The 2022 ChannelPro SBM Forum tour, taking place in-person in six cities throughout the U.S., hosted MSPs and integrators in Chicago on May 4-5. The two-day event series from The ChannelPro Network features workshops and educational sessions designed to provide actionable, business-building advice for integrators and managed IT service providers. Each event also offers time for networking with peers and a vendor expo hall.
The educational sessions, all of which feature industry-leading experts and channel professionals, address the top issues MSPs care about—recruiting and hiring, security, growth strategies, sales and marketing, and making money with Microsoft Azure. The sessions are delivered in interactive, informative, and entertaining formats attendees won’t find at any other industry event.
“We couldn’t have been more excited at ChannelPro to bring our 2022 tour to Chicago,” says Jeff O’Heir, ChannelPro’s event content director and community manager. “Every session delivered timely, thought-leadership content that addressed strategies and solutions channel pros need now, and in the future—with a lot of fun thrown in to make the day interactive and engaging.”
On the pre-day Wednesday , Gold sponsor Trend Micro led a session on increasing value to customers by adding security solutions tailored specifically for MSPs. Titanium sponsor Dell Expert Network conducted a sales and marketing workshop that included a Dell Solutions showcase of the latest technologyand games, plus a cash giveaway.
May the 4th [be with you] did not go unrecognized, as attendees enjoyed a Star Wars themed welcome reception in the evening.
The rest of the educational sessions included:
The Security Slam—In an edge-of-your-seat presentation, cybersecurity service providers James Carroll, Lawrence Cruciana, and Zach Hill told true-life stories of incredible hacks, unforgiveable customer errors, and high-stakes incident responses—experiences attendees can apply to help protect their clients more effectively. Judge and cybersecurity expert Jayson Ferron presided over the storytellers.
Peer to Peer: Winning with Microsoft Azure—MSPs Stephen Monk, CEO of Noverus Innovations, and Vince Tinnirello, CEO of Anchor Network Solutions, led an audience discussion on providing Microsoft Azure services and solutions, including what to offer and where to begin to profit from Microsoft’s public cloud platform.
The Employee Recruitment Dating Game—In a Sixties-style game show that had audience members laughing and cheering, MSP business owners Seana Fippin, Charles Henson, and Joanna Mirov used their best recruiting skills to woo a potential job candidate during an “interview.” Their entertaining and informative session showed audience members ways to overcome real-world employee interview challenges.
Managed Services Strategy Survivor—The fun continued as three of the industry’s top managed services consultants, Rayanne Buchianico, Allen Edwards, and Shawn Walsh, fielded tough questions about the M&A strategy and more that today’s MSPs need to survive in a changing market. A good time was had by all, even the ones who got voted off the island! A great way to wrap up a great day.
Attendees also voted to award vendor sponsors in the following categories:
- Best Cloud Solution – CaaB
- Best Hardware Solution – Fortinet
- Best New Solution – Gradient MSP
- Most Innovative Solution – ThreatLocker
- Best Partner Community – Datto
- Best Software Solution – Huntress
- Best Revenue Booster – ConnectMeVoice
- Best Add-on Product – Egnyte
- Best On-Stage Presentation – Datto
- Best Expo Hall Presentation (Gold and above) – Dell
- Best Expo Hall Presentation (Silver) – Dark Cubed
- Best Distributor – Ingram Micro
- Best Product/Tech Support – Huntress
- Lightning Round Winner (Silver) – Zyxel
- Best Vendor Participation – Trend Micro
- Best in Show – Datto
“The recent ChannelPro State of the Channel Survey found that a hefty 73% of respondents predict higher IT spending by their customers this year, so channel pros will want to know the latest trends, technologies, and solutions available that can address their pain points,” says Rich Freeman, executive editor of The ChannelPro Network. “That’s precisely the kind of information everyone who attends our ChannelPro SMB Forum comes away with.”
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And thanks to our Silver sponsors 1WorldSync ChannelOnline, Arcserve, The ASCII Group, Auvik, BLOKWORX, CharTec, Coro, Dark Cubed, Epson, IP Pathways, MSP360, Nextiva, QNAP, Quickpass, TD SYNNEX, US Signal, and Zyxel.
Next up on the ChannelPro SMB Forum tour is June 6-7 in Dallas. To register, go here.
For more information on all ChannelPro events, go to ChannelProEvents.com.
