News Analysis, Optimizing Online At The Heart Of CRN's Redesign
The changes were developed as the result of an extensive readership study undertaken by the CMP Channel Group last summer among about 1,100 solution providers associated with CRN, VARBusiness, the XChange conference group and the Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED).
That study validated not just the need to diverge the content of the CRN print and online products, but also our creation of a new edition dedicated to exploring technology trends and technical issues more deeply. That new CRN family member is called CRNtech.
Qualified solution providers who receive the print edition of CRN, will see the dramatic design in the Jan. 8 issue, when we'll change both format size and look.
The publication will still open with news, but since solution providers have told us repeatedly you want analysis and perspective, you'll see the editorial team go longer and deeper in writing about the week's most important developments in terms of both products and channel business issues.
We'll debut a new Demand Generation department, which will emphasize coverage of programs from distributors and vendors that can help solution providers drive sales and also feature case studies from your peers in the Fast Growth 100.
Our new Upstarts and Startups section will identify companies that offer you something different from what the big guys are doing. And our technology coverage will be consolidated into one section called Tech Focus.
Once per month, the bulk of the print edition will be dedicated to an edition of our CRN Perspective series. Issues such as Managed Services, Profitability and International Expansion will be explored in greater depth than in the past. Look for the debut of this series with our Managed Services report on Jan. 15, 2007.
In late January, the CRN redesign will bring the arrival of a brand-new member of the CRN editorial family, called CRNtech.
The focus of this magazine will be on technical reviews focused on services opportunities and coverage of how a solution provider can actually launch a practice in a specific emerging technology. Online, it'll feature our familiar CRN Test Center reviews, but repackaged so that you can compare individual products against each other. You'll find more round-up reviews, bakeoffs AND contributed opinions and tips from other solution providers.
Please provide the editorial team with feedback on our new approach after the new year. Meanwhile, you can get a sneak peek at our new look by visiting CRN TV.