VIRGO, an information distribution company focused on the most innovative and complex business-to-business markets that fuel the U.S. and world economies, is focusing on investing in the future of the channel through its Channel Partners brand, including the Spring 2013 Channel Partners Conference & Expo; 2013 Cloud Partners, a Channel Partners event; the launch of Business Value Toolbox and Channel Partners Cloud Insights; and through strategic partnerships with Baptie & Company/Cloud Services Community, The 2112 Group, the Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance (CTTA), and CompTIA.  

As we continue to see more and more demand from our burgeoning audience of technology, telecom and cloud partners, it has been a strategic imperative to develop and invest in the new Channel Partners-branded products and events we have launched this year,” said John Siefert, CEO of VIRGO.

Channel Partners just wrapped up its spring trade show, Channel Partners Conference & Expo, with a record of nearly 3,700 participants  including the greatest blend of agents and IT partners so far  and a host of networking and education sessions under its belt. On top of that, the Sands Conference & Expo at The Venetian was bursting at the seams with a record number of new exhibitors.

On the heels of a very successful Channel Partners spring event, with double-digit growth in attendance and a staggering number of net new participants, we are thrilled to unveil our fall strategy of launching Cloud Partners, a pure-play, cloud-centric tradeshow dedicated to the growing number of ‘born in the cloud’ partners, as well as traditional partners shifting to offer cloud solutions,” said Siefert.

Cloud Partners attendees will come to understand the business modeling, solutions and approaches they can and should be taking to grow their businesses. This is not a show for people interested in the cloud; it is a show tailored to those partners that are making a commitment to the cloud and the vendors/providers enabling them to deliver the solutions and uptime necessary to compete and thrive in this competitive market.

Channel Partners also has launched a brand extension, Business Value Toolbox, that includes free videos, slides, infographics, reports and other tools produced by the Channel Partners editorial team and special contributor Art Wittmann to be downloaded and used by channel partners agents, VARs, dealers and consultants in sales presentations. Wittmann most recently served as the director of InformationWeek Reports, where he oversaw both the business and content of InformationWeek’s research and reports business. He has more than 20 years of experience in high-tech publishing, during which time he has been editor-in-chief of Network Magazine, IT Architect and Network Computing. From 1996 to 1999, Wittmann was editor of Network Computing.

Another new investment is in Channel Partners Cloud Insights, a destination site for channel partners to find information they need to develop a cloud practice and to create business value for their customers from cloud solutions. Supported by the thought leadership of the Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance (CTTA), a joint initiative of Channel Partners & The 2112 Group, Cloud Insights includes reports, digital issues, slide shows, blogs and more.

Channel Partners also is introducing new ways for peers to continue to connect beyond live events through a strategic partnership with Baptie & Company‘s Cloud Services Community, an always-on, Web-based community that enables telecom agents and VARs to discuss and define the catalyst that is bringing them together: the cloud.

Traditional IT solution providers and telecom-services agents continue to forge successful business partnerships that reflect a number of realities today: ongoing convergence between the two industries, the impact of emerging technologies and trends such as cloud computing, and the need to fill gaps in skill sets with complementary relationships. Channel Partners and CompTIA teamed up for the third time to conduct an in-depth survey exploring the nature and health of these partnerships. The collaboration with CompTIA continues to deliver this groundbreaking research as well as workshops at their respective events, including CompTIA’s new ChannelCon event.

As others in the space continue to pull back on their investment in content professionals, product development and audience development, it is fantastic to have Channel Partners playing a leadership role for the broader technology and telecom industry by investing in people, products and our redefined position,” said Siefert.

About Channel Partners
Channel Partners magazine is the leading publication for telecom and IT distribution channels. For more than 25 years, Channel Partners has been the undisputed leader in providing news, analysis and education to the indirect sales channels serving the business technology and communications industry. In addition, Channel Partners online (www.channelpartnersonline.com) delivers a constant content stream of unique and breaking industry news, feature articles and premium downloadable content. As official media of the Channel Partners Conference & Expo (www.channelpartnersconference.com), Channel Partners is the market leader that channel professionals turn to first.

About VIRGO
VIRGO is an information distribution company focused on the most innovative and complex business-to-business markets that fuel U.S. and world economies. Our mission is to help business professionals break through the hype, ambiguity and information deluge they experience, by offering trustworthy guidance on the decisions they need to make be that early in their decision making process, whilst making a purchase decision, or following the decision when a product, service or ingredient is in use.  
  
We do this in each of our networks by focusing on five key tenets that make their information journey fruitful: Content, Audience, Brands, User Experience and Performance Marketing.  
  
With 19 brands including trade magazines and/or websites, trade shows and regional conferences, training and accreditation programs, and an expanding online platform, VIRGO leverages its events, publications, digital and other media to provide integrated solutions for professionals in industries including health care, natural products, telecommunications and self-storage.