What are we cooking up in the first quarter of 2024?

We have a lot in store for you in 2024, but we’ll only highlight a few items in Q1 to get started. 

There is so much going on in the channel and IT industry that we are literally processing and reviewing over 80 pieces of information every day and only bring you one or two precious gems. 

As we near the next quarters, we’ll come back with other pre-briefs.

January 2024:

CES 2024 was all about AI being integrated into everything. We don’t do much consumer tech coverage, so this is strictly for fun. As manufacturers strive to incorporate some form of AI into their gadget or product, I would exercise caution because AI is becoming a more common attack vector for cybercriminals. That AI toothbrush might be a gateway to your bank account being hacked, which would be much more unpleasant than a root canal. Plus, what else will the AI in these devices learn about you?

Watch for yard robots to perform a variety of duties like mowing your lawn and removing snow.  Next-generation robots for vacuuming and mopping floors. I think of these consumer bots as the first wave to get humans to embrace and accept them, but we all know it’s already well beyond that. There will undoubtedly be additional wearables that track various health conditions. VR headsets seems to be a big thing but some are pricy (and heavy). Emerging yourself in a movie with a VR headset on a plane may be a cool thing. Of course, headphones are very popular, and some even allow you to swim while listening to music. You will also see more technologies designed with sustainability in mind (finally). Sometimes I wonder if the cure is truly better than the disease, and who is actually keeping track of the pros and cons.  Lots of tech-loaded concept autos were everywhere. Video production products keep on getting better every year.

We came upon an unusual product called “Rabbit”. An artificial intelligence gadget that communicates with your smartphone and performs operations based solely on voice instructions. Its purpose is to save time by replacing app taps. I’m not sure we need another device for this, so maybe there will be an app to do that at some time. Artificial intelligence, such as Siri, is already built into smartphones so why that could not do something similar? Having said that, who knows what specific user cases could be.

The elephant in the room at CES is of course TVs. So many! They are bigger, sharper and more transparent? The bigger question is how many TV’s can you fit into one home? The anti-glare feature to reduce light reflections may be the biggest feature. That’s all we have from CES for you!

We are mostly interested in the computing side of tech but we do not need CES for this as are already on top of this. We are watching for more AI-enabled computing in 2024 with more power, better sustainability practices, better screens, better battery life and more built-in security. For Windows devices, we will be crowning the winners on February 1st at our annual Reseller Choice Awards so we will keep them as a surprise. Over 60 awards will be handed out for computers, servers, storage, printers, projectors etc… All award winners are determined by the votes of the people who buy, sell and use them every day, so this recognition really matters!

By the end of January, we would have highlighted all of the 2024 IT prediction interviews and panel discussions so that everyone in the channel could better prepare/fine-tune for the new year. Check out www.e-channelnews.com to see them all. 

This year, we’re giving you even more options to discover and enjoy our news content – search for “eChannelNEWS” on your favourite platform. Sign up for free! We’ve also just published our podcasts across all popular platforms, as well as launched a YouTube channel, so if you prefer to get your content there, subscribe for free (Please subscribe if you wish to support us in these platforms). 

Throughout 2024, you will continue to hear a lot about our Cybersecurity Defense Ecosystem, as it is our most ambitious goal to combat cybercrime with the channel. Every week, we’ll post a new highlight – Visit https://cybersecuritydefenseecosystem.com to learn more or to join us for free. If you miss any of the episodes you can catch up at Our CDE Blog.

February, 2024:

Our Reseller Choice, 50 Best Managed IT Companies, and Women In Tech Awards for Canada happens on February 1st. It’s an important evening for the IT Channel as we get to recognize and celebrate the country’s best of the best. Join us at the Awards Gala Dinner with fun social networking in Toronto. 

Sneak peak: We are preparing to launch our first World Hacker Games, where hackers and vendors compete to win the battle. This is going to be epic, and this is only phase one! Keep watching as we release more information. For now mark your calendar for February 22 to catch the first battle.

Continue checking www.e-channelnews.com for a continuous stream of news and www.channelnext.ca for all upcoming events. 

This year, we transformed our Channel Manager Summit into a Channel Manager Mastermind annual program. We are continuously providing the most up-to-date knowledge, trends and advice on everything channel business, so we feel that the most effective approach for us to assist channel leaders is to help them leverage the power of peer-groups. Inquire about joining one as it will probably help your channel game more than anything you can do in 2024 (Yes, our peer groups are not only for channel partners).

March 2024:

We are launching our first Cybersecurity Defense Ecosystem Summit in the UK . Winners of Britain’s Reseller Choice Awards and 50 Best Managed IT Companies will also be joining us as we cap off the evening with a fun celebration. If the channel and cybersecurity are on your radar, then don’t miss this event!

Of course, we will continue to bring more news and podcasts to the channel, so stay tuned and subscribe to ensure you do not miss anything. 

We use the rest of March to gear up for our 2024 event season, which begins in April and continues until the end of the year. See ChannelNEXT for upcoming events and dates. 

Keep exploring the regular updates that we send from our eChannelNEWS news media, LinkedIn, social media, podcasts, and new YouTube channel. Every day, expect at least one solid story that can impact your business! 

We will also be conducting our second World Hacker Games in March, with plans to increase the frequency and integrate with our live events! 

Our Cybersecurity Defense Ecosystem will continue to grow as we expand from our present community of over 5,000 members. Don’t forget to sign up and watch your cybersecurity business soar!

Watch for Q2 Round Up in April!