CMP Technology's XChange Conference Group Launches 1st Annual XChange Eastern Europe Conference in Budapest, Hungary, Exceeds ExpectationsPRNewswire MANHASSET, N.Y., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- CMP Technology's Channel Group today announced the successful launch of the 1st Annual XChange Eastern Europe conference that was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest, Hungary from February 5-7, 2007. The event hosted more than 100 executives from channel partner organizations, exceeding expectations. The 1st Annual XChange Eastern Europe was a three-day face-to-face Channel event that brought together IT Solution Providers, resellers, VARs and integrators from across Central and Eastern Europe including Hungary, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Turkey; along with top industry vendors in diverse technology areas to build business relationships. XChange Eastern Europe was supported by CRN Russia, CRN Poland, and CRN US. Highlights of the event included the first comprehensive look at channel partner business model across Central and Eastern Europe as well as world premieres from AMD, IBM and Sun Microsystems, Inc., general educational sessions, private XChange boardroom appointments and networking functions. Monty Cornell, Director of Research of CMP's Channel Group, presented 2006-2007 Central Eastern European Channel Market research. The research which was fielded by CMP Technology's Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED) and Advanced Alchemy, UK and sponsored by Sun Microsystems, Inc. validated that Eastern European channels are quickly catching up with their Western counterparts in terms of the solutions and services they offer and the way they sell to their customers. According to IPED's research, Eastern European channel partners reported their sales are split 60 percent - 40 percent between hardware/software and services. Their North American counterparts report a 45 percent - 55 percent split in the same categories. Attendees reported that this shift towards services was indeed a trend as their customers' IT infrastructures matured. The research highlighted the need for the vendor community to step up its financial support, assist with marketing efforts and training, as well as helping to drive overall profitability in order for the Central and Eastern Europe channel partners to continue to drive sales in this challenging, but fast growth region. "We are glad to see CMP focusing on this rapidly growing, yet still challenging market," said Serdar Sayar, Partner Marketing South East EMEA, Sun Microsystems. "Attendees showed strong interest in our open source strategy and its potential for their businesses and we were especially excited about highlighting our new partner program, Sun Partner Advantage, to show partners how Sun helps them grow and succeed in Eastern Europe. The opportunity to meet with the valuable partners that help drive our business is the real value that XChange Eastern Europe provides to Sun Microsystems." A series of general educational sessions complemented the event program including best practices in how to drive fast growth businesses presented by Dan Dignam, Vice President and Publisher of CRN and practical tips on how to identify market opportunities and overcome challenges in the region were delivered by Toni Clayton-Hine, Managing Director, IPED. XChange Eastern Europe was supported by platinum sponsors: IBM, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and AMD. 3Com, Avocent, CA, Ipswitch, Juniper, Lenovo, Oracle, Sybase, and Zeus Technology were also event sponsors. Laura Voglino, Vice President, IBM System Integrators Marketing, said, "XChange Eastern Europe was an outstanding event for us. It allowed us to spend quality time with IBM Business Partners from Eastern Europe, discuss our offerings and explore new ways to grow their businesses. In addition, this type of event offers a great opportunity for our partners to meet with each other and work together to build effective value-nets, in order to provide the innovative end-to-end solutions that the market demands." In 2007, CMP's XChange Conference Group will continue to host face-to-face channel events to provide a platform for vendors, distributors, and Solution Providers to meet, define and redefine their relationships. The XChange Conference Group continues to reinforce its wide portfolio of channel events with conferences scheduled as follows: XChange Solution Provider in San Diego, CA; XChange Government Integrator in Washington D.C.; XChange Managed Services 3-City Seminar Series taking place in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Cincinnati, OH, and Phoenix, AZ; XChange '07 in Orlando, FL, XChange Latin America in Miami, FL; XChange Tech Innovators in Miami, FL; and XChange Western Europe in Barcelona, Spain. For additional information on XChange Conferences, contact Allison Cohen at accohen@cmp.com or visit http://www.cmpxchange.com/. About CMP Channel Group (http://www.cmpchannelgroup.com/) CMP Channel Group is the one-stop shop customers turn to in order to meet their global sales channel objectives from access to execution. Through use of its print products which include CRN and VARBusiness, their accompanying websites, the broader ChannelWeb network, the Group's XChange worldwide face- to-face conferences and the Institute for Partner Education & Development (IPED), vendors are able to accelerate sales through the channel. CMP Channel Group provides a worldwide answer to advertising, branding and marketing services, lead generation, market intelligence, branded and custom events, education of solution providers and best practices for vendors. About XChange Conferences CMP Technology's XChange Conference Group is the global leader in face-to- face channel events. XChange Conferences bring together new markets, customers and revenue opportunities for solution providers and technology vendors. XChange Conferences offer the best recruiting, training, education and networking opportunities in three & four day events filled with keynotes, lectures, debates and discussions revolving around critical channel issues and trends. XChange Conference information can be found online at http://www.cmpxchange.com/ CMP Technology's Channel Group hosts a complete suite of integrated media and business solutions whose asset portfolio includes, CRN, VARBusiness Magazine, XChange Conferences, Institute for Partner Education & Development, the ChannelWEB Online Network and GovernmentVAR Magazine. About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/) CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. Contact Kate Spellman CMP Channel Group (516) 562-7383 kspellman@cmp.com SOURCE: CMP Technology CONTACT: Kate Spellman, CMP Channel Group, +1-516-562-7383, Web site: http://www.cmp.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/181993.html |