I am thrilled that so many of our customers and partners are planning to join us for ConneXions 2021 in Las Vegas from October 16-19. It is going to be the best ConneXions ever-from many perspectives. We will have inspiring speakers, informative content, best practices and collaboration opportunities with Live Circles of Success, and our biggest announcements yet as Calix platforms and cloud innovation outpace the industry. I am confident that the level of learning and engagement will be unprecedented as our teams endeavor to help your team simplify operations, excite subscribers, and grow.

As we enter the fall of 2021, we are cognizant that the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended as we had all once hoped. Calix has decided to invest an incremental $500,000 into safety precautions for ConneXions 2021 and move forward for four reasons:

1. COVID-19 is here for the foreseeable future-so we must adapt and push ahead. The science indicates that COVID-19 has likely become an endemic disease, like the flu. Our business teams are going to have to learn how to cope in a way that allows us to return to a reasonably normal mode of operating (and life). Never getting together as a community is not an option. That means following several precautions on top of measures enacted by the venue, county, and state. With our Calix internal team, we adapted and made two big steps forward in September:

  • 2019 and 2020 Sales Presidents Club in September. After 18+ months of delays and rescheduling, our events team brought together 140 team members and their partners while ensuring it was safe. We had zero incidents and it was a great learning opportunity (on running an event safely) in this new reality.
  • Calix Leadership Meeting in San Diego: At the end of September the extended Calix leadership team (all people managers) will gather for the first time in two years. We are planning for safety, collaboration, learning and success.

2. We believe that we all must continue to move forward and engage to benefit the economy. We are emerging from the most significant economic contraction since the Great Depression. While we are making progress, too many segments of our economy (and lives) are still vulnerable. We believe that taking this step forward with ConneXions is a prudent and essential activity that will positively contribute to the U.S. economy.

3. The past 18 months have been filled with safety innovations and we have developed the tools and processes that will enable us to gather in a reasonably safe and secure manner. Testing, sanitation, masks, vaccines, and other treatments are available to help us all re-engage with our peers and minimize the risks posed by COVID-19 to stop this pandemic. We are encouraging our BSP community to help us all return to productive collaboration while adapting to the new business reality.

4. It is time to celebrate our partnership and joint success. The past 18 months have seen incredible examples of BSPs leveraging Calix Intelligent Access EDGE and Revenue EDGE to set new records in customer satisfaction, return on investment, and growth. ConneXions 2021 will be about learning from and celebrating those successes while announcing our biggest BSP innovations yet, while launching a unique collaboration with comedian Gerry Dee.

In the final analysis we decided that the benefits of re-engaging after 18 painful months apart outweigh the risks as we facilitate a safe and exciting ConneXions 2021. Many of our customers are planning to join us in Vegas; their spirit and commitment are humbling and deeply appreciated. I hope that, over the remaining weeks between now and the event from October 16-19, many others will choose to join us.

Learn more about Calix ConneXions 2021.

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Calix Inc. published this content on 23 September 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 23 September 2021 16:11:04 UTC.