The packed expo hall is perhaps the greatest and most popular tradition at Channel Partners Evolution. Almost as popular is our image gallery from the show floor that follows.
Below you’ll find the biggest booths, the best booth (as determined by Channel Partners editors and show attendees), the tallest booth — you get the picture. We’ll also show you highlights from the Channel Partners Studio and Channel Futures Theater, as well as some stuff you might’ve missed if you didn’t make it to every nook and cranny of the expo hall.
Whether hanging out with AT&T, Vonage, Pax8, Telarus, Datto, Nextiva or another vendor highlighted in this gallery, we bet you’ll see someone you know.
VonageVonage is giving away cars to some of its top sellers this year. Wouldn't mind jumping behind the wheel of this Porsche that was on the show floor.
AT&TAT&T, the Channel Partners Evolution title sponsor, set up shop, as usual, just inside the front entrance. The carrier's booth and banner were large and tall enough that we had to turn our camera vertically to get more of it in the shot.
TelarusTelarus, the master agent and tech distributor, was also a member of the big-booth club. The company hosted its first-ever blowout party at a Channel Partners show, filling up the Masonic Temple with attendees on Thursday night.
Pax8We couldn't sneak up on the
Pax8 crew for a candid shot. They were all smiles as the cloud distributor welcomed a steady stream of partners to their booth.
Office DepotOffice Depot kept up its strong showing with a booth at Channel Partners Evolution. The retail giant maintained its momentum from the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in the spring, introducing more partners to its small-business services.
NextivaNextiva took home best-in-show honors for best booth. It featured a "knockout the competition" theme with this punching bag and a small ring.
Channel Partners StudioA tradition at Channel Partners shows is the Channel Partners Studio, where we interview channel newsmakers under the bright lights and record them for posterity.
Here, Tina Gravel, vice president of global channels and strategic alliances with
Cyxtera, which was the official conference sponsor at Channel Partners Evolution, chats with our Craig Galbraith and Kevin Morris during a live version of the "
Coffee With Craig and Kevin" podcast.
Channel Futures Theater
On the back side of the Channel Partners Studio was the brand-new Channel Futures Theater, which was home to special vendor presentations and a series of "Thunderdomes." Three separate sessions focused on UCaaS, SD-WAN and RMM tools. All pitted competing vendors going head-to-head, describing their solutions and taking audience questions. Pictured above is the RMM Thunderdome featuring CloudTech1, Baroan Technologies and Tolar Systems. It was sponsored by Datto, Kaseya and ConnectWise.
WTGNo surprise to see master-agent
WTG staking its claim to a sizable portion of the expo hall. The company was busy at Channel Partners Evolution, participating in the traditional masters and distributors keynote panel, and announcing new partnerships with Sprint and Vivial.
Vade Secure and Unitrends MSPVade Secure, the email security provider, and
Unitrends MSP, the backup and business-continuity provider, were part of the MSP Pavilion, an area on the expo hall floor designed as a one-stop shop for, as the name would imply, MSP partners.
CoreDialCoreDial's booth was hard to miss. In conjunction with the show, the private-label cloud communications provider
announced a range of new deployment options for its flagship CoreNexa Contact Center customer-engagement platform.
DattoIn addition to sporting a colorful booth, backup and DR provider
Datto colocated its Cyber Security Summit with Channel Partners Evolution. It attracted partners who were interested in learning more about the dynamics of the constantly shifting digital-security landscape.
4VoiceWe caught up with the team at 4Voice as they were setting up their cornhole game. The winner of a daily tournament took home a 40-quart Orca cooler with their favorite NFL team logo on it.
Just before Evolution, we took a deep dive into business VoIP with 4Voice, on
Coffee With Craig and Kevin, the Channel Partners podcast.
SUSESUSE, the open-source solutions provider, was a first-time exhibitor. The company innovates, adapts and delivers secure Linux, cloud infrastructure and storage software.
NTS Direct
Gotta finish this gallery with another tall one. Go big or go home, said NTS Direct, the value-added distributor of voice and data technology solutions, targeting SMBs and enterprises.
Boston-based NTS showcased its sates and "profitability opportunities" for manufacturers and resellers at the show, while sponsoring Thursday's expo hall pub crawl in the process.