State of the Channel

In the Spring of 2019, Datto launched the State of the Channel podcast. Our first episode covered work/life balance for MSPs who often work in a 24/7 industry. To celebrate a year of published podcasts, we thought it would be interesting to bring back some of the MSPs featured in that original episode to talk through how work/life balance has changed during the global health crisis. Dive into this podcast to hear about the challenges as well as the silver linings your peers are experiencing while working remotely.Interviewer:Rob Rae, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Datto, Inc. Interviewees: Vince Tinnirello, Anchor Network Solutions, Inc. Greg Sharp, Managing Director, Base 2

Join Taylor Bradley, Director and HRBP and Melissa McRoberts, Talent Acquisition Partner for our latest episode of State of the Channel Podcast. The global health crisis has changed the normal recruitment process. If you're a growing MSP, trying to find new candidates to hire, this podcast will provide value for you. We'll cover tactics and strategies that can help you successfully recruit new team members, host effective video interviews, and even onboard employees you hire during the global health crisis.Host: Taylor Bradley, Director and HRBPInterviewee: Melissa McRoberts, Talent Acquisition Partner

Our third episode in our work from home series, dives deeper into the technology needed to enable a seamless work from home transition. Michael Bienvenue, Product Marketing Manager, RMM interviews our resident expert, Todd Nemeth, Senior Manager, Internal Systems, on Datto's transition to having a remote workforce, the tools we employed to get there, and techniques your business can use to make the same leap successfully. Host: Michael Bienvenue, Product Marketing Manager, RMMInterviewee: Todd Nemeth, Senior Manager, Internal Systems

In the second episode in our work from home series, Melissa Hockenberry, Community Program Manager and Sharon Malfesi, Director, Agile Project Management, dive into the complicated topic of effective and efficient communication in a work from home environment. How do you ensure everyone on your team is looped in if you're not seeing them in the office? How do you ensure that you're having enough meetings to stay connected but not so many that productivity wanes? How do the rules of communication change or shift when most of your engagement is happening over video or tools like Slack? Melissa and Sharon provide insights into all of those questions and many more.Host: Melissa Hockenberry, Community Program ManagerInterviewee: Sharon Malfesi, Director, Agile Project Management

This episode of State of the Channel is the first in a series about developing a successful work from home lifestyle. Whether you're just starting to work from home or if you transitioned to working remotely some time ago, this series will provide valuable insights on how to do so effectively. This first episode, features Melissa Hockenberry, Community Program Manager and Sharon Malfesi, Director, Agile Project Management, discussing how to transition to working remotely, setting up your work environment and time management.Host: Melissa Hockenberry, Community Program ManagerInterviewee: Sharon Malfesi, Director, Agile Project Management

Understanding your company story, the value you bring to clients, and training your sales team on those messages are all crucial components of a successful sales strategy. In this episode our own Scott West, Senior Product Marketing Manager, interviews Sitima Fowler, CEO of Capstone IT, Inc. and dive into tactics MSPs can use to boost revenue and sales by leveraging the value of the services they provide and the storytelling abilities of their sales team. Sitima also provides insights on onboarding, training, marketing, and more.Host: Scott West, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Datto, IncInterviewee: Sitima Fowler, CEO, Capstone IT, inc.

Regardless of the size of your company, finding the right mix of talent to create a winning sales team can be a tricky process. In this episode Greg Sharp, Managing Director at Base2 and James Bergl, Director of Sales APAC at Datto share details on how Base2 develops their sales team. They cover everything from recruiting the right individuals and training them on your services, to encouraging excellent performance and inspiring high retention rates.Interviewer: James Bergl, Director of Sales, APACInterviewee: Greg Sharp, Managing Director, Base 2 & Founder of ZenContract

The vendors a Managed Service Provider partners with help to fuel an MSP's offerings and growth. How do you know which vendors are going to be a good fit for your business long term? What qualities should you look for in a vendor and what questions should you ask them? In this episode of State of the Channel Datto's Caroline Chapin, Director of Partner Programs at Datto, asks David Thomas, Group Managing Director at Bluegrass Group, to provide insights on how to find and vet the best vendors for your business.Interviewer: Caroline Chapin, Director, Partner Programs, Datto, Inc.Interviewee: David Thomas, Group Managing Director, Bluegrass Group

Whether you're a new MSP just starting to build your business or a seasoned veteran who is trying to find new ways to grow, pricing and bundling strategies are key to garnering new clients. In this episode our own Tom Dodds interviews Sean Houghton, Owner of Aztech IT Solutions Ltd. discuss how to define your pricing and create service bundles in a way that serves your clients effectively and also provides reliable recurring revenue to your business.Interviewer:Tom Dodds, Account Executive, Datto, Inc.Interviewees:Sean Houghton's, Owner, Aztech IT Solutions Ltd.

In this special edition of The State of The Channel we are bringing you to a live event that Datto hosted in the Fall of 2019. A panel of cybersecurity experts from Datto, Huntress, Connectwise, ID Agent and ITECH-Solutions discuss the increasingly complicated landscape of cybersecurity that managed service providers face, current and future threats, and the tactics MSPs can use to prepare and protect their clients and their own businesses.Host:Brian Weiss, CEO at iTech SolutionsPanelists:Ryan Weeks, CISO at Datto, IncNick Streaker, CTO at ID AgentKyle Hanslovan, Co-Founder & CEO at Huntress LabsJohn Ford, CIO at Connectwise

When it comes to metrics and analytics, the data available from various tools can become overwhelming. What do you measure, how do you analyze it and what actions do you take in response to those results? In this episode of The State of the Channel, Stephen Buyze from SDB-Consulting covers all that and more, providing insights on the most important KPIs for Managed Service Providers to pay attention to. Stephen also discusses how those metrics can be leveraged to drive continuous improvement and growth of your business.HostMike Bienvenue, Product Marketing Manager, Datto RMMIntervieweeStephen D Buyze, Lead Consultant at SDB-Consulting

A client asks why they should hire you over your competitor. What do you say? Every business owner should have the answer to this question but in some industries, such as managed services, many businesses have similar offerings. In this episode of State of the Channel, Datto's Henry Washburn, Senior Competitive Intelligence Manager, and Josh Lambert, Technical Competitive Intelligence, discuss the importance of competitive intelligence and inward facing audits to find opportunities of differentiation.HostsHenry Washburn, Senior Competitive Intelligence ManagerJosh Lambert, Technical Competitive Intelligence

Many MSPs still serve a variety of customers from break-fix and project focused work to true managed services contracts. So how do you encourage loyal break-fix customers to transition to managed services? In this episode of State of the Channel, Stephen D Buyze, Lead Consultant at SDB-Consulting, explains how MSPs can alter their service level agreements to prioritize and grow their managed services contracts.HostMike Bienvenue, Product Marketing Manager, Datto RMMIntervieweeStephen D Buyze, Lead Consultant at SDB-Consulting

We know that many of our listeners are currently facing hurricane season and the threat of natural disasters that might negatively impact their families, homes, businesses, and customers. On this episode of State of the Channel, we address some of the technical best practices for natural disaster preparedness and recovery, tactics on how to communicate to clients and employees before, during, and after the storms, as well as how Managed Service Providers can be a positive and hopeful force in their communities in a post storm environment. HostCaroline Chapin, Director of Partner Marketing, DattoIntervieweesBlake Dowling, CEO, Aegis Business TechnologiesAlicyn Homes, Blue Technical Support Expert 1, DattoTony Fabiano, Technical Support Expert, Level 2, Datto

As an MSP you may know that hosting in-person events provide a unique opportunity to connect with your clients, build relationships, and provide education. However, the effort and time required to plan a successful event can seem overwhelming. In this podcast Abby Warner, Chief Operation Officer of The Brookfield Group and Milan Rajkovik, Managing director of Milan Industries share the strategies and best practices they use to run successful events.Interviewer:Chris Tate, Business Development Director, DattoInterviewees:Abby Warner, Chief Operation Officer of The Brookfield GroupMilan Rajkovik, Managing director of Milan Industries

Questions about what 5G actually is? Looking to learn more about what WiFi 6 might include? How should you, the MSP, think about not only going to market with this new technology but also how to transition from the old? Our latest episode dives into what's next in the networking industry and how MSPs can prepare themselves and their clients for the next generation of WiFi.

In our 2019 State of the MSP Report 44% of respondents identified Sales and Marketing as a top pain point. Are you an MSP who relates to this challenge?In our latest podcast episode James Bergl and two of your most successful peers from the United Kingdom and Australia share sales, marketing, and lead generation tactics that you can implement to see positive growth as an MSP.Interviewees:Tim Walker, Managing Director, Aura Technology, Ltd.AJ Williams, Managing Direct, Mercury IT

In this episode Datto's Christian Nagele and Mark Simon share stories of how they came to work in the MSP space. You'll hear how Datto RMM got started and Christian's perspective on the evolution on the industry as a veteran as well as Mark's fresh perspective, having just joined the industry with a wealth of business expertise.This podcast features:Christian Nagele, Director of Product Management, RMMMark Simon, Managing Director of EMEA

Our last episode focused on the unique state of MSPs working in the United Kingdom. In this week's installment Datto's Vice President of Business Development, Rob Rae, interviews Greg Sharp, Managing Director, Base 2 & Founder of ZenContract, on the state of MSPs and their industry in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). The discussion dives into the maturity of the ANZ market, how to build a thriving sales culture, how best to prepare your staff for leadership changes, and more.Interviewer:Rob Rae, Vice President of Business Development, Datto, Inc.Interviewee:Greg Sharp, Managing Director, Base 2 & Founder of ZenContract

If you're a Managed Service Provider (MSP) your challenges, opportunities and even the growth of your business can differ depending on the region of the world you work in. In this episode of State of Channel, Rob Rae interviews Mitesh Patel, Managing Director at Fifosys, CEO at Engage Property Technology, on the unique state of the MSP industry in the United Kingdom. The conversation covers everything from GDPR and M&A activity, to educating your clients and standing out in a crowded market.

Each MSP has a unique story about how they started their business, the challenges they've conquered, and their goals for the future. In this podcast Kevin Damghani of ITPartners+ dives into: How Kevin and his team made a successful transition from break-fix to MSPFuture trends he believes MSPs need to adapt to Insights into why his business continues to grow and be successful

"Work/Life Balance". It's a term we've all heard many times, and in our digital and easily accessible world, it seems to be increasingly elusive to find. For Managed Service Providers, work/life balance is especially difficult, with clients expecting service and support 24/7, 365. In our 2019 State of the MSP Report we gathered insights from over 1,600 MSPs and found that 38% reported "Work/Life Balance" kept them up at night. So we decided it was time to dive deeper into the topic. In this episode we interview four leading MSPs and business owners, from three different countries, on their tactics and tips for finding balance in a busy life.This podcast features:Interviewer:Rob Rae, Vice President of Business Development, Datto, Inc.Interviewees: Paul Franks, Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkGard and PlanITDRVince Tinnirello, Anchor Network Solutions, Inc. Greg Sharp, Managing Director, Base 2Mitesh Patel, Managing Director at Fifosys, CEO at Engage Property Technology