XChange 2019

CRN is live in Denver for XChange 2019.

Get all of CRN's coverage of the event here and follow along on Twitter at #XCH19.

August 12th

‘Red Shoes Living’ Helps Everyone Step Up Their Game
At The Channel Company’s XChange 2019, keynote speaker Lonnie Mayne discusses the meaning behind ‘Red Shoes Living’ and how it can transform a business.

Amazon’s B2B Play Has Solution Providers On The Defensive
At XChange 2019, analyst Michael Diamond discusses research showing big retailers like Walmart and Amazon are increasingly targeting the B2B market, and that means solution providers should think about redefining their go-to-market strategy.

5 HPE Server Incentive Promotions That Partners Need To Know About
Hewlett Packard Enterprises has launched several server incentives partner promotions around Windows Server 2008 replacement and pre-packed SKUs with built-in discounts.

MSP QoS Networks: SD-WAN Is Powering The Next-Gen Network
MSPs should lead with conversations around business plans and then focus on how SD-WAN can help build the next-generation network their customers are looking for, Frank Cittadino, CEO of QOS Networks, says at XChange 2019.

MSP Panel: Move To Services Not Easy, But Worth The Hardship
MSP executives along with an analyst who used to be an MSP told an audience of their peers at this week's XChange conference that adopting a services-first business model is the way to grow and improve margins.

AppRiver Passing More Leads To Partners, Boosting Channel Commitment
AppRiver has reduced its direct customer base by 10 percent as the email security provider delivers more leads and accounts to channel partners, according to Chris Essex, vice president of global sales.

Exclusive Networks Is Aiming To Be Disruptive, And MSPs Are ‘Interested’
Exclusive Networks is a French distributor focused on security and cloud trying to break into the U.S., and boasts that it is the largest distributor of Fortinet in the world.

JJ DiGeronimo: Be Picky About Projects, Push Employees To Build Their Skill Sets
Executives looking to retain their employees must nurture their self-confidence and turn down morale-killing projects, JJ DiGeronimo, president of Tech Savvy Women, tells XChange 2019 attendees.

The Top 10 Trends Shaping Healthcare IT Right Now
From life-saving AI-powered solutions to high-profile cybersecurity risks, George Pashardis, vice president of healthcare for Herndon, Va.-based ePlus shares the top ten trends affecting the healthcare space right now at XChange 2019.

Terry Richardson: HPE ‘Really Gets’ The Shift To The Pay-Per-Use Services Channel Model
“We have committed that every single offering in our portfolio will be available via a consumption model, essentially allowing customers to only pay for what they use [with HPE GreenLake)],” said HPE North America Channel Chief Terry Richardson.

NPD Group Presents Winners Of 2019 B2B Channel Performance Awards
The second-annual awards presented by The NPD Group at XChange 2019 celebrate 12 winners across categories such as cloud, cybersecurity and mobility in the U.S. B2B indirect markets.

Webroot: Hackers Are 'Making A Ton Of Money' Off MSP's SMB Customers
Despite their size, SMB customers are absolutely a target of hackers, who are ‘making a ton of money off of your customers,’ Webroot executive Sarah Morgan tells solution providers at XChange 2019.

The Channel Company CEO Bob Skelley: ‘Services Leading The Way’ In Partner Profitability
‘A mix of project-based professional services and recurring revenue services. When you put those two together – that’s the successful model that we’re seeing,’ says Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company.

CyberPower Launches ‘Innovative’ UPS System With 25% Partner Margin
Partners selling the new CyberPower Smart App UPS Online systems typically make between 15 percent to 25 percent margins.

Dell Technologies Cloud Takes Integration Complexity ‘Off The Table’
‘We have a lot of momentum going on in terms of customer adoption of our Dell Technologies Cloud platform,’ says Brian Payne, vice president of Dell Technologies Cloud product management.

Study: ‘Fivefold’ Increase In Phishing Attacks On State And Local Governments In Past Three Years
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers reports a significant increase in ransomware at state and local government but notes that while states may still be searching for ways to pay for security, the good news for MSPs is that they appear to be outsourcing more of their IT needs.

Dropbox Recruiting MSPs With Deal On ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’
‘We can take a look at your entire customer base and run a query on all those accounts and see who is using Dropbox Business already, and if they are, we can flip that business your way and you can get paid on the business that they’re already paying for,’ Zach Evans, partner account manager, tells MSPs at XChange 2019.

XCH19

Services-led Partners Driving Twice The Gross Margin Vs. Product-led Peers
‘All these big MSPs are starting to have two-thirds of their revenue being services-led because you double profitability compared to the traditional resale model,’ said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company at XChange 2019.

August 11th

Ruckus: Solution Providers That Can Handle IT/OT Convergence Will Be 'Heroes'
For solution providers, it's not more work—it's more things you can bring together for your customers, says Shawn Lucas, director of global solutions engineering for Ruckus Networks.

Dell Technologies: End Of Windows Server 2008 Support Means Channel Opportunities
Because businesses will have to upgrade their Windows Server 2008 operating system, channel partners can use the opportunity to get in extra face time with customers and help them consider upgrading servers at the same time.

WatchGuard Leader: 3 Keys To Profitable Managed Security Services Growth
WatchGuard Director of Product Management Himanshu Verma tells MSSPs at XChange 2019 that they can do a number of things to mature their business model and make themselves more relevant to customers.

Intel Counting On The Channel To Help Build Data Centers Of The Future
Intel is banking on partners to help it target an advanced data center total addressable market of $300 billion, with Todd Garrigues, Intel’s director of partner sales programs, telling solution providers ‘the growth we expect to come comes from you.’

Eaton Striving To Make ‘Bad Axe’ Power Management Partners
“We really want partners, pun intended, to become a ‘bad axe’ when it comes to power,” says David Windsor, senior product planning manager at Eaton.

4 Ways Partners Can Work Security Into Digital Transformation Plans
MSSPs must provide full control, visibility, and automation across the entire network in a cost-effective manner to help customers deal with the impact of digital transformation, Fortinet’s Stephen Tallent said at XChange August 2019.

UCaaS For MSPs: Why The Reseller Model Wins In the Long Run
‘Partners that own the contract and handle billing are far more valuable in the long-run, and you can also bundle additional services with UCaaS,’ Intermedia COO Jonathan McCormick tells partners at XChange 2019.

Pax8 Platform Redesign A Hit With Partners
When a partner searches for a vendor now, the search also retrieves contextual information around that vendor’s product, including catalogs, quotes, subscriptions and usage data, says Pax8 CTO Michael Dehmlow.

Envision Technology’s No-Term Contracts Has Customers ‘Thrilled’
‘Clients love it,’ says Karen Penticost, vice president of business development and strategic partnerships for the solution provider. ‘Clients feel like they benefit from the no-term contract from a budget standpoint’.

Sophos Exec: Endpoint Detection And Response Tools Make It Easy To Act On Threats
‘Being able to say what's happening in the security space lends you credibility and arms you with the capability to guide customers to the right decision,’ says Sophos Principal Product Manager Karl Ackerman.

August 11th

Axcient Increases Performance, Lowers Cost Of Cloud Data Protection
As part of a simplification of SKUs, Axcient is now offering unlimited storage capacity as a way to make it easier for MSPs to order and pay for storage capacity without worrying about how much they need, Angus Robertson, Axcient’s chief revenue officer, tells CRN.

Aron Ralston: The Three Gifts Adversity Gives Us
Outdoor enthusiast and subject of the movie 127 Hours Aron Ralston shared the lessons he learned at XChange August 2019 from surviving a 2003 canyoneering accident that required him to amputate his own forearm.

5 Tips For Attracting Private Equity Investment In Your MSP
"From a valuation perspective, I’d love to say there’s an algorithm where you can put in some data, then all of a sudden it spits out a valuation. That’s really not the case."

It's (Nearly) Unanimous: MSPs Say This A Good Time To Be In Business
The annual State of the MSP Report from Datto points to growing opportunities for channel partners to engage with clients.

CRN was live in Las Vegas in March for The Channel Company's first XChange event of the year. Full coverage is below:

March 5th

WatchGuard’s Five-Step Plan To Turn MSPs Into Profitable Security Powerhouses
Himanshu Verma, WatchGuard’s director of business development, says pricing, automation, threat correlation, PSA/RMM integrations, and choosing a security platform that scales as the MSP grows are the ingredients to success.

Scott Vogel: HPE Partners Can Make More Money Selling GreenLake Than Traditional Capex Infrastructure Deals
"You are going to make a lot more money [with GreenLake Flex Capacity] than you would on a conventional [IT] purchase," said Vogel. "With the 17 percent rebate, you are going to realize most, if not all of it, in the first year.

MSP Touts IoT Opportunities To MSPs
MSP Urban Digital Solutions' Anthony Pisano said that MSPs, who already own their customers' networks, should quickly embrace IoT, especially the "low-hanging fruit" such as IP-connected video, audio, and security devices.

AT&T: IoT, Mobility Presents A Tactical Way For Partners To Grow Their Business
‘With mobility and IoT, there's a huge correlation with things you’re already doing today, like SD-WAN and failover’ says AT&T's Rob Ayres.

5G Evolution Will Change Channel Business, Says Solution Provider
‘5G will be the fabric for connectivity around the world,’ says Phillip Walker, customer advocate leader for Network Solutions Provider, during his session at Xchange 2019.

XCH19

The Channel Company CEO Bob Skelley: Microsoft, AWS, Google Are Having 'Positive Impact' On Partners
“We've got huge public cloud institutions, billions and billions of dollars in revenue, we've got solution providers seeing increased demand from customers, we see a big opportunity here for solution providers,” said Skelley.

ADT Cybersecurity Looks To Expand Its Channel Push Around Managed Detection And Response
The company is seeking to add new solution providers to its roster as part of its push to bring MDR to smaller customers.

The MSP Business Is Evolving, And That Means Nothing But Opportunities
Datto's Michael DePalma took the XChange 2019 stage not to talk about Datto, but about the key trends that will impact how managed service providers will do business in the future.

The Channel Company CEO Bob Skelley: Public Cloud Is Having A Big Impact On Channel Landscape
The Channel Company CEO Bob Skelley says public cloud providers Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of partners that view them as strategic suppliers.

Webroot: MSPs Need To Take Layered Security Approach
“There’s no silver bullet. If any vendor stands up here and tells you, ‘Hey, we’ve got the perfect solution, we’ll protect you from everything—run as fast as you can in the other direction,’” Sarah Morgan, MSP channel account manager at Webroot, told MSPs at XChange 2019.

How Channel Leaders Can Avoid The Worst Sales Mistakes And Win Every Time
‘Salespeople talk too much, they sell too soon, and they don’t take enough time to understand their customers,’ sales training coach Chris Bennett tells channel partners at The Channel Company’s XChange 2019 in Las Vegas.

Not Just Firewalls And Anti-Virus: Data Security Requires Multi-Pronged Approach
Implementing a data security solution is best done by considering all the angles from the pre-attack phase through the actual attack to the post-attack phase, says Axcient’s Joshua Foltz.

Comcast SDN Platform Will Help Partners Move Into A 'New Frontier' With The Cable Giant
‘We'll sell the network and the platform, but the power of this tool lies in what you can do to manage that network of behalf of the client and charge for your own services. That's where the channel can make money,’ says Comcast channel chief Craig Schlagbaum.

MSPs Must Elevate Customer Conversations In An As-A-Service World
“If you’re able to educate your clients on things in their industry, you’re in,” said ConnectWise Product Marketing Director Brian Troy. “They’re going to look at you as a real partner.”

Silver Peak Channel Chief: Now Is The 'Perfect Time' To Introduce SD-WAN To Cloud-Focused Businesses
‘Enterprises are making the decision now, and opportunities like this don't come around that often,’ says Michael O'Brien, vice president of global channel sales for Silver Peak said of the blossoming SD-WAN market.

Building A Culture Of Trust Is Critical In A Fast-Changing World
Three fundamental elements of trust—competence, authenticity and empathy—are key to leaders looking to do well in a world where technology changes are happening at ever-increasing speeds, according to Joe Bassani, a leadership coach at UTC Partners.

March 4th

US Channel Sales VP Rob Schaeffer: HPE's Super 6 Is Accelerating Opportunities For Partners
"We believe that we are on the precipice of making the autonomous data center a reality- self managing, self-healing, self-optimizing," said Rob Schaeffer.

Ingram Micro Exec On Public Cloud Repatriation: 'Expect This Trend To Grow'
The distributor is promoting a CenturyLink hosted private cloud alternative to the public cloud, which leverages HPE hardware and VMware software.

How 'Moneyball For Business' Can Solve Your Employee Engagement Woes
Brandon Kinsey, president of Kinsey Management LLC, says that analyzing data on what drives your employees is the key to engaging and retaining your employees.

XCH19

Vegas Golden Knights CMO Brian Killingsworth: 5 Successful Marketing Tips
Brian Killingsworth, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, explains the successful marketing tactics that he says built ‘the most successful expansion franchise in the history of professional sports.’

Intermedia Launches UCaaS Analytics Platform Envision At Xchange 2019
Cloud communications specialist Intermedia is making UCaaS selling more appealing for MSPs via its new analytics platform, Intermedia Unite Envision.

Emotet Giving Ransomeware A Run For Its Money As Biggest Security Threat
Emotet is used to gain access to a machine, allowing the adversary to do anything from inserting ransomware to stealing intellectual property, Sophos leaders said at XChange University: IT Security.

WATCH: Solution Providers Talk Cyber Security, 5G At XChange 2019
The Channel Company is hosting its annual XChange conference in Las Vegas. Here’s a look at the top headlines.

HPE's Scott Ramsay On The Secret To GreenLake's 300 Percent Channel Sales Growth Rate
Scott Ramsay, global vice president of HPE GreenLake, says the 300 percent growth in HPE GreenLake channel sales in the most recent quarter is being driven by HPE's unmatched investment in the channel pay-per-use model.

Qnext Provides ‘Unheard Of’ Cloud Storage Edge Service For Partners
Qnext’s FileFlex is an on-premises edge service that provides cloud storage functionality to the entire company-owned infrastructure and puts it under a solution provider’s control.

XCH19

March 3rd

The Service Desk: Standard Processes, Metrics Improve Client Satisfaction And Retention
A well-designed, well-implemented service desk based on ITIL helps MSPs provide better service and support to clients while improving cost control and opening the door to future business opportunities.

Sprint IoT Will Be Set On Fire By 5G, Execs Say
Sprint, one of the largest wireless providers in the U.S., is getting real about 5G and IoT opportunities and why it is placing its bets on the channel to help make these sales.

Solution Providers Urged To Show Their Caring Sides To Win Word-Of-Mouth Referrals
“I think caring got lost along the way in sales,” Breakthrough Champion CEO Matt Ward said. “What does work is showing up in the conversation with people. It matters.”

Pax8 MSP Super Session: Solution Stack Is Key To Stopping Security Attacks
"I think in general the industry needs to embrace the suite or the bundle mentality because security is a broad conversation," said Dan Johnson, president of machineLOGIC, an MSP based in Denver, Colo.

Next-Gen MSPs Must Master Problem-Solving
"I really like to solve problems that customers didn't even know they had," Jeanette Lee, senior director of product solutions architecture for Ruckus Networks, told partners at The Channel Company's XChange 2019 in Las Vegas.

APC Launching New Partner Certification To Drive Software Services
APC by Schneider Electric unveiled a new Software Digital Services certification around its EcoStruxure IT SaaS platform at XChange 2019.

Author Kevin Brown: Be A Hero By Helping Others ‘With No Strings Attached’
The author of “The Hero Effect” said during his XChange 2019 keynote that it’s not enough just to satisfy customer needs--businesses should be striving to create an “exceptional experience” that goes beyond expectations

Solution Provider CISO: Security Dialogue With C-Suite Must Focus On Risk, Loss
If you want to have strategic conversations with customers about security, you need to speak the same language as chief risk officers, said Atrion CISO Richard Moore.

View From A Mid-Market Customer: Help Us Save Money, Gain Expertise
The average salary for a cybersecurity expert today is $137,000, which presents the channel with an opportunity to save businesses money.

MSSP Expert: Visibility Is The Key To Security Success
Customers should know who's connecting to their network, what applications those people are using, and what types of information is flowing out to the internet, said MSSP guru Michael Knight at XChange University: IT Security