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2019 channel partner events to mark on your calendar
When making 2019 travel plans, refer to this list of channel-focused events and conferences hosted by IT vendors, distributors, industry organizations and vendors that cater to VARs and MSPs.
Year after year, industry conferences prove a valuable resource for channel partners. Heading into 2019, there's no sign the channel event circuit is slowing down. To help make the planning process easier for you, and for us, we've put together this channel-focused events calendar. We've included channel partner events hosted by top-tier IT vendors, distributors, channel industry organizations and vendors of products used exclusively by partners.
Whether you're looking for events focused on running MSP businesses or vendors' annual global meetings, here's the 2019 schedule at a glance. Bookmark this channel event list, and check back often. We'll update the list as more information becomes available.
Q1 channel partner events
Jan. 7-9; Citrix Summit; Orlando, Fla.
Jan. 21; Avaya Partner Forum; Austin, Texas
Feb. 11-12; IBM PartnerWorld at Think; San Francisco
Feb. 11-15; HIMSS 2019; Orlando, Fla.
Feb. 20-21; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Orange County, Calif.
March 2-5; XChange Solution Provider 2019; Las Vegas
March 11-13; Ingram Micro Cloud Summit; San Diego
March 11-13; CompTIA Communities & Councils Forum; Chicago
March 18-20; HP Reinvent, World Partner Forum; Houston
March 24-26; MSPWorld (spring conference); Austin, Texas
March 27-28; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Dallas
Q2 channel partner events
April 8-9; ChannelNext East; Estérel, Quebec
April 9-12; Channel Partners Conference & Expo; Las Vegas
April 24-25; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Washington, D.C.
April 28-May 2; Dell EMC Global Partner Summit at Dell Technologies World; Las Vegas
May 6-9; Kaseya Connect; Las Vegas
May 7-9; Red Hat Summit; Boston
May 9; TBI's BIG Event; Chicago
May 13-15; Lenovo Accelerate; Orlando, Fla.
May 15-16; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Charlotte, N.C.
May 21-22; Women of the Channel Leadership Summit; Palm Springs, Calif.
May 21-23; Citrix Synergy; Atlanta
June 13-15; ConnectWise IT Nation Explore (formerly Automation Nation); Orlando, Fla.
June 17-19; DattoCon; San Diego
June 17-20; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Global Partner Summit at HPE Discover; Las Vegas
June 26-27; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Chicago
Channel event highlights from 2018
Microsoft doubles down on vertical-focused strategy
At Inspire 2018, the software giant emphasized its industry focus and asked partners to develop offerings on its Azure platform.
IBM: We need to transform our partner ecosystem
PartnerWorld underscored IBM's commitment to supporting a diversity of partner business models.
MSPWorld underscores MSP security measures
Conference speakers sparked new discussions about security, such as how MSPs need to avoid entanglement with customers' security lapses.
Dell EMC: Tighter partner-product alignment in the works
The vendor outlined the Dell Technologies Advantage framework, a way for partners to pursue cross-selling opportunities.
HPE launches GreenLake Flex Capacity partner program
Revealed at HPE Global Partner Summit, GreenLake Flex Capacity aims to capture the consumption-based procurement trend.
DattoCon cites explosive growth in SMB space
Datto said MSPs stand on the cusp of explosive growth in the SMB market, but they focus their sales and look for points of differentiation to cash in.
Continuum urges MSPs to embrace cybersecurity
Cybersecurity trends dominated the Navigate 2018 conference. Continuum's CEO urged MSPs to pivot to security services.
Cisco's software strategy picks up steam
Cisco said its software strategy is accelerating, citing growth in recurring revenue, enterprise agreements and the Lifecycle Advisors as evidence.
ConnectWise talks up managed security opportunity
IT Nation 2018 attendees were told to jump into the fast-growing managed security market and leave behind their generalist approaches.
Q3 channel partner events
July 14-18; Microsoft Inspire Worldwide Partner Conference; Las Vegas
July 24-25; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Denver
Aug. 5-7; CompTIA ChannelCon; Las Vegas
ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini discusses top
managed services trends at IT Nation Connect 2018.
Aug. 21-22; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Toronto
Aug. 25-29; VMware VMworld; San Francisco
Sept. 15-17; IT Glue GlueX (formerly GlueCon); Phoenix
Sept. 25-26; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Newark, N.J.
Q4 channel partner events
Oct. 1-2; Continuum Navigate East Coast; Pittsburgh
Oct. 2-4; Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing; Orlando, Fla.
Oct. 9-11; MSPWorld (fall conference); Las Vegas
Oct. 15-16; Continuum Navigate West Coast; Las Vegas
Oct. 24-25; ASCII Group IT Success Summit; Boston
Oct. 30-Nov. 2; ConnectWise IT Nation Connect 2019; Orlando, Fla.
Nov. 5-7; Cisco Partner Summit; Las Vegas
