COMDEX Virtual 2011 Opens with Faletra Keynote on IT Channel Future
The COMDEX Virtual 2011 online trade show kicked-off with a powerful, forward-looking keynote speech from Robert Faletra, CEO of Everything Channel and long-time head of the multi-award-winning CRN family of publications.
Shrinking But Stable Size of the North American IT Channel
Faletra began by taking inventory of the size of the North American IT reseller channel, both the present as well as the recent past. While a few market research analysts and perhaps a very small handful of channel chiefs might be able to engage in a credible, fact-based discussion about this topic, Everything Channel’s subscriber-centric business model, coupled with Faletra’s two decades of leadership and rock-star presence in this IT channel, brings immediate credibility to the first session of COMDEX Virtual 2011.
“Two or three years ago, we had on the order of about 240,000 to 250,000 solution provider organizations in North America.,” Faletra explained. “We’ve seen that decline over the past few years to now what we believe is about 189,000 organizations. We see that stabilizing and actually see an increase in the number of partners that are out there selling solutions in the next few years.”
Big Change in Who the Real Partners are for IT Solution Providers
In the 1980s and 1990s, much of what defined the identity or vision of IT solution providers centered on their vendor partnerships. But that clearly has no longer been the case in the months leading up to COMDEX Virtual 2011.
Both the 2001 and 2008-to-present economic downturns have most definitely impacted the IT reseller channel.
During this time, Faletra discussed how Everything Channel has seen a real change in how solution providers choose to engage with their more strategic partners. Prior to this time period, the most important partner relationship historically was with the predominant supplier that each solution provider worked with.
“The future channel is all about solution providers working with customers to solve problems that they face in a different way than they have in the past,” Faletra added. “The big dramatic change is that the most important partnerships are now customer-focused rather than vendor-focused.”
If you weren’t able to attend COMDEX Virtual 2011 live and missed Faletra’s keynote, the online event has been archived on the event’s website.
Did you attend COMDEX Virtual 2011? What do you think about Robert Faletra’s assessment of where the IT reseller channel stands today and how partnerships have changed? Please share your thoughts in the Comments area below.
