The New Channel Insider

Over the past few years, you’ve heard me talk about the channel as being dynamic, evolving and communal. I firmly believe that the channel is about partnership and that we all succeed by collaborating with our business partners and engaging in healthy competition with our peers. The future of the channel is in collaborative communities.

As the new head of Ziff Davis Enterprise’s Channel Insider, I am committed to being a partner to the channel. Our charge—optimization, enablement and partnership—is not marketing hype. It’s a philosophy that will guide our delivery of information, intelligence and engagement opportunities.

Ziff Davis Enterprise is making a commitment to the channel by reinvigorating its channel properties under the banner of “Channel Insider.” We recognize that the channel is not static but rather a dynamic ecosystem that comprises tens of thousands of solution providers, independent software vendors, developers, service providers, consultants and analysts.

We also understand that solution providers need more than just sound bites on the speeds and feeds of technology—they need insight into how technology can help their customers’ businesses run better. Technology provides the tools, but business practices are what build vibrant channel ecosystems.

Finally, we know that partnerships enable solution providers and their vendors to achieve higher degrees of growth and success.

The channel was established on the principle that no one company can provide its customers with everything they need. Time and again, the channel has exposed companies that reach beyond their core competencies and shun partnership in a vain attempt to capture and control market share. History has shown that companies that try to do everything inevitably fail, because they surrender the quality of their products and services, as well as the trust of their customers.

That’s not us. Channel Insider is determined to deliver high-quality products that reflect both your needs and our core channel competencies of optimization, enablement and value.

We believe it’s not enough to merely preach partnership; we have to practice it. Whether you’re a vendor that creates software and hardware or a solution provider that integrates and delivers systems to customers, Channel Insider wants to provide you with the best market research and intelligence, along with news reports and peer and customer networking opportunities. We don’t want to be your only partner, but we do want to be among your best partners.

How will we achieve this goal? By delivering the best information and business enablement tools in the channel.

Channel Insider already produces the leading channel news and analysis Web site (www.channelinsider.com), eWEEK Strategic Partner, and Ziff Davis Enterprise’s Channel Summit and Channel Virtual Trade Shows. Soon, all online, print, face-to-face and virtual events, as well as training and marketing, will fall under the Channel Insider flag. And you will see a strong integration of the capabilities provided by Ziff Davis Enterprise’s end-user publications—eWEEK, Baseline and CIO Insight. We are the alternative for channel news, information and networking and will continue to grow in strength with the support of you, our partners.

Members of the channel community will find that the Channel Insider team keeps pace with this dynamic marketplace and is responsive to your evolving needs. We are a community with open lines of communication and stand ready to respond to your suggestions and criticisms.

Partnership isn’t about trying to dominate your partners or customers; it’s about collaboration and having an open mind and a willingness to listen to all points of view. We at Channel Insider welcome your contributions and will actively reach out to you to help build your business and our shared community.

Together, we will all grow through the delivery of vital, top-quality information, solutions and services. So welcome to the new Channel Insider where everything is about you.

LAWRENCE M. WALSH is vice president and group publisher of Channel Insider, the channel publishing group of Ziff Davis Enterprise.