A Recap From San Diego
I took a few days after ChannelCon to travel back and let the week settle before writing this, and I’m glad I did.
Congrats to Dan Wensley and the GTIA team on a fantastic week. Great energy throughout, plenty of familiar faces, and a lot of new channel professionals shaping where this industry is headed.
A highlight for me was attending CMIT Solutions’ 30th Anniversary reception, celebrating alongside Stuart Hentschel, Tara Osborn, Roger Lewis, Stella Albarez, and so many dedicated franchisees, including Leslie Chiorazzi, Doug Bates, Guy Hopkins, John Boyette and Elizabeth Boyette, Arvind H., and Joe Foster. Great meeting them and so many others in person. A big shoutout to CMIT on being recognized on the main stage for the anniversary and for leading the ChannelCon attendance drive this year.
ChannelCon is always part reunion for me. I got to reconnect with longtime friends and industry veterans, including John Rice, one of the earliest people, if not the first, to really understand the value of peer groups for MSP growth. And Chris Phillips, who gave me a shot at my first keynote at an Ingram Micro VTN meeting talking about this thing called recurring revenue in the early formative days of managed services.
I spent a lot of time in AI-focused sessions and in conversations with both MSPs and vendors across the tech stack looking to grow their partner base. A reminder this isn’t just an AI moment, it’s a channel-wide push for the next stage of growth.
On AI, the takeaway was consistent: everyone agrees it matters. MSPs are figuring out how to package, price, and deliver measurable outcomes. AI vendors are figuring out how to help partners adopt it and build sustainable practices. The conversation has moved past “what is AI” into “how do we turn it into real results,” which was encouraging.
It’s why I built the AI Revenue Accelerator Program. I’m looking forward to delivering a quick hit version at MSP Summit. Come check it out, otherwise stay tuned for an online workshop in Q4. And I’m opening conversations with AI and automation vendors interested in joining a solution track. If that’s you, let’s talk.
The keynotes, sessions and networking were top shelf. Tracy Pound’s conversation with Ron Howard on leadership and long-term success was fantastic. The closing 80s party with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performers, capped by Billy Idol, was a perfect send-off. And congratulations to Brook Lee on winning GTIA’s MOTY!
If we connected, thanks for the conversation. If we missed each other, let’s connect.
