Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, today announced several of the keynote speakers and panelists participating in the annual Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020, taking place as a free virtual event October 19-21, 2020.

Launched last year, the Acronis Global Cyber Summit is the premier event dedicated to connecting the IT channel and IT pros with actionable insights, solutions, and strategies for effective cyber protection. Bringing together service providers, value-added-resellers, CIOs, and ISVs, the Summit is the world's largest gathering of thought leaders and industry experts sharing insights and advances in the field of cyber protection.

"These challenging times underscore the need for comprehensive cyber protection, which is why providing a virtual venue where thought leaders can share their expertise is more important than ever," said Acronis Founder and CEO Serguei "SB" Beloussov. "Our goal for this year's Summit is to empower all of our partners and customers - both in terms of their protection needs and business development. The experts joining us will deliver the actionable insights attendees can immediately put into practice to ensure their organization's success."

With recognized IT channel, cybersecurity, and integration experts from around the world, participants will take away valuable tools and frameworks, peer learnings, and valuable insights for protecting data, systems, and applications. Registration for the free virtual Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020 is now open at https://acronis.events/summit2020/.

Thought leaders on cyber protection

Headlining the list of speakers at the 2020 event will be industry veteran and visionary René Bonvanie. Drawing on more than 35-years' experience in the cybersecurity and software industry - including successes at Palo Alto Networks, Business Objects, Veritas, and Oracle - he will explore the disruptive opportunities created by the emerging field of cyber protection.

Throughout his career, Bonvanie successfully marketed and sold disruptive technologies. He created the Palo Alto Networks story from scratch, which catapulted it past larger, well-established competitors and made it the largest enterprise security company. With his keynote at the Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020, he will share his experiences with a unique perspective on how disruption is the key to the next generation of cybersecurity.

The Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020 will also feature a keynote from Sir Julian King. As a former European Commissioner for the Security Union and former British Ambassador to France and Ireland, Sir Julian is passionate about cybersecurity and what it means for today's world.

"Cybersecurity goes to the heart of our societies," observed Sir Julian. "From ensuring the integrity of our critical digital infrastructure, the plumbing of our interconnected lives, to tackling illegal and criminal abuse online, to moderating the digital conversation that increasingly plays such a vital role in our modern democracies. Like-minded public authorities and private enterprises need to work together to secure our common digital space."

Other notable IT, channel, and cybersecurity experts speaking at the Summit include:

• Larry Walsh - CEO and Chief Analyst, The 2112 Group
• Rayanne Buchianico - Owner, ABC Solutions, LLC
• Rich Freeman - Executive Editor, ChannelProNetwork
• Joel Zaidspiner - Associate Publisher, ChannelPro-SMB Magazine
• Jay McBain - Principal Analyst, Forrester
• Robyn Westervelt - Research Director, IDC, Security & Trust
• Carole Theriault - CEO, Tick Tock Social Limited, and Co-host of Smashing Security

These renowned experts will be joined by Acronis executives and technologists who will share the technical advances and business opportunities of cyber protection, including:

• SB - Serguei Beloussov, Acronis Executive Officer
• Candid Wüest - Vice President, Cyber Protection Research
• Stanislav Protassov - Technology President and Co-founder
• Nick Grebennikoff - Chief Development Officer
• JJ Jager - Senior Vice President, Cyber Platform

A full list of speakers and panelists is available at https://acronis.events/summit2020/#s-speakers.

Sessions, workshops, and breakouts

The Acronis Global Cyber Summit will feature more than 30 sessions, in four tracks, covering a wide range of topics for end-users and partners, including: developer case studies for automating and integrating cyber protection; best practices and tools for performing cybersecurity assessments; pricing and profit modeling; implementing modern sales and marketing strategies and tactics; and IT channel transformation tips for organizations moving up the value chain.

The planned sessions and workshops will cover topics such as: "How Modern MSPs Win in a Remote Work World," "Anatomy of Provisioning Automation Integration," "Pitching Cyber Protection," "Are You Attracting the Right Clients?" and "How Modern MSPs Win in a Remote Work World."

Sessions will feature channel experts such as Amy Babinchak, Microsoft MVP and owner of Harbor Computer Services, Third Tier, and SellMyMSP, Erick Simpson, co-founder of one of the first "Pure Play" MSPs in the industry and Creator of the MSP Mastered^TM Methodology for Managed Services business performance improvement, Karl Palachuk, who built and sold two managed service businesses and is the founder and president of the Sacramento SMB IT Professionals Group.

Each track will be hosted by an Acronis expert such as Acronis Chief Channel Evangelist Amy Luby.

"For our service provider track, we are focusing on MSP-to-MSP sharing of best practices, real-world experiences, pitfalls to avoid, and the must-haves in building a security-first services organization," Luby explained. "We'll learn from some of the best in the business: proven MSP entrepreneurs who have been extremely successful will share their tips, tricks, and secrets to building a modern, agile, and profitable security services organization."

Acronis #CyberFit Academy Training and Certification

On the first day of the Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in professional training led by Acronis' cyber protection experts. These training sessions will enable IT and channel professionals alike to gain in-depth expertise in Acronis solutions.

Summit Sponsorship

The event's sponsors are an integral part of the success of the Acronis Cyber Summit 2020. This year we are honored to welcome Diamond sponsor, GoDaddy Pro, and Apple Print & Creative.

"GoDaddy Pro is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor of the Acronis Global Cyber Summit 2020. Now more than ever, cyber protection is a must-have for many businesses, especially SMBs that had to quickly move their operations online due to the pandemic," said Patrick Pulvermueller, Partners Business President at GoDaddy. "Together with Acronis, through our social movement #OpenWeStand, we have been able to support SMBs with services as we navigate together through these challenging times."

For more information or to register for the free online event, visit: https://acronis.events/summit2020/.