IT partners talk cloud, security and AI at CRN Kickstarter in Sydney

Security, cloud and AI were among the topics discussed at this morning’s CRN Kickstarter report launch in Sydney.

The NinjaOne, SentinelOne, Ingram Micro, FIFTEEN, World of Workflows, RackCorp and Alcatel Lucent Enterprise-sponsored event at the Sheraton Grand Hyde Park gave attendees a preview of the CRN Kickstarter report, which provides a snapshot of business opportunities and challenges for IT and digital services providers in the year ahead, with a focus on security, cloud and AI.

Guests heard from Shabeel Shah, ANZ channel business manager at SentinelOne, Vic Guerrero, director of channel and alliances, APAC, at NinjaOne, and Simon McKay, co-founder & CEO at InfoTrust, who discussed cybersecurity.

On the agenda for their panel discussion was the difference between security product platforms versus portfolios, conversations with customers about balancing cost and risk, and how the need to simplify security can play into partners’ choice of RMM tools.

InfoTrust's McKay laid out opportunities he sees for the newly-acquired firm, and touched on the challenge of convincing small businesses to spend on security fundamentals. 

Talking cloud with CRN was Cevo chief technology officer Stefan Buchman, Fifteen CEO Mike Harte, and Ingram Micro ISV solutions development executive Marcos Galtarossa.

Among the issues discussed was work by some cloud IT partners to bring traditional financial rigour from the rest of their businesses to their cloud operations.

Harte discussed Fifteen's partnership with RackCorp, and the advantages for partners of the bespoke approach it brings to cloud.

Attendees also saw a fireside chat with Midnyte City founder and MD Hannah Browne, who spoke about sustainable energy and the implications for partners' businesses.

Also on stage was eNerds GM of sales and advisory Sam Gilchrist, DiUS head of strategy and growth Kirsty Miller and Arinco sales director Marc Tricksey, who laid out the challenges and opportunities they are seeing around AI. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for what was a packed session of insights and networking.   

Read our 2024 CRN Kickstarter report (free registration required).