CompTIA Breaking Barriers with CompTIA's Managed Services Community

Amy Babinchak, Harbor Computing Services, and Eric Anthony, Solar Winds MSP, of the CompTIA Managed Services EC share how focusing on value-add services that support your clients’ needs is the best path for growth, agility, and longevity. Learn from their experience and practical examples of situations that would cause a challenge for an MSP not focused on client business outcomes. Share with us what topics you would like to hear more about: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VRN8RW6 You can also find the new Biz Tech Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comptia-biz-tech-podcast/id1513232070Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/comptia-sharkbytes/comptia-biz-tech-podcastiHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-comptia-biz-tech-podcast-62773128/ As well as on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your favorite podcast catchers!

Listen in as Gary Bixler, VP Global Member Communities at CompTIA introduces you to the newest podcast from CompTIA's communities and councils: the Biz Tech Podcast. This podcast series focuses on the business of technology and CompTIA Corporate Membership. From casual conversations, detailed strategies and steps for success, listen in as we hear from industry leaders across our communities and councils discuss business challenges, opportunities, and strategies for success. We also dive into the leading and emerging technologies and what that means for your customers and your business. The CompTIA Biz Tech podcast launches on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Share with us what topics you would like to hear more about: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VRN8RW6 You can find the new Biz Tech Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comptia-biz-tech-podcast/id1513232070Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/comptia-sharkbytes/comptia-biz-tech-podcastiHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-comptia-biz-tech-podcast-62773128/ As well as on Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and your favorite podcast catchers!

The strength of your relationships with your customers, suppliers, and partners is key to survival. Now those relationships have been tested. How have you fared? CompTIA’s Managed Services Community is pleased to share the insights of five of your MSP peers as moderator Shannon Mayer leads a discussion on what the last month has exposed in our business continuity plans and strategies, how to be there for your clients now that they are spread across numerous environments, as well as opportunities and resources available to support you now and in the future. Join us in CompTIA’s mobile app forum for further discussion!

  Dr. Deanna Spoto, PsyD, joins Managed Services Community Chair Corey Kirkendoll to discuss the unique challenges facing small business owners supporting their clients, employees, and families in a time when we all need support. They discuss how to recognize symptoms of being overwhelmed, allowing yourself to ask for help, how to talk with your kids, and the value of routines and boundaries. For more information visit: https://www.comptia.org/blog/establishing-a-self-care-routine-during-the-covid-19-pandemic    

When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast most of Manhattan’s financial district was protected — northern New Jersey did not fare so well. “For one of our clients, the building was blocked off, roads were inaccessible, it was a complete blackout,” said Raffi Jamgotchian of Triada Networks, talking with CompTIA Community Director Miles Jobgen in this MSP Spotlight. “We invoked their DR and had them spun up in a few hours,” he said. What he remembers most though is that a bunch traders came into the Triada office during recovery so they could continue to work and take orders. It’s not typical for a managed services company to open their doors like that, but as far as building customer relationships goes it was priceless. “It adds a little bit of stickiness,” Triada said. “They’re not about to leave you for a couple dollars of savings because they know, when push came to shove, you helped them out.” In addition to building customer relationships and incorporating cyber into disaster and recovery plans, this conversation covers how emerging technologies like IoT, big data and blockchain are playing out in the investment world and how to function as a small MSP when there’s a target on your back. One thing he sees other MSPs missing: keeping your own house in order. “For MSPs, there’s a lot we can do to protect ourselves. Many of us don’t do it, but it’s an unfortunate part of the real world today,” Jamgotchian said, echoing the message of the Security Community’s theme for 2020: Be prepared. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ it’s a matter of ‘when,’ and you need to do everything you can to make sure you’re the last possible target for that to happen.” Subscribe now to keep up on every podcast from this community, and download the CompTIA app to keep up on the conversation around MSPs and security.

Personal responsibility is key to IT security for MSPs, said Jay Tipton of Technology Specialists. “You’ve got people out there that do nothing but social engineering, and they’re very good at it,” said Tipton in this MSP Spotlight episode. “People aren’t taking the time to look at what they’re clicking they just click.” Companies up against clever social engineers need every worker on board to fight IT security threats, and MSPs must find ways to get people to step back and slow down, to read the email or popup before clicking. “How do you get people to take a step back and slow down?” Tipton asked host Miles Jobgen of CompTIA Communities. Listen to this episode for ways the expanding MSP market factors into cybersecurity and what Tipton said brings too much hype to the industry. Stay tuned for talk on work-related haste, mindful attention to clues that could expose fake or malignant emails and the kinds of due diligence required by all MSPs. “You always have to have a plan B in the back of your head no matter what you’re working on,” Tipton said. Subscribe to Breaking Barriers on your favorite podcast app and download the CompTIA app to keep up on all the news from CompTIA Communities.

The practice that makes 5K Technical Services most unique has more to do with conversation than technical prowess. Each employee calls three customers regularly to check in and offer support. “Everybody in the company is customer ambassador,” said Corey Kirkendoll, President and CEO at 5K Technical Services. “We have nontechnical people calling people and super technical people calling people. It’s a conversation like, ‘Hey what’s going on? Is there anything we can do?’ and that’s worked out really well for us.” Kirkendoll started the company after seeing tech-related challenges in volunteer groups, churches and nonprofits. “What I saw consistently was those guys were not able to run their businesses because they had to wait for volunteers to be able to provide support to them,” he said. “We showed them what it’s like to have support and that’s kind of how it took off.” In this MSP Spotlight on Breaking Barriers, Kirkendoll talks with Community Manager Miles Jobgen to talk about the importance of constant customer connection, bad actors and security challenges and why it’s important to spend time with other MSPs. “They’ve either been though what you’re going through or have somebody who knows somebody who can help you so you don’t have to do it by yourself,” Kirkendoll said. Subscribe to Breaking Barriers to hear all the new episodes, and keep up with CompTIA on the new CompTIA app, available in your device’s app store.

Breaking Barriers is proud to present our new MSP Spotlight. In this series, Community Director Miles Jobgen talks with MSPs of all sizes to probe them with the same questions about their culture, successes, challenges and desires for the industry. Michael Goldstein of LAN Infotech joins Jobgen in this episode to discuss their focus on customer satisfaction, giving back to the community and why cybersecurity is so important. Subscribe to Breaking Barriers to catch up on previous episodes and get notifications when a new episode arrives. For more on CompTIA’s Managed Services Community, download the new app from CompTIA.org.

Can you find good employees playing recreational volleyball or killing zombies? In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Jason Brunt of e3 Technologies, Steve Alexander of MSP-Ignite and Miles Jobgen of CompTIA talk about creating an intentional culture, and how Brunt’s personal experience with ADD and dyslexia helped him shape the way he looks for talent. “Our background is what shapes us and we can help use it to drive culture in our companies,” said Alexander. Learn how company culture can impact the success of your business and some real life examples of how to find potential employees in nontraditional ways, from chatting at the airport to playing video games online. “There are a lot of unique ways to find staff and to find people, and there are a lot of good people out there who don’t fit the normal or typical or expected criteria,” Brunt said. “If you know what to look for in a personality — and as long as they have that minimum level of aptitude — you can take their personality to fit with your clients.” Breaking Barriers is brought to you by CompTIA’s Managed Services Community. Subscribe now to get all the latest episodes, and join the community online.

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, we sit in on a live Virtual Hallway Chat with members of CompTIA’s Managed Services Community. Hosted by Charles Love and Joshua Smith, this episode includes ways to automate your invoicing without losing control and new ideas to make sure that you’re getting what you pay for. Listen for pro tips on making the most of your vendors’ services, and how to ask about services you’re missing out on. “If you don’t know it exists, you’ll never take advantage of it,” said Love. Listen live and follow the online conversation on Twitter #comptiachat19. When you’re done listening, download the best tips for this hour-long brainstorming session from https://www.comptia.org/communities/resources/vhc-highlights-get-what-you-pay-for

  Learn about the power of network management for MSPs and why it’s important to “keep the beer cold” for your clients in this episode of Breaking Barriers from CompTIA’s Managed Services Community. Community Chair Charles Love talks with Auvik’s Alex Hoff about ways to build a scalable managed service practice, networking for MSPs and ways MSPs can find revenue beyond desktop and computer managed services. Listen in as they talk about ways to use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to create triggers, alerts and automated responses, and how emerging technologies like the Internet of Things are going to have a big impact on MSPs. Special note to subscribers: Reach out to host Charles Love on Twitter @charlesjlove with the hashtag #podcast to tell us what you’d like to hear on future episodes of Breaking Barriers from CompTIA’s Managed Services Community.  

  The average ransomware attack costs $4,300 dollars and companies pay 10 times that much in downtime, says Datto’s Rob Rae in this episode of Breaking Barriers. He sits down with Cisco’s Amy Hodge, who is vice chair of the Managed Services Community, to talk about Datto’s 2018 State of the Channel Ransomware Report. “The ransomware report is a tool MSPs can use to lead into a security discussion,” Hodge said. MSPs can also repackage information from the report it and use the paper to get end users interested in their managed services. The ransomware report includes data for UK, Canada, Australia and U.S. markets, and is in its third publication. This episode also includes tips on how to sell customers on ransomware solutions without playing on fear, and how to stay on top of GDPR as the standards change across the globe. “Let’s get everything in line so when the laws do change, you don’t have to worry about it,” Rae said. Download the State of the Channel Ransomware Report from the resource library at datto.com. “You can use it as an asset to get your end users interested in your managed services,” Rae said. Datto 2018 State Of The Channel RansomwareReport Recorded Webinar-Datto's Ransomware Report with Rob Rae  

You must understand the breakdown of your costs, services and delivery so that you know how much to charge people, says Vince Tinnirello of Anchor Network Solutions in this episode of Breaking Barriers. It’s one of many tips he offers during this talk with Managed Services Community leader Lisa Person. During the episode, they discuss two core concepts: What does it cost me to deliver service by the hour and how do I price my service offering to clients? “You have to know your expenses and your revenue in order to understand the health of your business,” Tinnirello says. They talk about overall costs and also get into specifics, like whether long term technology planning counts as a service as much as antivirus. “If you really want to measure your true costs, you have to include all of them.” Listen for tips on how to calculate your hourly cost of delivery, decide how much you can charge your clients and factor in curveballs, like client neediness and aging infrastructure. Stay tuned to the end for a deep dive into P&L and ways to stretch your margins. Resources referenced in the podcast HCSD Calculator https://www.comptia.org/communities/resources/hourly-cost-of-service-delivery-calculator Service Plan Pricing https://www.comptia.org/communities/resources/service-plan-pricing-calculator A sample chart of accounts page 6 of Quick Start Guide to Managed IT Service pdf.  https://www.comptia.org/resources/comptia-quick-start-guide-to-managed-it-service

How do you know what you’re getting and how do you know what you’re paying for? In this episode of Breaking Barriers, managed services experts Charles Love and Joshua Smith talk about how to identify invoice oversights and get the most out of your vendor invoices. “How do we get what we’re paying for and ensure we’re leveraging it properly?” Smith said. From both the vendor and the MSP angles, Love and Smith talk about how to avoid overpaying, cancel options you’re not using and ways to stop leaving money on the table. They use partnerships as an illustration of unused benefits: Your partners probably offer shipping or travel discounts that you’re not taking advantage of, or deal registrations that would save you money. CompTIA’s Premier Membership, for example, includes discounts on shipping, rental cars and insurance — stuff companies use every day. Listen to the episode and learn how to turn the magnifying glass back on yourself to identify invoice oversights. Stay tuned for tips on ways you can leverage automation to set reminders and save even more.

  In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Martin Tracey talks with CompTIA’s Managed Services Community manager Lisa Person about offering unified communications as a service (UCAAS). As a master solution provider in the premise and UCASS space, the CEO of LANtelligence offers his insight on how to get into unified communications as a service, and shares the findings of a research study that looks into how providers of the software go to market, what’s changed over the last 10 years and how direct sales have upended the industry. “We’ve seen a lot of change in the industry, so the research study was to see the trends and what’s really happening from people who are working directly in it,” Tracey said. They also discuss the difference between the American and the Canadian markets, including the prevalence of private label cloud solutions, and how gaps in the market relate to the amount of solutions available. Listen to learn what a master agent’s role is and what kind of value they bring to the table and stay tuned to hear Tracey’s opinion on why now is the right time to get into UCAAS. https://www.research.net/r/2018UCaaSMSP If you are an MSP who is currently selling UCaaS solutions or thinking of selling Cloud-Based Unified Communications LANtelligence needs your input. Please participate in the second annual channel survey to help us identify main challenges and pain points that MSPs face. The results of the survey will help MSPs compete and win in the UCaaS market as the channel continues to evolve.    

Blockchain is powerful because there’s no centralized infrastructure that controls it. Community Manager Lisa Person talks with technology writer and senior editor at Fixate IO Christopher Tozzi about the power of blockchain and how MSPs can get into the game. In this episode of Breaking Barriers, a podcast from CompTIA’s Managed Services Community, the two talk about how to use smart contracts to regulate blockchain, how to write SLAs to be sure you get paid for your work and whether 5G will solve any of these problems. “To use it successfully you need to think about what could go wrong and how to manage those problems,” Tozzi said. Early adoption hype cycle, MSPs that want to get involved in blockchain need to get serious about familiarizing themselves with software that runs on the blockchain and the new challenges they haven’t thought about. “Folks are much more excited about the political and economic potential of blockchain technology and there’s been less discussion on the technical side of things and how you actually deploy blockchain technology in an everyday setting,” Tozzi said. Stay tuned to the end for his advice to MSPs. “A lot of these problems you can’t solve on the fly, they’re problems you’re going to want to spend time thinking about,” he said.   For more on blockchain, read CompTIA’s Practical Guide for the Public Sector: Harnessing the Blockchain Revolution. 

According to CompTIA’s new State of the Industry report, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the most popular of the emerging technologies, and the one most MSPs have a familiarity with. In this episode of “Breaking Barriers with the Managed Services Community,” community leader Lisa Person talks with David Schwartz, author of the white paper “What to Look for in an IoT Managed Services Provider.” The host and guest talk about how to the Internet of Things to create efficiencies for your clients and save them money overall. They also discuss the pros and cons of building and partnering to solve IoT security issues. “There’s no ‘expert in the field’ that’s at any business because so few individuals at any business have really done this,” Schwartz said. An MSP with deployment experience can guide new clients through IoT solutions and help grow the products they provide. “Ultimately, we want people to do what they were trained to do and not get pulled away from their skill set by getting bogged down these random tasks that IoT really can supplement and take over for them,” Schwartz said. His company uses IoT to monitor corporate-provided mobile devices and identify cost-cutting methods, and creates reports for those enterprises so they can drill down and enforce a mobile policy. “As an MSP, you’re always doing consulting to some extent, and this allowed us to become a stronger resource to our customers,” he said. “They’re dealing with something that’s so new to them. It’s the wild wild west.” The Breaking Barriers podcast, from CompTIA’s Managed Services community, features experts in the MSP space and interviews with members of the CompTIA Managed Services community. You can download the white paper from the Managed Services Community resources at www.comptia.org/ and subscribe to this and all podcasts from CompTIA Communities on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.