Canalys Forums

Canalys Forums are three regional channel conferences held each year, one for EMEA, one for the Americas and one for Asia-Pacific. The 2026 editions run in Barcelona from 6 to 8 October, Scottsdale from 9 to 11 November, and Bali from 1 to 3 December. The organiser reports more than 2,500 channel leaders across the series, with more than 1,000 at the EMEA and APAC editions individually, and states more than 40 sessions and 150 speakers.

What makes it different

The research underneath it. These events are run by analysts, and the agenda is built on the channel market data the same organisation publishes the rest of the year. That produces a different sort of session from a vendor conference: market sizing, distribution economics and partner profitability, presented by people with no product to sell.

The seniority is the other difference. The audience skews towards vendor channel leadership, distributor executives and large partner principals, which makes the value of attending as much about who is in the room as about the sessions.

Who it is for

Channel and alliance leadership at vendors, distributors and larger partner businesses. Someone running a software referral program of ten partners is not the intended audience. Someone building a route to market through distribution is.

Tickets

Not published. Attendance runs through a register-interest form and a qualification step rather than open ticket sales, which is normal for events aimed at this seniority but means you cannot judge the cost in advance.

Organiser

Omdia, the analyst business inside Informa TechTarget, which acquired Canalys. The same group operates Candefero, the free channel partner research community listed in this directory.