The Personal Side of the Channel

I've just got home from ARN and Reseller News's conference, EDGE 2017. 300 Channel leaders from Partner, Vendor, Distributor and the IDG folks got together on Hamilton Island to discuss and learn about the future partner.

Something struck me during that conference; almost everyone I talked to chatted about the impact our industry has on people. This is a subtle yet really important change. It was noticeable.

From my very first 1:1 with Steven from ONGC, I was struck by how everyone discussed that what he or she were trying to do was make people's lives better; and this included their staff, suppliers and customers.

This is a change. Previously there's been a focus on the next new technology change, the risk of the cloud to traditional business or numbers and quarters. This year it was more personal and in my opinion more real.

Technology and our industry have an amazing chance to positively impact everyone. From simply streamlining manual processes to eliminative vehicle accidents to helping us all make decisions that positively benefit mankind.

Lots are said about saving the planet, but I'm convinced whatever we do the planet will be just fine. Venus doesn't seem to mind its global warming. It's actually more important to save the humans.

And it looks like our industry is perfectly placed to do just that; whether through Artificial Intelligence or machine learning, autonomous vehicles, or anyone of a million innovations, as long as all the leaders really care about making people's lives better we're all going to be ok.

I've always been excited to be in the technology industry, and I've always made great contacts at these events. This time I made great new friends, and I know together we'll continue to make this a better place for all of us to live in!