Turbulent 2021

See the latest entry: The Biggest News Stories of 2022

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic disruption – including the impact on the IT industry and IT channel – was far and away the big story of the year.

But 2021 has been anything but a return to business as usual. Repercussions from the ongoing pandemic are still being felt – the continuing chip shortage being a prime example – and after nearly two years many IT industry workers have yet to return full time to their workplaces.

Major trends continue to remake the IT industry and the channel including the shift to as-a-service consumption and the rapid rise of cloud marketplaces as a key component of IT vendor and solution provider go-to-market strategies. And industry consolidation is always at work – this year the IT distribution landscape is particularly being transformed by blockbuster mergers and acquisitions.

Some of the biggest news stories in 2021 involved leadership changes at some of the IT industry’s leading companies, efforts to change the direction (and fortunes) of IT companies – and, in some cases, a combination of the two.

But the rising threat of ransomware and cyberattacks against businesses, government agencies and IT companies, illustrated by a number of major cybersecurity incidents throughout 2021, are clearly this year’s biggest – and still developing – news story.

Here’s our list of the top 10 news stories of 2021. Take a look and see if you agree with our choices.

For more of the biggest startups, products and news stories of 2021, click here.