Several hundred Tech Data partners showed up to connect, share and learn at the hardware and software distributor’s Channel Link Partner Conference on September 17 to 19 at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, CA. But they weren’t there to share for sharing’s sake. This community has some valid reasons for coming together. Here are just a few of them:
Changes are afoot everywhere. Tech Data and its key vendors and partners are actively working to redefine themselves in this new cloud and mobile era. The evidence was everywhere, in anecdote and data, that no one in this channel has the luxury of staying the same anymore. Perhaps they never did, but this week’s event crystallized the old saying that change is the only constant. No one is immune.
The clients served by this population are more tech savvy than ever before. Millennials are slowly but surely reshaping our clients’ businesses and the expectations they have for technology are just as surely becoming their business’ expectations, too. How will Tech Data partners tackle the challenges of changing, transforming and growing their own businesses to remain relevant to a new generation of technology-driven businesses? CompTIA’s community is working on business transformation and new practice development content – a white paper and education session – this fall to help their Tech Data partners and our members address those critical challenges and grow into the future of their businesses.
Monetizing big ideas is hard. Maybe you aren’t dealing directly with cloud or mobility today, but, as Barath Natarajan from TD Cloud (and CompTIA’s cloud community) and Heather Murray from TD Mobility (vice chair of CompTIA’s Mobility Community) both clearly illustrated at Channel Link, there is probably no way around these trends. They will alter the landscape of the IT channel. But there is a fair amount of confusion about what these opportunities mean financially. When a reseller has access to multiple types of solutions to meet a client’s need (onsite infrastructure versus cloud subscription, for example), how do they figure out which is actually in their own best interest financially? CompTIA’s Mobility community is asking these tough questions every day and working on developing answers that will help us all, with best practices and case studies for exactly how businesses like yours are can turn a profit from the mobility movement.
The Woz is a master of the art of change. Yes, THE Woz, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, spoke at Channel Link. In a session that felt like a fireside chat, he revealed some interesting tidbits in the well-documented history of Apple and his relationship with the late Steve Jobs. The underlying theme, simply stated, was the power of change. He stressed how important adaptability is. From the creativity he needed to find a way buy parts to fulfill Apple’s first order without any cash to the flexibility and patience he needed to deal with his cranky partner, Woz clearly embraced and continues to embrace the natural path of change and evolution. He and his counterparts had a vision and weren’t afraid to change themselves or their business to realize it. And as a result, they changed the world.
As I headed home from Channel Link and reflected on all that I saw and heard there, I was left wondering who in that partner community is the next Woz; the next Steve Jobs? Was one of the companies represented there the next Apple in the making? Was there one or more among that group that isn’t afraid to step away from the crowd, break new ground and challenge the status quo? I hope so.
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