Canalys is part of Informa PLC
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC’s registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Alex Smith leads Canalys’ channels research department. He manages a team of analysts and consultants responsible for a comprehensive portfolio of advisory services that look into the go-to-market strategies of technology vendors and the trends affecting the global IT channel ecosystem. This portfolio of research includes the Channels Analysis services, Partner Program Analysis, Candefero research products and consultation services designed to help vendors assess, benchmark and develop their channel strategies.
Since 2007, Alex has been following the major IT sectors, including PCs, enterprise software, networking infrastructure, security, servers and storage, assessing market trends and their effect on the IT channel community. He has been one of Canalys’ key client-facing analysts, developing several research programs, and has presented at multiple industry and customer events. He is also a regular speaker at the Canalys Channels Forums. In 2012, Alex relocated from the UK to Palo Alto, California to support local clients and further develop the channels research business. He is now based in our Portland, Oregon office.
Prior to joining Canalys in 2007, Alex obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, with a Finance Major, from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. The course focused on financial practices, including derivatives, statistical modeling and portfolio management. As part of his degree, Alex studied multiple business disciplines, including strategy, marketing, logistics and economics. Alex previously worked for an oil exploration company in Calgary, Canada as a Financial Analyst, where he supported internal business planning.
Alex has roots in both Thailand and the United Kingdom and has spent time in the Middle East and North America.
To book Alex for your next event, click here.
The inaugural Canalys Forum North America will take place in Palm Springs in November 2023, bringing together senior decision-makers from top tech companies, distributors and channel partners. The event will offer a unique opportunity for networking, discussing challenges and shaping the future of the channel against a backdrop of macroeconomic issues that are creating obstacles and generating pessimism among partners.
A Canalys poll reveals that 41% of partners are now optimistic about the opportunities associated with AI, indicating a significant shift in momentum and an increase in optimism within the partner community. Vendors need to focus on partners building service practices around AI and engaging with marketing and sales collateral that focuses on AI. In contrast, negative partners need dialogue and education to address concerns about fear, complexity and assumptions.
This week, Slalom announced that it was the first “Microsoft Partner to have a Microsoft 365 Copilot offering available now in AppSource.” This one sentence beautifully captures three major trends that are manifesting throughout the technology partner ecosystem.
Canalys analysts give their views on hot topics for the Canalys Forums 2022 in this series of interviews. Here, we consider factors affecting the global economy and the opportunities for growth over the next couple of years for both partners and vendors.
A flock of black swan events in quick succession – the US-China trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have all played a role in shaping the economic reality of 2022.
Canalys recently ran a series of “Expert Hubs” at its latest forum events. The idea was to gather experts within the channel partner community to discuss a variety of subjects pertaining to one of the key event themes: ESG, strategy, cybersecurity, managed services and digital workplace. The sessions featured a mix of partners, vendors and, in some cases, third-party experts. Event participants were invited to watch the live discussions online. In this series of reports, we summarize some of the key points that came from these sessions.
An assessment in the channel to understand partner capabilities around cybersecurity, powered by our channel assessment tool Alys.
The expectation is always that there will be consolidation in a crowded cybersecurity market, but history and nature shows us that these expectations are wrong.
