The 2012 Spring Channel Partners Conference & Expo concluded yesterday in Las Vegas with record attendance, the largest exhibition and the greatest participant engagement of any previous event hosted by Channel Partners, the premier resource for the communications industry’s indirect sales channel.
More than 3,400 people participated in Channel Partners, up by 4 percent over the record-setting attendance at last spring’s event. More than 155 companies and organizations exhibited, up by another 5 percent over last spring’s event.
“Channel Partners set a new standard this week at Caesar’s Palace,” said John Siefert, CEO of VIRGO Publishing. “The program was central to the success of the entire event. This spring, the Channel Partners Conference & Expo had more program elements, including workshops and vendor presentations, than ever. Most importantly, the program had great depth around the issues that are on the top of the channel’s agenda right now, including cloud services and the integration of IT business services into solutions offered by astute partners.”
“The Channel Partners Conference & Expo is continuing to grow,” added John Siefert. “The growth reflects the dynamism of the channel and our commitment to putting together a great program with content that matches the challenges and opportunities in front of the channel today. Channel Partners content is important to partners in all parts of the communications and IT channel. We take the same best-in-class approach to all our content, including in our digital products, magazine and all our conferences.”
Channel Partners had more than 50 hours of programming in Las Vegas.
“The program is the heart of the Channel Partners Conference & Expo,” said Khali Henderson, editor in chief of Channel Partners.
“This year’s program was our richest, deepest and most comprehensive. A major value of the program are interactive elements real-time polling, expert-led small group discussions and peer networking. With participants actively engaged, the program is dynamic and better able to meet the needs of the channel community. We are excited about building on our programming success in the future.”
The expo floor was busier than ever. Leading service and solutions providers, technology heavyweights and master agents exhibited, drawing large crowds during the exposition.
Notable new exhibitors included 10N2 Technologies, the newly launched mobile device company, and the Geek Squad, the IT services arm of Best Buy.
Service providers included AT&T, Comcast Business Class, Time Warner Cable Business Class, Level 3 Communications, MegaPath, CenturyLink Channel Alliance, Windstream and TelePacific Communications. Technology giants Cisco, SunGard, Panasonic, McAfee and Samsung also exhibited. Master agent exhibitors included TBI, Intelysis, TNCI and WTG.
“Channel Partners traditionally has a lively exhibition,” said Siefert. “This week saw more booths, attendees and energy on the floor than ever. The technologies and services displayed on the floor were more diverse than ever. We are excited about the growth in the exhibition, and look forward to continuing that growth in our second 2012 event.”
The next Channel Partners Conference & Expo will be held Sept. 12-14 in Orlando, Fla., at the Peabody Hotel.
For exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, contact Stacy Whitley, Director of Channel Partners Event Sales, swhitley@vpico.com.
For advertising opportunities, contact Susan Pienkos-Kostbar, Associate Publisher, skostbar@vpico.com.
About VIRGO Publishing
VIRGO is an information distribution company focused on some of the world’s most innovative and complex business-to-business markets. Our mission is to help business professionals break through the hype, ambiguity and information deluge they experience, by offering trustworthy guidance that fuels their results-driven information journey.
About Channel Partners
For 25 years, Channel Partners (www.channelpartnersonline.com) has been the leader in providing news and analysis to indirect sales channels serving the communications industry. It is the unrivaled resource for resellers, aggregators, agents, brokers, VARs, systems integrators, interconnects and dealers that provide network-based communications and computing services, associated CPE and applications as well as managed and professional services. Channel Partners is the official media of the Channel Partners Conference & Expo (www.channelpartnersconference.com).