Channel Partners Conference & Expo (Co-located with MSP Summit)
The Venetian, Las Vegas
March 23–26, 2026
Attendees: 7,800
Exhibits/Sponsors: 350 + vendors on the expo floor
Speakers: 150+
Focus: Information and communications technology (ICT) channel sales
Last week, thousands descended on Las Vegas for the industry’s biggest channel event, underscoring its importance for companies that depend on this go-to-market strategy. Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2026 brought together nearly 8,000 professionals across the global telecom, AI, cloud, UCaaS, cybersecurity, and MSP ecosystem at the Venetian. This year, the theme was Channel Velocity and how to harness it, which summed up a show in which nearly every attendee commented on the energy on the floor.
The emerging themes from 2026
From an analyst’s perspective, Devan Adams, Principal Analyst at Informa Tech Target, cited three headlines from the event that focused on channel operation fixes, partner-management consolidation and new connectivity routes, being:
– T-Mobile’s hiring of ex-AT&T channel executive, Christopher Jones
– App Direct’s purchase of PartnerStack
– Amazon’s Leo’s Head of Partner Programs, Timo Bauer, leaning into a channel-first GTM for LEO satellite services in his keynote.
A noticeably ‘different’ year
People attend Channel Partners year after year and call each other family. This year, that family expanded, as many noted new faces that highlighted the pace of industry change. Anita Patel, CEO of Minerva Tec Group, recognized as a 2026 Channel Partners Trusted Advisor Thought Leader, was one of these, saying, “The channel is no longer emerging. It is a true market powerhouse entering a new phase of accelerated growth.” This year there were “Fewer legacy agencies. More new entrants. MSPs and suppliers are leaning further into the channel. That shift alone tells you where this market is heading.” She cited the strongest signal for change was that of “investment presence banks and private equity firms in the room,” adding that this only happens “when a market is maturing, scaling, and creating real value.”
In a conversation with Doug Green of Technology Reseller Publications, Jeff Pulver, Founder of the vCon Foundation, noted there were a lot of product pitches on day three, reflecting how business “at the speed of AI” is changing the way things are done and the number of new companies appearing at the event from the AI world). Pulver recommended not getting caught up in content, saying if he’d spoken at the event, “I might have been wasting my time. The action is in the hallway, in the crevices where people are hanging out. You never know who you are next to.”
Embedded AI
Across the floor, demonstrations showed AI is no longer treated as an isolated technology but is being embedded in platforms, applications and solutions. As many suggested, “this is how it should be,” AI is being used to improve performance and the user experience without being the news. We’ve seen this theme repeatedly at events during 2026.
Navigating complexity
An ongoing theme centered around the complexity end customers are experiencing and how to overcome it. Shiraz Hasan of AT&T said that enterprises aren’t buying connectivity anymore, but bundled, integrated, outcome-driven solutions.
Many agreed. As vendor platforms, applications and service layers grow, increased choice is driving this complexity, particularly in global deals. Enterprises don’t want fragmented solutions. They are shifting toward deals with end-to-end ecosystem providers. In their Tuesday keynote, Sara Seegers, SVP Channel Sales, GTT and Janet Schijns, CEO and co-founder of JSG, discussed the value of the technology advisor (TA) channel. They explained why TAs are more important than ever now.
Other Keynote Highlights
During a panel discussion that kicked off the MSP Summit, Eric Braden, managing partner at Braden Business Systems, talked about the AI opportunities, saying: “All the things required to run a good AI implementation, adoption and outcome strategy, main-street businesses cannot do on their own. We have a big opportunity to be their quarterback.” Later at the MSP Summit, PCH Technologies President and CEO, Tim Guim talked about using AI-as-a-service as a Trojan horse, where the incumbent MSP hasn’t been talking to the client about AI, saying, “Eventually, if the relationship works out well with the AI we’re bringing in there, maybe an opportunity comes up that we could potentially displace that MSP.”
Why attend Channel Partners?
Channel Partners Expo builds strong connections that can be invaluable, giving new players the forum to pitch ideas, showing enterprises the best of telecom and technology, and allowing channel partners to round out their ecosystem offerings. In a relationship-driven channel, face-to-face still matters. For many, meetings held at Channel Partners are just the start, as partnerships are cultivated over the coming days, weeks, and months.
Resources:
MSPs race from AI-assisted ticketing to governance services, Channel Dive, April 14, 2026
Channel leaders confront the trilemma of AI, Channel Dive, April 20, 2026
The math CFOs are using to dismiss tech advisors doesn’t add up, Channel Dive, April 20, 2026
Vibe coding has exploded in the tech advisor market, Channel Dive, April 20, 2026
Channel Partners Conference & Expo Las Vegas | MSP & Telecom Event
Jeff Pulver LIVE Show Wrap Day 3 Interviewed by Doug Green, Technology Reseller News, April 16, 2026
Jeff Pulver | LIVE from Las Vegas, Interviewed by Doug Green, Technology Reseller News, April 15, 2026