Why "Anti-Distributor"?

Why ‘Anti-Distributor’ – it was a conversation starter at CRN Pipeline 2024 with many attendees, including William Maher and Steven McDonald from CRN Australia (who had to take pause to see if they needed to have a chat with these brazen anti-distributor-wearing rebels, until they realised it was FIFTEEN !).

We’re not ‘anti-distribution’ of course (we are a distributor ourselves), the 'Anti-Distributor' message was designed to grab attention (mission accomplished) and highlight how we're different from the traditional model. Stay tuned for more on that!

This was our second year at #crnpipeline – and I’m coming to realise it is always an absolute blast. Sure, the weather didn’t really want to play ball (as if flying back to move house on the Thursday was not enough for one of the CRN Australia team – he had to also get involved with changing the schedule and moving events), but spirits were certainly not dampened.

Day 1 kicked off with a whirlwind of activities. Fly up, get to the hotel, check in, set up our sponsor stand, get a hug from Dylan Pronger (always a priority!), and rush in for the opening session. The themes of #AI and #Security were immediately present. In fact it is almost impossible to have a discussion in our industry in the current environment without one (or often both).

My highlight of the first day – the ‘Next-Gen Alliances: The Future of Your Partnerships with Distributors’ panel discussion. The themes of sustainability, value-add (more than just direct shipping or pre-staging) and partner empowerment resonated.

We had a few introductory conversations of course, caught up with some familiar faces, got to the welcome dinner (one of those aforementioned changes-of-venue due to the weather) and even made it out for a sneaky nightcap in town!

Day 2 was like 'moving day' in a golf tournament (although in this instance the golf was moved to a driving range) - busy, packed, and buzzing with energy. Wearing our black XVCTEM shirts, we introduced the channel to our new CTEM managed service offering. Despite the lingering effects of Day 1's nightcap we continued to engage with delegates as they stopped by to chat, grab a shirt, and share their stories.

Wayne O'Young ( XM Cyber ) joined us for the day to help demystify #CTEM (Continuous Threat Exposure Management), a term Gartner made official in 2022.

The channel is clearly in transition. Hardware needs persist, but building a sustainable business around it is tougher than ever. MSPs face a dilemma: narrow their focus, risk spreading too thin, or find partners (but who can they trust not to compete with them?).

I've held back the salesperson in me (maybe?) until now, but if any of these challenges resonate with you as an MSP, check us out - fifteenxv.com.au . We’re your services and capabilities extender!

The pivot to a trivia afternoon from the lawn bowls (in a surprise to no-one there was zero chance 80-100 random strangers were going to be allowed on a bowling green after 40mm of rain) had me excited. Unfortunately, I was unable to get in there as more and more partners kept coming up for conversations. This was the unofficial time to have more in-depth tech discussions (rather than the 5-10min ‘is it worth having a chat on another day’ standard ‘trade show’ conversations) – a number of which have already progressed into next steps etc within a week.

Next stop – Pearl Bar upstairs. We had our CEO Mike Harte fly in to run a round table session with partners. It was a great opportunity for Q&A, introductions, re-introductions, and a few drinks (or were they pre-drinks?). If you haven’t had the chance to meet Mike you are missing out. He’s built an MSP and a Disti from the ground up, loves tech and innovation, and to deep dive into the technical and solution details. It helps he is also down-to-earth and one of the true ‘nice guys’ of the industry.

CTEM continued to be the focus and theme of the day for us – initially driven by our desire to communicate it, but by this stage driven by partner questions and interest in learning a little more about exactly how it could empower their business, build on their relationships and trust with customers and possibly unlock new opportunities or accounts.

The night session (another venue change – as a rooftop bar was not really going to be conducive to a party atmosphere) was a great event. The dress up theme was ‘winter Olympics’ (I can’t claim to have put any effort in) – and there were a number of people who really got into the spirit (not to be confused with those of us who just got into the ‘spirits’ as offering Fireball shots to the IT channel is rarely met with a ‘no thank you’). Great food, some great networking (less business talk) – and for me a first-and-last go at VR skiing were highlights.

Day 3 is always stacked. The morning facilitates the final sessions and plenaries – lunch is split (some vendor specific sessions are held, and also more networking around the buffet!) – then there was a quick break before a much anticipated talk from Wayne Bennett (there are a number of posts/recaps around this on LI – it was excellent, and the coverage/commentary has been spot on).

Of course we were back in pink for the day – and joined by around 30-35 of our peers. They must have heard there was some sort of prize draw if you were wearing the shirt at 2:45 ??

And that there was – congrats again to Craig Deutsher from Spirit Technology Solutions for being there, in pink, when his name was drawn (ok, spun on a wheel – but all the same).

No final day recap would be complete without mentioning the pack down (of which I did very little…. No comments of ‘as usual’ please!), and the ‘merch swap’ phase between sponsors. It’s where we all walk around with the stuff we don’t want to take back to our respective offices – and swap it out for the stuff we are taking back of theirs (mostly for my kids… I swear… although the Huntress stickers with the redacted F bomb didn’t quite make it home!). A couple of lunchboxes, drink bottles – and of course at least 4 pairs of socks were much appreciated!

And then we had the CRN Australia #ImpactAwards evening. It’s a delight every year, and whilst it is naturally a celebration of winners – it is also a celebration and reminder of many of the great things that the industry and individuals can do. It is so appropriately named – as you really do get to see and feel the impact made by many of the amazing projects from the prior year.

The afterparty back at Pearl Bar was a hit as well – even if when the clock hit about midnight a lot of us started flagging after a few-too-many late nights in a row!

So that’s it – apart from the unofficial day 4 of travel home. Saying goodbye, only to see those same people at the airport 45 minutes later is expected. And after the obligatory short flight delay another Pipeline was done!

Shout out to Sarah Logan Fiona Hodges Michele Thompson and Jaden Clow – the dream team that brought it all together for FIFTEEN !

I can’t wait for 2025 – the best part being there will be even more familiar faces on the opening day. If we didn’t have the chance to chat (even if we did!) or if you weren’t able to make it – I look forward to connecting with you at the next event or sooner. And reach out any time you want to chat!

If you have made it this far, thanks for reading - you absolutely deserve the special signoff:

Regenerate response ??