XChange Best Of Breed 2024

The XChange Best of Breed (BoB) Conference meets the evolving needs of the IT channel’s largest, fastest-growing, and most progressive solution provider organizations and the top technology vendors and distributors. An invitation-only event, the BoB Conference brings together 100+ attendees from CRN’s elite solution provider lists ─ Solution Provider 500, Tech Elite 250 and Fast Growth 150 ─ to connect and engage over the course of 2 days.

The in-person event in Atlanta features empowering CEO interviews, Solution Provider 500 spotlights, economic and market trend sessions, executive panel discussions and briefings, and peer-to-peer networking.

Get all of CRN's coverage of the event here and follow along on Twitter at #XChange.

Cohesity CEO On AI, Data Protection, Data Insights And Impacts On The Channel
Sanjay Poonen, who joined Cohesity two years ago as CEO, shed light on his company, the value of data and more at this week’s 2024 XChange Best of Breed Conference in Atlanta.

Cisco CEO On Besting HPE-Juniper, Splunk Integration And AI’s Future
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins talks about having a leg-up over HPE-Juniper, cross-selling Splunk opportunities, Cisco’s bullish AI strategy and his thoughts on the U.S. economy in 2025 with the upcoming presidential election.

Cisco CEO: Network Refreshes Offer ‘Huge’ Partner Opportunity, With Security, AI Top Of Mind For Customers
‘They have vulnerabilities that have been announced with security notices and patches that have been released, but customers haven’t updated. And the adversaries around the world are taking advantage of it—whether it’s critical infrastructure or the carrier networks or whatever,’ says Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.

Why A Strong Marketing Strategy Requires Alignment With Sales, ‘Realistic Goal Setting’
‘It’s all about starting to create this dynamic [where they] recognize that they’re two parts of a revenue team,’ says Jade Surrette, president of agency services at The Channel Company.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz On ‘Incredible’ Partner Response, Microsoft Collaboration After Massive Outage
In an interview, Kurtz also discusses the major opportunities for solution and service providers in working with GenAI-powered security.

Cohesity CEO: Veritas Acquisition Will Combine Innovation, Scale To Build Global Data Security Business
‘We're going to have a console that's common for both and have a very rich roadmap for both products so customers on both sides will get innovation. But the powerhouse of innovation builds on what Cohesity brings to the picture. That's why the new company, which is going to be called Cohesity, is going to having the speed and innovation of Cohesity combined with the scale of Veritas,’ says Cohesity President and CEO Sanjay Poonen.

CrowdStrike Coming Away A ‘Stronger Company’ After Global Outage: CEO George Kurtz
When it comes to the channel, ‘I think even our relationships with our partners are stronger because of this,’ Kurtz says during a CRN interview Tuesday.

HPE CEO On Juniper Merger, AI, Battling Cisco, And John Chambers’ Advice
HPE CEO Antonio Neri talks about HPE-Juniper putting the heat on Cisco, employees coexisting with AI, what Juniper partners should be doing today, and the advice John Chambers is giving him.

TD Synnex Launching ‘White-Label’ Services For AI
To help partners on their AI journey, TD Synnex is launching new “white-label” services for AI, including professional and implementation services, as services remain the No. 1 area for driving profit, says Reyna Thompson, TD Synnex’s new North America president.

Quantiphi CEO: Future Of AI Is ‘Superhuman’ Productivity
As soon as 2025, the industry will start to shift from offering AI assistants to providing full-fledged AI agents that can complete entire tasks on their own.

Antonio Neri: HPE Is ‘Becoming A Networking Company At Its Core,’ Something ‘Cisco Has Forgotten’
'Once the Juniper transaction closes, we're going to have another business that looks like this: $11 billion in revenues. It will represent more than one-third of the company revenues. It will represent probably 50 percent of the company profits,' says HPE CEO Antonio Neri.

U.S. Poised For ‘Solid’ Growth, Major Political Uncertainties In 2025: Economist
The U.S elections pose potential risks for the economy regardless of who the winners are, says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office.

Partners Who Shun AI Risk Getting ‘Disrupted,’ ‘Left Behind’
'The AI pioneers, the people that really know what they're doing, they are seeing significant impacts,' IPED senior consultant Mark Williams tells CRN.