Channel Live is a flagship event for many of us in the channel community. The two-day event brings resellers, MSPs, and VARs together with vendors, distributors, service providers and expert speakers from across the industry.
Put simply, it is the place where people get together to do business, discover the latest technologies and products, unlock the potential of technological convergence, engage with the industry and gain insight and knowledge from expert speakers and panellists.
Between 30 and 31 March, the event returns to an in-person gathering at Birmingham’s NEC and it is clear the Channel is excited about coming together to map out the future. As the event’s media partner, Comms Business caught up with exhibitors and speakers about what to expect at Channel Live 2022.
Channel Live is presented by MA Exhibitions, part of the Mark Allen Group. Tim Willoughby, managing director, MA Exhibitions, discussed the preparations for the show. He said, “We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Channel Live, and this year we’re returning with carefully curated content taking place in three theatres and covering four key themes – business, people, skills and technology. The primary concerns, opportunities, and engaging topics facing the industry will be addressed and debated across the two days of the show by some of the most forward-thinking individuals within the sector.
“The Channel Live programme encourages a free and frank exchange of views and ideas, sharing of best practices and delivering practical solutions to real-life challenges. A small selection of our speakers includes Tim Creswick, CEO and founder of Vorboss, our headline sponsor, who will cover how Vorboss is delivering an enterprise focused fibre network – end-to-end.
“Steve Blackshaw, head of all IP within BT Wholesale will discuss the transition and transformation of the channel to all-IP and Lee Broxson, the chief sales officer for Jola shares his view of the opportunities with mobile data. Finally, Kat Randall-Bowmaker, head of commercial at Virgin Media Business will explain how you can unlock growth through flexibility.
“Panel discussions will debate a variety of topics important to employers and employees including ‘How to attract more women in the next generation telecoms workforce’ chaired by Crissi Williams, CEO of the ITP and ‘The pebble in your shoe – making life easier for employees’, chaired by Dr Lucy Green, managing director at Larato.”
Michelle Andrew, head of partnerships, Vorboss, said, ““As headline sponsors at this year’s Channel Live we are looking to put on a show for visitors and fellow exhibitors. After almost two years of restrictions, we are ready to connect with industry friends and colleagues once again.
“You might have noticed that we’ve been quiet over the last few years, but our teams have been busy behind the scenes and we’re almost ready to tell the industry what we’ve been working on. Visit the stand for a sneak-peak of what is to come later in 2022! At Vorboss we like to do things a bit differently so expect games, future-gazing conversation topics, fantastic coffee, a Vorboss happy hour and even a little bit of art!”
Elsewhere, Digital Wholesale Solutions will be joined by Giacom and Union Street on stand 430, where the teams are looking forward to meeting and networking with representatives across the Channel community. Garry Growns, the company’s sales director, said, “The team at Digital Wholesale Solutions is excited to be heading back to the NEC for Channel Live 2022. Over the years Channel Live has been a valuable event for us to showcase our brand and products. Across the two days, we have a fantastic platform to network with other representatives from across the Channel, resulting in excellent discussions an many opportunities created.
“For 2022 DWS will be joined by Giacom and Union Street Technologies Ltd to present how our combined product portfolio across Telecoms, IT, Cloud, Hardware, and Billing provides an unrivalled platform for partners to win big in SMB Marketplace.
“Alongside exhibiting and networking, we will also have team members contributing to the Channel Live conference programme, starting with the opening session at 10.30 am on Wednesday 30th March. Our product experts will also be offering insight into the Future of Voip and the FTTP opportunity panel discussions.”
Gavin Jones, director of wholesale channel, BT Wholesale, shared an insight into his company’s preparations. He said, “We’re really excited to support Channel Live and sponsor its VIP Lounge – we can’t wait to catch up with you in person. The industry is facing a momentous event with the 2025 switch-off and transition to all-IP. There is so much opportunity for us all. What’s key to making the most of it is ensuring you’re prepared and far enough along in your own digital journey to provide that value-adding guidance to your customers.
“And that’s where we hope we can help and support you more. We introduced Partner Plus, our partner programme to give you greater marketing support and access to unique offers and campaigns – all of which are designed to help you grow your market share and increase sales volumes.
“We’re constantly reviewing our portfolio and building out our roadmap so that we can make it easier for you to do business with us. Channel Live will give us a great opportunity to explore new ideas with you and learn more about how your business is growing – so we can successfully collaborate together. Throughout Channel Live, we’ll share our thoughts across panel discussions and keynotes and, of course, over refreshments in our VIP lounge. Do come and have a chat with us, the team and I look forward to seeing you there.”
Time to register!
Channel Live 2022 is free to attend, with visitors able to register via the Channel Live website. Doors open at 10:00 on both days (30th and 31st March) in Hall 10 of the NEC, Birmingham. The full list of exhibitors and speakers is available on the Channel Live website.
MA Exhibitions and the Channel Live team cannot wait to welcome you to the show. Willoughby added, “There is so much valuable information available to all at this year’s event and I invite everyone to take a look at the full schedule of sessions on the Channel Live website. I look forward to seeing you at the NEC this March.”
This is an extract from a feature that appeared in our March 2022 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.