Channel Partners 2021 is upon us!

The Channel Partners and Channel Futures team has been working feverishly bring you the 2021 Channel Partners Virtual conference. In the meantime, our editorial team has been covering the latest news in products, personnel and market research.

Check out the seven articles on our website that drew the most eyeballs this week. And we hope to see you next week at the show!

7. Poly Sees New Market for Premium Home Video Conferencing Devices

Poly rolled out its first line of home video conferencing devices.

The Poly Studio P Series provides higher quality than that of consumer webcams, according to the company. Poly director of product marketing Brian Phillips said the vendor started developing remote work-oriented hardware before COVID-19 hit.

“We saw that the opportunity long term in the space was going to be so huge and we had unique value to add that we don’t think anybody else could match,” Phillips said.

Read Jeff Schwartz’s article.

6. Nextiva Channel VP Leaves to Head ThreatProtector’s Worldwide Channel Sales

Carl Katz, who most recently worked as vice president of North American channel sales for Nextiva, moved to a new opportunity.

Now he’s leading channel sales for ThreatProtector, which offers monitoring and employing training in the areas of security and phishing. Moreover, ThreatProtector only sells through the channel.

Katz expressed his enthusiasm for his new employer and cybersecurity in a Q&A.

Edward Gately has the scoop.

5. Nitel Names First $1 Million Master Agent

PlanetOne topped $1 million in new Nitel sales last year, setting a record for partners.

Nitel, which won the master agent’s “Provider of the Year” award in 2020, recognized the partner for its accomplishment. The companies took advantage of multilocation deals and diverse customer verticals last year to drive business.

Read about the relationship between the two companies.

4. Agent Watchdog Group Files FCC Petition to Save Rural Health Care Commissions

An FCC ruling spells problems for the channel, but partners are responding.

The Technology Channel Sales Professionals (TCSP) group formed last year in response to the FCC’s ban on rural health care commissions. IQ Wired CEO Darcee Nelan and Alliance Partners CEO Bill Power, who have both played key roles in protesting the ban, are urging partners to sign the group’s new petition.

Nelan and Power spoke to us about their initiative and how you can help.

3. Lumen, AT&T Top Ethernet Rankings as SD-WAN, COVID-19 Hamper Growth

The Ethernet services leaderboard hasn’t changed at all over the last year, but the industry certainly has.

Vertical Systems Group once again listed Lumen Technologies and AT&T as the top two U.S. carriers for Ethernet services. However, Vertical’s 2020 year-end report concluded that U.S. Ethernet port growth flattened last year.

See the leaderboard and learn about the latest ethernet trends.

2. Gartner: Customers High on Palo Alto, Aryaka, Fortinet, Silver Peak, Huawei WAN Edge Solutions

Palo Alto Networks did very well for itself in the latest Gartner study.

Gartner rated WAN edge infrastructure providers based on customer reviews. In addition, the research firm asked customers to rate vendors based on categories like support, deployment and product capabilities.

See how the companies fared.

1. Verizon Mourns Death of Longtime Channel Marketing Vet

Lori Bonenfant, a well-known sales engineering and channel marketing expert, died earlier this month.

Members of the channel have paid respects to Bonenfant, who “shifted the industry” with her program design and marketing campaigns, according to one friend.

“This is a terrible loss for the channel, Verizon and everyone that knew her,” TBI’s Mike Onystok said.

Read about Bonenfant.