Channel Chat Live!

Awesome evening at Samsung Electronics UK KX store for Channel Chat Live, hosted by Marc Sumner of Robertson Sumner. Thanks for a superb evening, Marc!

Some takeaways from a panel of heavy hitters: Hayley Mooney, Des Lekerman, Chelsea Chamberlin, and Paula Panarra.

✅ End customers are laser-focused on ROI and getting the most from their investments, creating opportunities for services to help drive more value from what’s already in place.
✅ There's growth in public sector and higher education. Mid-market still lagging.
✅ Trust matters. Not only from a security standpoint, but buyers want to know how you've "innovated for their peers" – at the risk of using a made up word, "referencability" is key.
✅ Telling for me: AI fatigue has set in. Buyers are bored of blue-sky thinking and want to know how AI is going to make a real impact on their business. However, Hayley highlighted that most just aren’t ready yet.
✅ That being said, Paula believed that one of the single biggest opportunities in the UK in particular is in the huge number of AI startups.
✅ Hayley shared some great insight into AI as a productivity tool, freeing up agents to upskill and deliver more value to customers, and maybe not coming for their jobs after all?
✅ Roc Technologies is investing in some exciting, industry-specific tech that sounded extremely cool.
✅ There’s power in partnerships. Focus on your value, partner for the rest, and manage the ecosystem.
💯 “Land and expand” got ticked off my buzzword bingo card. 😊
💯 The humble air fryer is still the most impressive technological advancement of recent times.

Great to chat channel with some old chums and make a couple of new ones!