https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

From the Industry


Getty Images

Sponsor Content

Roaring 20s

The “Roaring 20s” Are Coming

  • Written by Comcast Guest Blogger
  • February 25, 2021
2020 was a significant challenge, but the roaring 20s will come—thanks, in no small part, to partners.

I started off my New Year’s “Roaring 20s” blog last year referencing the decade of the 1920s and anticipating a similar decade filled with promise for the 2020s. But, as with the last century, our world has been hit with a terrible pandemic–perhaps delaying the “roaring” part of our next 10 years a bit. 2020 was a significant challenge for many of us. Certainly, what the pandemic did to business, our society and our lives was nothing short of catastrophic. And it will be a change event that will have lingering effects into the near-term future. Yet I still believe “The Roaring 20s” are coming in full force. For many, they already started, with 2020 being one of the best years that some of our partners have ever had.

Our partners became even more important because their clients had to transform years of their evolution into just a few months with working from home, cloud computing, cost cutting, security and so much more. And many of them shared that it was the best sales year they have ever had. Beyond that, this was paired with a massive surge of channel industry consolidation that only demonstrates why this channel is so critical. Could it be that this is really the dawn of the “Golden Age of the Channel?” Many think so.

We are now into the 10th year of our channel program at Comcast Business since my team and I were fortunate enough to launch it. We continue to be proud of our team’s tenure and know that Comcast Business will be around to support our partners whatever tomorrow may bring, including M&A moves.

There is a significant amount of cash and investments coming in to grow our channel to the next level. A short sample includes:

  1. Telarus took in a major investment from Columbia Capital to help grow their team and their I/T tools to help their partners succeed even more.
  2. AppSmart acquired Telegration, Netstar, CNSG, GCG and MicroCorp, to name a few. And now they are adding in apps with network services to offer a full suite of end-to-end services to their downstream clients.
  3. Bridgepointe bought Clover to expand their footprint in the East.
  4. TCG bought GTS.
  5. Upstack acquired the bases of many downstream agents nationwide.
  6. Many other PE firms are now looking at even more agent acquisitions.

It is clear that this channel is highly valued, and the timing to consolidate and invest for future growth is ideal.

We learned a lot of lessons in 2020 and we had to do so much more than we thought we were capable of–and our partners did, too. Notably, these areas come to mind:

  • We found a way to help relieve the network costs for many SMB and mid-market customers as they adjusted their business models to deal with COVID-19. We also reduced billings for a number of months to assist them in this transition.
  • We helped our partners work with us to win many deals, and we had more teamed deals with our direct organization than in any time in our history.
  • We earmarked over $100M for DE&I initiatives to support the issues we faced with social injustice.
  • We transitioned our team of about 150 people to go virtual and work in a distracted home environment almost overnight. And many of us had never used Teams before! This was unprecedented.

And despite all of that, we were able to come in just slightly down from our results in 2019 due to the tremendous efforts of my leadership team, our Indirect employees and our partners.

That brings me to 2021. It’s our year of the

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
Tags: Agents Cable Digital Transformation From the Industry Intelligence Mergers and Acquisitions Networking Comcast Sponsor Content

Related


  • SD-WAN
    SD-WAN Supports More Purposeful Shift to Cloud
    SD-WAN will deliver the application prioritization, optimization and security needed to support the operational and networking shifts brought on by rapid cloud adoption.
  • Challenge and Opportunity
    Manufacturing & SD-WAN: The Challenges, the Opportunities
    What is it that makes this vertical such an intriguing target for SD-WAN?
  • Network technology
    How Network Technology Shifts Are Changing the Way Things Are Done
    2020 proved to be a transformative year for network technology
  • Texting
    Success Stories 1 Year Later — Winning in Digital Business
    What does long-term recovery and resilience look like? Take a look at what's next for your digital business.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Comcast Business Overview
  • Comcast Business Solutions Provider Benefits Program
  • Comcast Business Product Guide

Galleries

View all

M&A Roundup: Tech Data, RingCentral, Telarus, Datto, More

April 20, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Annual MSP Benchmark Survey Reveals Remote Work Still a Top Challenge

April 20, 2021

Why Digital Transformation Is the ‘Invisible Hand’ of Our Time

April 19, 2021

SD-WAN Supports More Purposeful Shift to Cloud

April 16, 2021

Webinars

View all

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

How MSPs Can Leverage SOCaaS to Improve Security & Grow Revenue

May 4, 2021

White Papers

View all

Hacker Personas: A Deeper Look into Cybercrime

April 20, 2021

Carbonite Data Protection and Cyber Resilience

April 15, 2021

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

5 Reasons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Is Important

Five9 Shares Insights on Implementing a DE&I Strategy

April 13, 2021

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

March 31, 2021

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@AppSmartcom touted its platform at its #AppSmartUnleash event. dlvr.it/Ry5SSF https://t.co/RQdXFffe9N

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@digicert Security Summit highlights growth, innovation amid #COVID19. dlvr.it/Ry5SNP https://t.co/g1yFRHHjKa

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

Congrats to @CatSolazzo on her new #marketing gig at @Tech_Data. The channel knows her well from #IBM.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@OtavaLLC unveils #partnerprogram enhancements. #cloud dlvr.it/Ry4g4t https://t.co/D9dUuezdn9

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

#MSP business is still strong & growing @KaseyaCorp 2021 benchmark survey #digitaltransformation #remotework… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our M&A roundup includes massive @Synnex-@Tech_Data merger, @McAfee's enterprise unit sale and @Telarus' acquisitio… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

Join the Allies of the Channel Council, Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council, and @AllianceofCW on Thursday at 2 p… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@salesforce revives Data Recovery Service it retired last year as @AvePoint launches #Salesforce #CloudBackup.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X