, presented a wide ranging view of the issues partners should be considering – from AI to how the nbn is working with the industry and strategic IT advisers, getting the attention of CIOs, drivers of change, the role MSPs play in that change, accessing fibre for Business and the bandwidth that facilitates innovation, and the business nbn ICT Channel Program.

Atturra CEO Stephen Kowal, TribeTech chief software architect Nick Beaugeard and Araza's Con Gonopoulos laid out the opportunities they are seeing in their businesses.

Kowal spoke about a shift in customer priorities from managing IT environments to business process efficiency.

He said Atturra had seen significant demand for information management, with cybersecurity among the drivers.

Beaugeard spoke about TribeTech’s new business World of Workflows, created to seize business automation opportunities.

Attendees take advantage of the Ingram Micro and Microsoft coffee deck.

Yvette McEnearney (GoT0) takes the stage to start the fun with the GoTo-hosted welcome BBQ around the pool at the Sheraton Grand Mirage.

Poolside att the Go-To hosted BBQ.

Buckley Heathfield (Ingram Micro), John Heaton (Alex.Bank), Richard Christer (SmileIT) and Anthony Lanni (Ingram Micro)

Kyle Page (Ericom), Andy Hurt (Ericom), Yvette McEnearney (GoT0) and Andrew Kernebone (GoTo)

Tim Ament (Ingram Micro) and Astrid Groves (Schneider Electric)

Marie Antajan (Accord), Roger Golland (Voip), Jaco Kreil (Switch connect), Jack Snow (Arrow) and Matt Maschette (Fifteen)

Ean Mackney (Rahi Systems), Chris Greatrex (Dynamic Aspect) and Leo Raikhman (Cloud4x)

Michael Scott (Smile IT), Alice Desai (Eaton), Darin Williams (Eaton) and Tricia Choong (Eaton)

Tim Kirk (SureCity Networks) and Maryanne Vea (Fifteen)

Bradley Maltby (Century Yuasa) and Adam Daly (Seek)

Mandy Say (Pax8), Norm Jefferies (Truis), James Bergl (Pax8) and Grant Sheridan (Pax8)

Phill Mcsherry (MobileCorp) and Peter Heydon (Data3)