Channel partners need to figure out what's changing in 2026 and what's just noise.
Hyperscalers are overhauling their cloud marketplaces. AI is rewriting technology strategies. MSPs aren't dead, despite the predictions. And, agentic AI isn't ready, despite the hype.
But go-to-market strategies are clearly shifting as enterprise tech evolves. For 2026, the priorities are obvious: AI services, cloud modernization, and SaaS pricing upheaval.
Channel executives hunting for opportunities — or just trying to keep up — will spend a lot of time at conferences, networking, watching demos, and parsing market trends.
Here are the technology and channel events worth your time in 2026:
Xchange
March 1-3
Orlando, Florida
The Channel Company’s flagship outlet for IT channel news brings together IT channel executives, technology providers and industry consultants for its spring partner gathering. CRN’s Xchange features keynotes, workshops and exhibitions that delve into AI adoption, cloud technologies and everything else IT.
Channel Partners Conference and Expo
April 13-16
Las Vegas
Channel Partners started as an agent show and has evolved into a big-tent channel show for 8,000-plus channel professionals. The event begins with an MSP-focused pre-conference on the first day and expands into a show geared toward TAs, MSPs and everything in between. The Channel Partners event is colocated with the MSP Summit, which offers "dedicated managed services keynotes, conference sessions, and vendors all in one place."
Forrester B2B Summit North America
April 26-29
Phoenix, Arizona
Analyst firm Forrester brings its experts together for an annual conference that touches on the latest trends in B2B sales and marketing. The conference features workshops, roundtables, networking sessions and networking opportunities.
Kaseya Connect
April 27-30
Las Vegas
Kaseya merged the MSP-centric DattoCon conference, which the IT and security software company gained through its 2022 acquisition of Datto, into its annual flagship event Kaseya Connect. The company, which has established itself as an industry frontrunner through M&A, expects around 4,000 attendees for the conference, which features networking events, workshops and presentations by 100-plus top vendors.
SAP Sapphire and ASUG Annual Conference
May 11–13
Orlando, Florida
SAP has been leaning heavily on its channel partners to help migrate its on-prem customers to cloud-based ERP and that’s not likely to change any time soon. At Sapphire, the Germany-based software giant will no doubt roll out its latest incentive programs along with a bevy of agentic AI solutions and data integration to keep the migrations moving.
MIT Sloan CIO Symposium
May 19
Cambridge, Massachusetts
MIT’s Sloan School of Management packs a lot into one day of panel discussions, presentations and networking opportunities. The CIO Symposium isn't specifically for channel professionals, but it brings together a solid cross-section of enterprise IT executives who rely on channel partners.
Pax8 Beyond
June 7-9
Salt Lake City
Cloud marketplace and tech service delivery platform Pax8 convenes a three-day conference geared toward MSP partners in June. Highlights include keynotes by Pax8 executives, panel discussions about channel trends, product announcements about the company’s platform and an expo hall for IT vendors. The annual event also features education and training sessions.
Telarus Partner Summit
Aug. 11-13
Dallas
As one of the world’s largest technology services distributors, Telarus has connections across the IT provider ecosystem. The company’s annual conference brings together suppliers and partners for networking, educational sessions, demonstrations and conversations about AI, cybersecurity, cloud modernization and the evolving role of technology advisors.
AppDirect Thrive
Sept. 29-Oct. 1
Los Angeles
AppDirect expects roughly 1,000 business leaders from its diverse partner ecosystem to converge at Thrive 2026, the technology commerce platform’s third-annual national conference. The event brings together technology advisors and value-added resellers that leverage AppDirect’s distribution and marketplace, as well as OEMs that maintain digital storefronts on the AppDirect platform.
Special Forces Summit
Oct. 5-8
Dallas
The tech service distributor Avant brings in 2,000 of its trusted advisor partners for education and networking at this annual conference. The company is known for offering one of the highest production values in the channel, with immersive keynote presentations and on-stage C-suite interviews with Fortune 500 company executives.
TD Synnex Inspire
Oct. 7-9
Greenville, South Carolina
The distributor’s largest North American event typically draws a crowd of over 2,000 attendees, including some of the most prominent resellers and vendors in the IT channel. The event focuses on industry trends and features networking opportunities and educational sessions.
Intelisys Channel Connect
Nov. 3-6
Austin, Texas
Intelisy is the only major tech services distributor that is publicly traded and a bellwether for the advisor/agent channel. The company pushes for convergence between agents and resellers and between distributors and marketplaces, offering a 360-degree perspective on indirect sales. Its annual conference features expert sessions, networking opportunities and supplier exhibits.
IT Nation Connect Global
Nov. 4-6
Orlando, Florida
The IT services platform provider ConnectWise calls its annual event the world's largest MSP show. Technology solution provider professionals, in ConnectWise parlance, come for networking, education and benchmarking. The 2025 conference focused on how AI and automation are transforming the industry. That topic should be on the agenda again this year.
Cisco Live
May 31-June 4
Las Vegas
Thousands of IT and security professionals are expected each year at the annual Cisco Live conference. The event is a showcase for the latest product announcements from networking and security vendor. It’s also an opportunity for channel partners to hear from Cisco executives and business leaders, network with peers and attend educational sessions.
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo
Oct. 19-22
Orlando, Florida
Gartner’s analysts welcome one of the largest annual gatherings of CIOs and other enterprise technology executives, vendor reps and other interested parties for workshops, presentations, demos and a whole lot of networking. The focus is on enterprise IT, including AI, cloud modernization, cybersecurity and digital transformation.
Canalys Forums Americas 2026
Nov. 9-11
Scottsdale, Arizona
Canalys, which is now part of the larger Omdia IT research and advisory universe, focuses its energies on the channel each year, bringing together partners, vendors, distributors and resellers for sessions on market trends, relationship building opportunities and the latest Canalys channel research. The firm expects the managed services market to grow 13% this year to nearly $600 billion globally.
Disclosure: Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Channel Dive, is also invested in Omdia. Informa has no influence over Channel Dive’s coverage.
Correction: This piece has been updated with details about the AppDirect Thrive conference program agenda.
