KNect365, an Informa business, Launches Channel Futures, A Purpose-Built Media Site for New Channel Organizations Driving the Digital Services Revolution

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KNect365, an Informa business, today launches a new brand, Channel Futures (ChannelFutures.com), a media site and events organization purpose-built for helping the architects of the digital revolution better manage their operations and deliver higher-value business solutions to end customers.

Channel Futures is the only media brand to unite the diverse ecosystem of companies that comprise the "new channel," which includes managed service providers (MSPs), systems integrators, born-in-the-cloud services companies, specialized services providers, telecom agents, VARs and other organizations that operate outside of the traditional information and telecommunications technology (ICT) channel. Each day, Channel Futures will showcase the best of familiar channel sites including The VAR Guy, MSPmentor, Talkin' Cloud and more, and present its content in a new and more navigable way than before.

"Digital innovations including IoT, AI, mobility, big data, security and others are changing the traditional ICT channel and giving rise to new businesses that are literally transforming how technology is sold, provisioned, managed and leveraged," said T.C. Doyle, Editorial Director, Channel Futures. "The result is a new channel that is stronger, more capable and better focused on serving both the new needs of traditional tech buyers and all important line of business customers. The new channel is ideally positioned to help every company no matter its size or market focus leverage digital innovation, and our new brand has been purpose-built to provide these companies with the inspiration, insights and tools they need to thrive."

In particular, Channel Futures will offer business strategy, research, case studies and community engagement all designed to help business practitioners build world-class organizations ideally positioned to help SMB customers and midmarket organizations make the most of digital transformation. Whether readers visit Channel Futures from their desktop, notebook PC, tablet or smart phone, they will easily be able to find the latest news, research, insights, interviews and how-to articles they seek most. In addition, they will also be able to quickly navigate to their favorite content from The VAR Guy, MSPmentor, Talkin' Cloud, the WHIR and Web Hosting Talk, including the MSP 501 ranking of the largest and most successful MSPs worldwide, and the TC 100 list of leading cloud services providers.

Channel Futures and Channel Partners Stand Together
With the launch of the Channel Futures media site, KNect365 will now have two, world-class brands that provide news, thought leadership, community engagement and more to 165,000 companies in the North American market and beyond. The two brands are Channel Futures and Channel Partners, which together serve tech distributors, telecom agents, MSPs, VARs, IT consultancies, hosting companies and more.

"The launch of Channel Futures provides us a great opportunity to better serve our readers' evolving needs and creates a perfect complement to Channel Partners," said Art Wittmann, senior vice president for Content, Technology, Media and Telecom USA. Wittmann, who oversees the editorial direction of both brands, anticipates the pairing of Channel Futures and Channel Partners will lead to new opportunities in editorial, research, events, audience engagement and more.

In conjunction with the launch of Channel Futures, KNect365 will also rebrand the Channel Think Tank as the Channel Futures Think Tank, which is a vendor-neutral, technology-agnostic group of industry leaders who collaborate to pursue thought leadership, research and advocacy on behalf of the ICT channel. Members of the Channel Futures Think Tank represent some of the best and brightest technology organizations in business today, including Google, Comcast, Lenovo Software, SAP and more. The Channel Futures Think Tank's deliberations on digital transformation and partner evolution helped shape the direction and objectives of the new Channel Futures brand.

"I'm excited to be a part of the Channel Futures Think Tank, which I believe has a unique opportunity to shape the channel of tomorrow. It will play a very significant role in the digital transformation of literally millions of companies around the world," said Craig Schlagbaum, vice president of indirect sales, Comcast Business. Schlagbaum is one of the founding members of the Channel Futures Think Tank, and has played an influential role in helping to define its mission, objectives and deliverables. He and other members of the Channel Futures Think Tank will be showcased prominently on the Channel Futures website in blogs, podcasts, feature articles and more.

For information on Channel Futures sponsorship opportunities, contact Kelly Danziger at [email protected].

About Informa
The Channel Futures and Channel Partners brands are part of Informa which operates at the heart of the Knowledge and Information Economy. It is a leading business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events business. With more than 7,500 employees globally, it has a presence in all major geographies, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

MEDIA CONTACT:
T.C. Doyle
Channel Content Director
Channel Futures
[email protected]

SOURCE Channel Futures