What did the channel's best think of CRN Pipeline Sydney?

Attendees at CRN Pipeline Sydney have voted the summit a roaring success, with 95 percent of delegates saying they would recommend the event to others.

More than 85 percent of delegates dubbed the summit "excellent", and 80 percent told us they expect to do business with other channel partners and sponsors they met at Pipeline.

The strong support in the exit survey followed the one-and-a-half day conference in Sydney, where around 150 business leaders from top resellers, system integrators, managed services providers, distributors and vendors gathered to discuss key trends impacting the Australian IT industry.

CRN Pipeline ran in Sydney on 7-8 April. This week, we head to Melbourne on Thursday 14 April and Friday 15 April. There are still a few free tickets left - register now.

Attendees told us that some of their highlights included the presentation of CRN's 'Channel 360' survey results on Thursday morning. Conducted in partnership with Tech Research Asia, this landmark research tracked the unique demands of three groups – channel partners, vendors and IT buyers – to identify the alignments and the gaps in supplier-customer relationships in the Australian tech industry.

Delegates caught up with sponsors in the 'Networking Hub'

Delegates told CRN that other highlights included the closing session on day one, where Carpe Diem Consulting's owner, Bruce Rasmussen, educated attendees on "disruptive sales" and how to better understand the modern buyer's journey.

In a special 1.5-hour session on Thursday, CRN facilitated one-to-one meetings between delegates and sponsors, with attendees praising the well-run session and the opportunity to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships.

On Friday morning, delegates were offered the chance to ask questions of a panel of some of Australia's leading IT buyers, including PwC chief information officer Hilda Clune; former Origin Energy CIO Geoff Wenborn; HealtheCare CIO Phillip Hurley; and Aron Campbell, IT operations private cloud and platform manager of ING Direct.

Top CIOs field questions from the floor

The closing session on Friday was another drawcard, with a standing-room only presentation by Mark Dick, director of sales solutions of LinkedIn Australia, shedding light on "the art of social sales".

Delegates were also treated to keynote presentations and panel discussions from event sponsors, including platinum sponsors Microsoft, Dell, Intel and Telstra.

Other highlights included the beach-themed Pipeline party on Thursday night, as well as the presentation of the CRN MVP awards, recognising Australia's top 20 IT solution providers based on their level of accreditation.