What’s Happenin’ at IT Nation Connect

Over 3,600 people attended IT Nation Connect in Orlando Nov. 10 – 12. Organized and run by ConnectWise, IT Nation Connect is one of three major shows held each year that focuses on MSPs (Evolve and Secure are the other two).

With over 100 vendors at this conference, attendees came from all over to find out What’s Happenin’ in Managed Services.

ConnectWise organized quite an event beginning with an inspiring keynote, plenty of time in the Solutions Pavilion and lots of entertainment. And that was just the first day!

There were plenty of companies attending that you’re familiar with such as GreatAmerica and TAG. But, there were dozens and dozens of others that you may not know – most of whom offer products and/or services that MSPs can add to their own portfolios.

IT Nation Connect is a show for people at all levels within the managed services industry. If you’re a techy nerd, you should probably attend this conference; these are your people.

There were dozens of breakout sessions on topics ranging from HR/hiring to security, cyber insurance and much more. Two days of education left me feeling just a little smarter and excited for opportunities I learned about.

Walking the floor of the Solutions Pavilion gave attendees a long list of new products and services and potential partners, as well as a backpack (included at check-in) for all the SWAG you could carry.

Indeed, the afternoon happy hour at the Solutions Pavilion was borderline epic with attendees enjoying beer and soft pretzels as they mingled with the vendors at the booths.

While ConnectWise is the organizer of this party, you don’t have to be a partner to attend. There were plenty of people there to learn and even ConnectWise competitors were paying exhibitors at this conference.

The second day opened with another keynote, this one given by legend Paul Dippell who spoke to a packed house, despite the late night many people in the crowd had the night before at Universal Studios. Work hard, play hard.

There were plenty of imaging dealers on the floor at this show and even some high level people from the office equipment manufacturers.

This was a conference worth attending if you’re in the IT space and especially if you run a MSP. There’s something for just about everyone no matter how new you are to this space or how long you’ve been in this world.