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Peter Kujawa, executive vice president and GM of Service Leadership and IT Nation at ConnectWise Labor is roughly 75% of a managed service provider’s cost of goods, which makes compensation strategy one of the biggest levers in the business. In this episode of In The Channel, Robert Dutt sits down with Peter Kujawa, EVP and GM of Service Leadership and IT Nation at ConnectWise, to dig into the findings of the 2026 Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation Report. The conversation starts with the Canadian data, which shows that solution providers in this market are planning the lowest pay increases of any region surveyed – just 7% of employees are seeing raises above 6%, and 42% are getting 3% or less. Kujawa attributes that to macro-economic softness, pullbacks in hiring by large tech firms, and the return-to-office trend reducing the remote competition for talent that was driving up wages in 2021 and 2022. From there, the discussion turns to what separates top-quartile firms from the rest. Best-in-class MSPs pay their service teams roughly $10,000 less on average, but the reason isn’t underpayment – it’s a staffing model built on a higher ratio of Level 1 technicians, made possible by unified tech stacks and narrower customer profiles. Those same firms use three times as much incentive-based compensation as bottom-quartile operators, yet industry-wide adoption of incentive pay has barely moved despite years of data supporting it. The episode also covers early data on AI and automation in the service desk, where digital workers are starting to show up in Level 1 and Level 2 roles, and a look at sales and marketing investment benchmarks – including why the most profitable firms are adding lead generation roles instead of sales headcount. The full report is available from Service Leadership for $2,000 USD, or free for MSPs who contribute their data during the annual survey period. Read Full Transcript Robert Dutt: Hello and welcome to In The Channel from ChannelBuzz.ca, bringing news and information to the Canadian IT channel community for the last 16 years. I’m Robert Dutt, editor of ChannelBuzz.ca and your host for the show. If you run an MSP, labor is your single biggest cost – roughly 75 cents of every dollar you bring in. So knowing what to pay, who to pay more, and where you might be over or under investing in your people isn’t just an HR exercise, it’s a profitability question. Service Leadership, part of ConnectWise, has been benchmarking compensation across the IT solution provider space for years, and they’ve just released their 2026 annual report. What makes this year’s data especially interesting for our audience is that it includes dedicated Canadian data, and the Canadian picture looks quite different than the rest of the market. My guest today is Peter Kujawa, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Service Leadership and IT Nation at ConnectWise. Peter is a former MSP operator himself, and he brings a practitioner’s eye to the data that I think you’ll find really useful. Let’s get right into it, my chat with Peter Kujawa. Robert Dutt: Peter, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it. Peter Kujawa: Yeah, happy to be here. Thanks for having me on. Robert Dutt: I guess the name of the report kind of says what it does on the tin, but for listeners who aren’t familiar with the Service Leadership compensation report, can you kind of give us the 60-second version of what it is, how long it’s been running, and why you guys choose to run it? Peter Kujawa: The compensation report has run – I think this is our seventh or eighth edition of it – but what’s significant is we’ve been running it as an annual report for the last four years. The reason that we’ve made it an annual report is because when we hadn’t run the report for seven years – Service Leadership last had run it in 2015 – in 2021, wage inflation was running so high and causing so many challenges for MSPs that we were getting a lot of questions about what I should be paying my people, what are increases looking like, I’m getting requests for 10, 12, 14% increases, is this in line with the market. And we didn’t have the data. And we’re data people – we like to be able to not talk in theoretical, but talk in data. And so we decided to dust off the older methodology and we ran the report in 2022. It was so successful that we decided to make it an annual report. And so every year in October and November, we open up our portal and MSPs from all over the world enter their data into the system. Anybody who enters their data gets a free copy of the report. We publish it, and anybody else can still buy a copy of the report for $2,000 US. But the value of it’s incredible. What we’re able to do with the report that nobody else can is, because we measure profitability of the industry worldwide, we’re able to correlate what companies – what MSPs – are paying their people, and profitability. So in other words, you’ll see in the report entire sections of analysis saying, what is it that the top quartile most profitable companies are doing differently in terms of paying their people than the bottom quartile? So that provides a lot of really useful guidance. But really the meat of it is when you go into the actual tables. We have over 60 positions that we collect compensation data on from MSPs. And you can see, based on experience level, what MSPs are paying their people for these positions. One of our objectives going in was to be able to provide a report that only shows data from the industry. All of our data is industry-specific data. And why that’s important is, while a hospital system or an enterprise company or others may have level one help desk positions, or they might have project engineers or other positions that sound like MSP positions, in reality, the jobs of those positions are different than they are at MSPs. It’s really hard when you go out and you do a market-based compensation study to really understand, as an MSP, what I should be paying my people versus what enterprise pays for similar positions. So our data is industry-specific. We collect it every year. It’s really recent. We carve it up by region and do different things to give value to MSPs all over the world. Robert Dutt: You’ve said in the past that we’re in the golden age of running an MSP. The compensation data from this year’s report – does it back that up? Does it complicate things? Basically, what’s the headline here in terms of the compensation trend? Peter Kujawa: I would say both. And so first of all, yes, I said that – including last week at London from the main stage keynote. The last six years have been the best profitability years ever for the industry. Best in class has done better than ever. Bottom quartile has lost less money than ever. Still in many cases losing money, but that’s a different discussion. However, MSPs’ largest source of cost is what they pay their people. Delivering services is, by definition, a services-based business. So if I’m delivering managed services, I’m spending about 25% of my cost of goods on my tools. The other 75% or so is on my people. And MSP employees have historically had wage increases at about twice the rate of CPI. So the challenge for MSPs has been, I’m having to pay my people these increases, I’m seeing my cost of labor going up at twice the rate of inflation, I can only increase my customer’s cost by a certain degree. I probably can’t increase them year over year for too many years in a row at twice the rate of inflation. So I need to figure out how to be more efficient in my business. The good news for MSPs is that crazy wage inflation we saw back in ’21 and ’22 has mitigated in three of the four geos. The only exception is Europe. So it’s gotten better, but wage inflation is still a huge issue for MSPs. Since 2013, we measure the relationship between service revenue and the cost of your service team and wages. It’s one of our most important KPIs at Service Leadership. And we haven’t seen any improvement in that since 2013, despite the tools getting better, despite pricing increasing. MSPs have been stuck because wage inflation has been so hot. And so yes, the last six years have been the best time ever for MSPs. But MSPs have to fix this issue with labor costs. And so that’s what’s so exciting about AI and automation, the things that we’re doing at ConnectWise with zofiQ and our platform. These are things that give MSPs the opportunity to finally get ahead and really take a bite out of this labor cost issue. Robert Dutt: Let’s talk about Canada specifically. Your data shows that Canadian solution providers are planning the lowest pay increases of any region. I think it was only 7% of employees are getting raises north of 6%, 42% getting 3% or less. What’s behind that? Peter Kujawa: Well, I think there’s a bunch of things that are going on right now. Number one is, depending on the region, there’s some economic softness. And when there’s softness in the economy in general, that comes into the labor pool. So if other companies are not adding staff at the same rate, it takes some of the pressure off of MSPs in that area. So there’s definitely some of that going on. I think also just the overall tech economy, especially in North America – we’ve seen a lot of announcements about significant cuts from some of the larger tech companies. And that has a way of bleeding down into the MSP space. We saw the opposite in 2020 and ’21 and ’22, and that was all these companies are hiring and they’re adding remote labor all over. And all of a sudden, local MSPs are having to compete with some of the biggest tech companies in the world for their local talent because of remote work. Well, many of those – A, many of those companies have been cutting a lot of jobs and it’s been very publicized over the past year. B, remote work has changed as well. We have analysis in there showing that most companies in the MSP space have returned to the office. And that’s definitely something that I think you’ve seen in big tech as well. So those two things have taken some of the pressure off and improved those really high-level increases. And I think that’s what we’ve seen in three of our four markets. Robert Dutt: In terms of the Canadian numbers, I’m curious if you see them making – is it a company choice? Is it discipline, or is it a sign that Canadian MSPs are under more financial pressure than their peers in other markets? Peter Kujawa: I’d have to run and take a look at the data on the profitability of the Canadian market compared to some of the other markets right now. I’m not aware of any of that being an issue right now, but I could certainly take a look at that, Robert, and get back to you. I think it’s more a case of the North America trends on labor. It’s probably indicative of a general softness in the Canadian economy and just some concerns that companies have. When companies are concerned about what’s going on today in the macro economy in their region, they pull back on hiring. Well, when they pull back on hiring, that creates less opportunities for the employees of the MSP to jump ship and go somewhere else and get a big bump. Second of all, I think MSPs are known as great training grounds for tech employees, and the tech employees know this. Recruiters know this. MSPs are really fertile recruiting ground. Well, it’s a lot more tempting to take that offer when it looks like the economy is red hot and everybody’s growing. When it looks like, you know, things are pretty good for me at the MSP – I like what I do, and yes, I could go to this other company, but we’re seeing all these cuts at all these other companies, and my MSP is doing fine and growing and has been good to me – maybe I’m happy with a normal increase and maybe that huge increase I was looking at getting is not as tempting and I’m maybe not going to leverage it. So I think all these things tie together when you’re looking at what goes on in wage inflation in our industry. Robert Dutt: So from the other point of view, it kind of cuts the chances of it becoming a retention issue. As you say, there’s those kinds of loyalty factors built in. One of the more counterintuitive findings is that best-in-class MSPs – the top quarter in profitability – gave roughly three times fewer large pay increases than bottom quartile firms. What are they doing differently? Peter Kujawa: Yeah, it’s an interesting question. There’s a few factors that tie in. There’s some other linkage to what the best in class is doing differently, but I think specifically in terms of increases, there’s a couple things that play out. Number one is the best in class have built a business that is much easier to recruit somebody into and get that person to be productive faster. And what I mean by that is best-in-class companies are servicing a more narrow target customer profile. They are much more likely to have their customer base on a singular tech stack. So they’re not servicing multiple vendors per each thing that they offer. So let’s say, for example, firewall support – just a basic example. A best-in-class company is much more likely to have unified on a single vendor and have 100% of their managed service clients on that vendor’s products. As a result, it’s a lot easier for a new tech coming in to understand their offerings, to become productive faster. So they hire more level one techs and they’re able to recruit those techs and get them up and running easier. That gives them an advantage when there’s techs that are thinking of leaving and they need to match a higher increase in order to keep that tech. If you know that we’re going to lose a certain number of techs a year and we’re going to need to replace a certain number of techs a year and it’s fine, we’ll deal with it, we have the engine that’s capable of sustaining and bringing them in – well, then I’m more likely, when a tech comes in on a Friday and says, “Hey, I’ve got this offer. I like it here, but it’s a 20% increase or 15% increase. If you match it, I’ll stay” – well, if I’m a bottom quartile shop and I have all this additional complexity in my organization, it’s harder for me to get somebody up and running. I’m probably more likely to match that or come close to it if they stay. If I’m a best-in-class shop, I’m much more likely to say, “Hey, you’ve been great here. Glad we hired you two years ago or whenever. Keep in touch. And if you know anybody who’d be a good fit, send them our way.” So that’s one factor. Number two is, when you work at a bottom quartile MSP, it’s not a lot of fun. Process is not as good. As I said, you don’t have as much of a unified tech stack and target customer profile. As a result, the quality of your service delivery tends to suffer. You’re probably getting yelled at more often by your customers. It’s just, in general, not as enjoyable of a place to be. Best-in-class shops grow the fastest. When you’re working at a best-in-class MSP that’s growing at twice the rate of a bottom quartile MSP, that means there’s going to be more opportunity for you from a career perspective. Life is a lot more fun when you’re at a faster growing, more profitable firm. So those companies are able to be more discerning on the increases that they give. I think the other factor at play is the best-in-class MSPs tend to be much better at using data to make decisions. And that’s not just for what they pay their people – they use data and really understand what’s going on in their business, in their industry. They’re less likely to just throw around increases for the sake of increases, and they run their businesses in a tighter way. So I think there’s several things that tie into that. Robert Dutt: It sounds like the takeaway, the lesson, is not so much “pay less” as it is structure the organization more intentionally, more thoughtfully, and you’re able to – for all these reasons that you outline – keep people or better react when folks do want to move away for a much higher paycheck. Peter Kujawa: Yeah. Run your business at a higher operational maturity level, and you will get all sorts of other benefits from it, including this. One of the other slides that is in there that’s tied into what you just said is, we looked at on average, by category of employee, what is the best in class, median, and bottom quartile pay in each category. And one of the questions I get a lot from the report is, on average, the best in class pays their managed services team $10,000 a year less than the bottom quartile. It’s about $75,000 for bottom quartile, about $65,000 for best in class. So the question is, well, if I go work at a best-in-class MSP, am I being underpaid? Do I have to take a pay cut to go work at a best-in-class MSP, or are they just not fair with what they pay their people? The answer is, that’s not the way to look at that data. The best in class is able to pay less on average because, if you look at a managed service team, you have level one techs, level two techs, level threes. You also have service managers, you have vCIOs, project managers or project coordinators. So you have all these people that constitute the team, but the majority of the positions are your techs – level one, two, and three techs. Our data says that the best in class have a much higher percentage of level one techs. The bottom quartile have a much higher percentage of level two and three techs. So if I have two MSPs side by side, and they both have 10 techs in their tech team, but one of them has two level ones and the other eight are a mix of level twos and threes – well, those level twos and threes cost a lot more. So if I have another MSP that has 10 techs but six of them are level one techs and four of them are level two and three, those level one techs cost a lot less. If I add all those up and I divide by the number of employees I have, my average cost per tech is much lower if I have more level one techs than if I have more level two and three techs. So you can go to work at a best-in-class MSP and do well. In fact, they pay more incentive pay as a percentage on average. So if you’re really a rock star and you go in and do a great job at the business, you should actually be able to make as much or more money. Robert Dutt: You talked before about the 14% or so of gross margin benchmark for marketing spend. Are there similar concrete benchmarks in this report that an MSP owner could take back to their business this week and immediately act on in terms of improving profitability or improving the business? Peter Kujawa: Yes. There’s a number of them. I would say it would depend on the size or maturity of the MSP what they would act on or take back. But if nothing else, the first thing I would suggest is go into the actual data tables and see how your people compare and understand if – first of all, no MSP leader or owner ever hears from their people, “You know, I think we’re kind of overpaid. Why don’t we – we would like to see our pay reduced to the market,” right? There’s a constant pressure to do two things when you’re running an MSP. Number one is to pay more. Number two is to add more bodies. So I would go back first and foremost, look at the tables and say, here’s what I have for people, here’s their experience level, here’s where they’re at. How am I comparing to what I’m seeing in the market? That would be number one. Number two is I would, regardless of the size of the MSP, look at my incentive pay for both managers and staff positions. I would take a look at what percentage of total annual earnings are tied to incentive. The best in class on average ties about three times as much to incentive pay as the bottom quartile, for both staff and for managers. Well, how do they do that? There’s some best practices to incentive compensation. What you don’t want to do is go out tomorrow and just cut a percentage of pay out of your people’s base and shift it to incentive and say, “Hey, great news guys. Effective today, I just cut your pay by 10%, but now you get an incentive and you can actually earn a little bit more.” That will not go well. So there’s best practices for how to implement this. Start with your managers. Build the incentive, make sure you’ve got it right, you’re measuring it right. Then roll it out to your staff positions. What you’re incenting is really important. You want to make sure you’re tying it to the greatest degree of what they have control over. And you’re not just tying everything to the profitability of the business or sales growth. There are other things that people tend to have more influence over. So really understand incentive pay and how to leverage that as well. Depending on the size your MSP is, there’s also some really interesting information in there about some of the staffing composition. For example, we know that – you cited the 14% of gross margin should be invested in sales and marketing. That’s true. About 4% or so of that tends to go to marketing. About 10% of that tends to go to sales. But what’s interesting is, when we looked at staffing FTEs by role, the best in class are actually adding more lead gen people in marketing and the bottom quartile are adding more salespeople. So they’re both trying to grow their business. They’re both focused on new logo acquisition. But the best in class has learned that salespeople are expensive. They’re hard to find great ones. It takes a while to get them productive. When I have a good one, I’m much better off to invest some additional money in my marketing engine and use that marketing engine to drive more leads back to my salespeople and make sure that my salespeople are really doing what they’re best at all day. The bottom quartile tends to just add more sales bodies and hope that they can be more productive. So there are some differences in the report that get into some of those best practices. It’s part of the reason the ConnectWise partner program was designed the way that it was – to really help with lead gen and to help MSPs tackle some of those challenges. Because it’s really frustrating when you add salespeople and you’re spending a lot of money and you’re not seeing new sales come in. You want to make sure that they’re really productive. Robert Dutt: This year you’re tracking digital workers for the first time – AI agents, automation bots. How widespread is adoption right now amongst the firms in your data set? Are we talking about 5% experimenting, or is this something that’s pretty material in the results? Peter Kujawa: At this point, the data told us about what we expected, which is we’re really early on. Our goal this year was to collect a baseline number. And what we saw was that most MSPs as of last year did not yet have full-time digital workers, but where we did see them was in level one and level two tech roles, which – that’s where we’re seeing it in the industry in general. So that makes perfect sense to us. What we think we’ll see is, over the next couple of years, those numbers are going to start to ramp up pretty significantly. Robert Dutt: When you look at firms that are deploying digital workers and you look at their compensation data side by side, are they paying fewer people more, or are they just running leaner? Peter Kujawa: I think at this point, because of how early on they are, they’re just getting up and going. But where we’re starting to see the gains is you’re starting to see a little bit of a shift in the staffing model mix. Back to that firm that has 10 employees in their help desk – let’s say they’re best in class and they have six of those are level ones, three of them are level twos and they have one level three. What we’re starting to see is, as the report says, there’s about 23% or so turnover in your level ones. So as they are losing some of their level one techs, they’re not backfilling some of those positions at all or as quickly. As they’re building these efficiency gains into their help desk and starting to see some automation gains, we are starting to see some impact in profitability and in that staffing model. Again, we’re really in the early, early stages of this. We think it’ll start showing up significantly in the Service Leadership data by later this year, because our profitability data is always a quarter behind by definition. But anecdotally, some of the MSPs that we talk to are starting to see those gains, and they are starting to see that manifest with their level one staffing particularly. Robert Dutt: It’s going to be an interesting space to watch and see what that looks like as that trend line develops. If you’re a Canadian MSP owner, particularly a smaller MSP, and you could look at only two or three data points from this report to kind of pressure test your own comp strategy, what would you be looking at first? Peter Kujawa: I would look first at the data tables of the average by experience per position. So I would first start with all my most common positions. For most MSPs, those are going to be level one and maybe level two techs. And I’m going to look at by experience, what am I paying each of my people? So I’m going to use that. And then I’m going to go into my other positions through my organization. I’m going to use that to really pressure test – am I paying correctly? Number two is I would go in and look at my incentive pay. Do I have something tied to performance for every one of my people? If I do, am I doing this the right way? Have I set up the plans in a way that’s going to lead to better results for the business and for the employee when the employee does great? I mean, that’s one of the measures of an optimal incentive plan – when the employee overperforms and gets paid on an overperformance, everybody’s happy. If the employee is happy but the owner of the business is unhappy because the employee hit their overperformance, well, that’s bad. I’ve got a problem with my incentive. So I’m going to look at how I structured the incentive for everybody. Those would be number one and number two. Number three, I’m going to start looking at, depending on the size of MSP I am, what should my model be evolving into? I’m going to use this as part of my budgeting. So depending on the fiscal year timing, you might be early-stage fiscal year, you might be late-stage if you do a mid-year fiscal year. Regardless, I’m going to start looking at this data and start modeling it out to see how does this fit into my budget for next year. What should I be starting to plan on for changes I’m going to want to make in my compensation structure? Because you really want to get ahead of those and make sure that they fit into the overall business goals of what you’re trying to do. Robert Dutt: You mentioned near the top of the interview that wage inflation peaked in 2022. It’s been easing since. Is that a reason for MSPs to breathe easier, or is it masking something that they should be watching? Peter Kujawa: Yeah, it’s the opposite. In 2022, wage inflation was running upwards of 10% or more. We were seeing these crazy increases out in the market as a norm. But on the flip side, we were also seeing managed service organic revenue growth running at its peak – about 25%. And the reason it was so hot was a mix of a few things, but a significant contributing factor was price increases on managed service offerings. MSPs got much better at that time at understanding, I have a gun to my head from all this wage inflation – I better start doing some uncomfortable things with increasing pricing for my customer base. And they did. And we saw that in the data, which got the MSPs through it. They were able to maintain profitability, et cetera. So that was the good news. The bad news is that you can’t increase prices at that level indefinitely. And so yes, wage inflation is better, but again, we’re back to more of a normal increased cadence on pricing. And yet MSP wage inflation, even though it’s much, much better than 2022, still runs about twice the rate of CPI. MSPs cannot take their eye off the ball with this. It’s really important as we go forward that MSPs be focused on where can I drive efficiency gains in my business. Where do I have waste today? Forget AI and automation for a second. Are there employees that I’ve been carrying that are not producing, but I like them, and so I keep them around? I just haven’t been disciplined at making some tough decisions. If that’s the case, make those tough decisions first. Second is, every MSP out there needs to be focused on automation and AI. It’s not for luxury reasons. It’s for survival reasons. The industry is changing rapidly. Every MSP needs to be focused on how can I get more efficient with my cost of labor and how can I make sure that as I’m growing my business, I’m not growing my labor cost at an equivalent rate to the growth of my business. These things will ensure that not only will the MSP survive, but they should be able to improve their profitability. If they’re bottom quartile, get up to median. If they’re median, get up to best in class. And really be well positioned for the evolution of the industry over the next few years. So yes, it’s good news that wage inflation has improved. But it hasn’t taken the pressure off at all for MSPs to focus in on AI and automation. Robert Dutt: And my last question – what’s one thing that surprises you in this year’s data that you didn’t expect to find there? Peter Kujawa: That’s a great question, because nothing surprises me at this point ever looking at the data year in and year out. I think I continue to be really surprised by the bottom quartile and the median. We’ve been talking for years about incentive pay and tying your employees to performance. And yet we’re not seeing the needle move significantly in the bottom quartile and the median in that regard. I would have expected by now, with how many years we’ve been talking about this and publishing this data, that we would have seen some more significant improvements in tying employees’ pay to performance. But we’re not really seeing that significantly change. So again, if I’m a smaller, midsize MSP, or even a larger MSP, I’m going to use the report as an opportunity to go in and look at what we’re doing in that regard and make sure that we’re doing what we can to tie employee performance to their pay. Robert Dutt: It makes a lot of sense. I think that disconnect is a big neon sign pointing towards an opportunity to optimize. Peter, I appreciate your taking the time and walking us through so much of this data. There’s some real value in there for the MSP community. Peter Kujawa: Well, thanks for having me, Robert. Enjoyed the interview. Robert Dutt: There you have it – Peter Kujawa from ConnectWise and Service Leadership. I’d like to thank Peter for his time. He brought a lot of substance to this one. And thank you for listening. A few things I’m taking away from the conversation. First, that Canadian stat. We’ve got the lowest planned pay increases of any region in the report. Peter’s read on that is that it’s less about financial pressure and more about a macro environment that’s eased the competitive pressure on talent. Whether that’s a strategic advantage or a risk you’re not seeing yet is worth thinking about. Second, and this might be the most actionable piece – the best-in-class firms aren’t just paying less. They’re paying differently. More incentive-based comp, smarter staffing mix, investing in lead gen over sales headcount. That’s a playbook, not just a data point. And third, if you’re not using incentive pay yet, you’re in the majority, but that’s not necessarily where you want to be. We’ll have a link to the report in the show notes. If you’re enjoying the ChannelBuzz.ca podcast, do me a favor and follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening. We’re on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most of the major directories. And if you’ve got a minute to leave a rating or a review, that goes a long way to helping other folks in the channel find the show. Until next time, I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, and I’ll see you in the channel.

Send us a textEpisode 800 of Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations is a milestone moment—recorded live on stage at IT Nation 2025 in Orlando. In this special episode, Joey Pinz shares his speaking session, “Media Mastery: How MSPs Can Drive Growth with Podcasting, Video, and Beyond.”What started as an early-morning session turned into a packed room of MSPs and vendors eager to learn how modern buyers actually discover and trust service providers today. The message is clear: your next client isn't Googling—they're scrolling.Joey breaks down how MSPs can shift from chasing leads to creating conversations using podcasts, video, and authentic storytelling. Drawing from his journey building and selling an MSP, launching a top-ranked podcast, and growing a 75,000+ subscriber media platform, Joey offers practical, no-fluff guidance you can apply immediately—without fancy gear or massive budgets.This episode blends real-world examples, tactical advice, and live audience Q&A covering everything from starting your first podcast to sourcing guests, building credibility, and standing out in a noisy market.If you're an MSP owner, vendor, or service-based business looking to build trust, visibility, and long-term growth, this episode delivers the blueprint—straight from the IT Nation stage.⭐ Top 3 Highlights1️⃣ The Modern MSP Funnel – Awareness → Trust → Conversations → Revenue2️⃣ Why Real Conversations Beat Webinars & Pitches

Send us a textRecorded live at IT Nation, MJ Shoer (Chief Community Officer, GTIA) breaks down how the newly branded Global Technology Industry Association is delivering practical wins for MSPs. We cover the GTIA ISAO (built with ConnectWise) for actionable threat intelligence, the cybersecurity Trust Mark that validates your internal controls against your chosen framework, and how GTIA's unbiased research can be co-branded for QBRs to boost credibility and close rates. MJ also unpacks workforce strategy with “NowGen”—supporting both youth and mid-career changers—plus global mentorship, learning libraries, and why ConnectWise-sponsored memberships are a fast on-ramp. We close with GTIA's growing foundation work and MJ's personal take on discipline, recovery, and building routines after injury. If you run an MSP and want immediate ROI from a trade association, this one's loaded with specifics you can apply this quarter.Top 3 highlightsClear, fast ROI: GTIA ISAO access, co-brandable research, and ConnectWise-sponsored memberships for partners.Security you can show: the GTIA Cybersecurity Trust Mark validates your practices against your chosen framework.Talent + growth: NowGen pathways, global mentorship, and a learning library spanning soft skills to leadership.  #JoeyPinz #MSPInfluencer #ForzaDash #ITNation #ITN25 #MSP #GTIA #Cybersecurity #ThreatIntelligence #CompTIA #Mentorship #QBR --- Join us for enlightening discussions that spark growth and exploration. Hosted by Joey Pinz, this Discipline Conversations Podcast offers insights and inspiration. 

Send us a textIn this insightful IT Nation conversation, Rick Murphy, Managing Partner at Cogent Growth Partners, joins Joey Pinz to discuss the mindset and mechanics of successful MSP mergers and acquisitions. Rick opens up about his 60-pound weight loss journey and parallels it with running a business — both require discipline, consistency, and a clear goal.He explains why every MSP will eventually trade hands, why “exit strategy” is a myth, and how liquidity planning and solid financial discipline create real enterprise value. Rick also breaks down the dangers of “Top Line Disease,” shares why non-solicit agreements matter more than non-competes, and urges MSPs to run their company like they're going to sell it tomorrow — even if they're not. ✦ Top 3 Highlights

Send us a textCristina Carretero, Partner Marketing Manager at Arctic Wolf, joins Joey Pinz at IT Nation Connect 2025 to discuss the evolution of channel marketing, the power of AI in partner enablement, and her global journey from Spain to the cybersecurity stage. With over 20 years in marketing, Cristina shares how language, clarity, and collaboration help MSPs thrive — plus her personal discipline practices rooted in meditation, journaling, and mindfulness.She also reveals how Arctic Wolf is helping MSPs manage cyber risk, strengthen branding, and leverage AI tools like Copilot to communicate more effectively. This is a must-listen for anyone in the MSP or vendor ecosystem looking to bridge the gap between marketing and sales. ✦ Top 3 HighlightsPartner Marketing Mastery: Cristina explains how Arctic Wolf supports MSPs with campaigns-in-a-box, co-branding, and messaging strategies that resonate.AI with Purpose: How Arctic Wolf trains Copilot to understand their voice and audience, boosting marketer productivity while keeping human creativity central.Discipline & Mindfulness: Cristina's daily meditation and journaling routine that grounds her amid a busy travel schedule and leadership role. #JoeyPinz #MSPInfluencer #ForzaDash #ArcticWolf #MSPMarketing #PartnerMarketing #ChannelMarketing #Cybersecurity #AIinMarketing #MSPGrowth #ITNation #ITN25 #Discipline #Mindfulness #Meditation #AI #Copilot #VendorPartnerships #MSPCommunity --- Join us for enlightening discussions that spark growth and exploration. Hosted by Joey Pinz, this Discipline Conversations Podcast offers insights and inspiration. 

In this enlightening episode of MSP Business School, host Brian Doyle sits down with Brian Hoppe to dig deep into the dynamic world of Managed Service Providers. With decades of experience under his belt, Hoppe shares invaluable insights on navigating the tricky terrain of business growth, from the nascent stages to gearing up for exit strategies. The discussion opens up at IT Nation, a gathering close to Hoppe's heart for its opportunities to reconnect and expand within the MSP community, setting the stage for a conversation rich in experience and industry insight. Tackling the trajectory from startup to maturity, the duo explores crucial strategies for MSPs. Brian Hoppe emphasizes understanding financial fundamentals early on, like gross margin and EBITDA, which are vital for eventual scalability and exit readiness. He stresses the importance of evolving from a tech-oriented approach to a shareholder mindset, which ensures MSPs are not only viable but thriving engines of innovation and profit. This thought leadership episode is a treasure trove for MSPs at any stage of their journey, especially those eager to future-proof their operations amid constant technological evolution. Key Takeaways: Understand Financial Metrics: Early understanding of key financial metrics, such as gross margin and EBITDA, is essential for sustainable business growth in the MSP industry. Shift to a Shareholder Mindset: Transitioning from a technician-oriented mindset to a shareholder's perspective can dramatically reshape businesses' value creation and growth strategies. Develop a Sales Engine: Scaling successfully involves moving beyond owner-led sales to building a robust growth engine that isn't dependent solely on referrals. Focus on Leadership Development: As businesses grow, establishing a second tier of leadership and fostering a mature, scalable organization becomes crucial. Prepare for Exit Early: Exit strategies should be planned early in the business life cycle, ensuring maximum valuation and smooth transitions when opportunities arise. Guest Name: Brian Hoppe LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe/ Company: Brian Hoppe Coaching Website: https://brianhoppe.com/ Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Host Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylevciotoolbox/ Sponsor vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com

Planning for a successful TSP and conference journey begins with one essential principle: make every client and every attendee feel as though the message was crafted specifically for them. In this special IT Nation Connect Global edition, we sit down with Syed Fraz, CEO of ITMSC, and Amanda Young, Sr. Director of Global Events at ConnectWise, to explore how personalization, preparation, and community-driven experiences shape stronger outcomes for both MSPs and major industry conferences.    We get a glimpse of Syed's entrepreneurial mindset and appetite for growth. Syed shares how MSPs can embrace AI, foster open conversations, empower their technicians, and cultivate relationships where “everyone is a friend.” Amanda takes us behind the curtain of a world-class event—revealing the six-month planning window, the five pillars guiding IT Nation's design, and how her team balances tradition with innovation in an era where technology and attendee expectations evolve rapidly.  Her goal, 'it's about a connected experience' and one that is community-centric.   Learn more by visiting syncgoose.com, itmsc.net/ and itnation.connectwise.com/ See you at the next ITNation Conference & Tech event   Timestamps: 01:14 – Marker Part 1: Syed Fraz   27:36 – Marker Part 2: Amanda Y_PGM    --- more --- If you want to master the art of audience engagement while learning how to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, this is the program for you. Twins Talk It Up is hosted by identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown, who share leadership communication strategies designed to help professionals embrace the power of their authentic voice. Together, we'll explore tips and tools to unlock the full potential of your voice, dominate every stage you step onto, and elevate your influence and value. Along the way, we'll crush goals and share plenty of laughs. Book a Free 15-minute discovery call: dsbleadershipgroup.com/schedule-a-call/ Website: appmeetup.com/twinstalkitup/ Community: facebook.com/groups/publicspeakingpoints Patreon: patreon.com/twinstalkitup

Send us a textBlake Myers lives life on the edge—literally. A semi-pro bull rider, former powerlifter, and cybersecurity specialist at Blumira, Blake shares how discipline connects every aspect of his adrenaline-fueled journey. From surviving eight-second rides to helping MSPs defend clients from cyber threats, he reveals the mindset it takes to stay focused under pressure. Recorded live at #ITNationConnect 2025, this conversation dives into risk, resilience, and why true strength comes from control—not chaos. ⭐ Top 3 Highlights

Send us a textIn this engaging IT Nation 2025 conversation, Kate Schlarf, Senior Marketing Leader at Moovila, joins Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations to unpack how MSPs can turn project chaos into clarity and profit. She reveals how Moovila's Project Hub—a library of MSP-built templates—helps partners improve forecasting, eliminate scope creep, and boost project margins.Kate also shares her insights on branding, marketing, and community building in the MSP space, explaining why consistency (and even a purple cow mascot

In this engaging episode of MSP Business School, host Brian Doyle welcomes guest Bobby Jacobs from Thread, an AI-driven service delivery platform. Their discussion centers around Bobby's journey to becoming a leader at Thread, his entrepreneurial background, and the continuous evolution within the MSP community driven by AI technological advancements. As they reminisce about their recent meetup at IT Nation, Bobby sheds light on how Thread has grown beyond just a typical service provider to being an innovator mentioned for changing service delivery paradigms with AI. Bobby Jacobs explores the shifting landscape of MSPs, emphasizing the importance of automation and self-service capabilities in service desks. He notes the criticality of adapting to changes driven by AI, which enables MSPs to streamline operations and improve service quality while maintaining competitive pricing. With AI technologies allowing automation of mundane tasks, Bobby argues that MSPs should embrace these changes or capitalize on the current peak in MSP valuations to sell. Brian and Bobby further highlight the potential for MSPs to transform and deliver even deeper value to customers through these innovative solutions. Key Takeaways: Adapting with AI: Embracing AI in service delivery is a growing necessity, enabling MSPs to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve service quality. Change in Metrics: Traditional metrics like endpoint-to-technician ratios are being redefined by AI, necessitating changes in service desk strategies for better efficiency. Sales Enablement: Bobby highlights the importance of grooming MSP sales teams to accurately scope opportunities and communicate AI benefits to end customers. Embracing Innovation or Exit: MSPs should either embrace AI-driven changes or consider selling while valuations are high, as standing still is not an option. Exciting Opportunities: There is great potential for MSPs to innovate and deepen their customer relationships by focusing on AI-driven solutions. Guest Name: Bobby Jacobs LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyjacobs/ Company: Thread Website: https://www.getthread.com/ Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Host Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylevciotoolbox/ Sponsor vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com

MSP events are experiencing a notable shift, with a growing preference for smaller, localized gatherings over traditional mega-conferences. Jessica Davis, Principal Analyst at Omdia, highlights that this trend is driven by factors such as increased travel costs and a desire for more meaningful community interactions. Research indicates that MSPs are increasingly seeking value from events that foster peer connections and provide insights into vendor roadmaps, particularly in the realms of cybersecurity and automation. The acquisition of Channel Pro by Cyber Risk Alliance further underscores the industry's focus on cybersecurity, as it aims to integrate channel and cybersecurity insights.The analysis of 352 global channel events reveals that many MSPs are prioritizing local roadshows, which allow for easier access and more personalized engagement. The pandemic has also influenced this shift, as MSPs are eager to reconnect in person after extended periods of remote interaction. Davis notes that while larger events like IT Nation and Kaseya Connects have their place, the saturation of the event landscape has led to a dilution of value for attendees, prompting a reevaluation of which events are worth the investment of time and resources.In addition to the primary focus on event dynamics, the episode discusses the varying approaches vendors take to measure return on investment (ROI) from these events. While some vendors rely on gut feelings or anecdotal evidence, others employ systematic methods to assess lead generation and engagement quality. This disparity in measurement practices highlights the need for vendors to adopt more data-driven strategies to justify their event expenditures.For MSPs and IT service leaders, the evolving landscape of events presents both challenges and opportunities. As the industry transitions into what is termed MSP 3.0, there is a clear need for MSPs to align their event participation with their business goals, focusing on those that offer relevant insights and networking opportunities. Understanding the financial motivations behind events and seeking out vendor-neutral gatherings can enhance the value derived from these engagements, ultimately supporting better decision-making and growth strategies.

Send us a textFrom Wine Tastings to IT Nation Leadership!

Send us a textFrom Military Mindset to MSP Mastery! ⚙️

In this episode, Richard speaks to Peter Kujawa. Peter is a seasoned executive attorney and industry leader with a wealth of experience in the MSP space. He now heads up the service leadership at IT Nation, part of the team at ConnectWise, overseeing IT Nation Connect, IT Nation Evolve peer groups and the partner advisory councils. Peter tells Richard how they foster and cultivate a strong community, and why it's important that everyone in the leadership team has a go-giver mentality. He also touches on the types of MSP who join IT Nation, and how they use their membership for success.Richard asks Peter to explain the service leadership index 2025 annual IT solution provider compensation report and they discuss a couple of key points from it – around wage inflation and the fact that the more profitable MSPs tend to pay lower salaries.Peter also shares his advice from his time running an MSP and how he grew it, the mistakes he sees others make when trying to scale and the big opportunities for MSPs at the moment, as well as why AI isn't taking away jobs.This episode was recorded live in London at IT Nation Connect Europe 25, so Peter explains what organisers ConnectWise were hoping to achieve, the attendance figures, why competitors are welcome and the decision to make the conference an annual event.Mentioned in This EpisodeIT NationIT Software: ConnectWiseMSP community event: IT Nation ConnectPeer groups: IT Nation EvolveBook: Bob Burg: The Go-GiverConsultation solutions: Service LeadershipPodcast: Richard's interview with Dan Scott

Welcome to episode one of Wired for Connection! This is a TubbTalk spinoff show, hosted by Operations Manager Lenka Koppova and Vera Tucci, the co-founder and CEO of T-Consulting, an MSP and COMIT.Vera is a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion, and authentic leadership in the IT and MSP space. Inspired by a conversation she had with Lenka and Team Tubb's Kareena Barat, Vera agreed to be the co-host of this new show. Wired for Connection isn't just a podcast; it's a mission. It creates a space for every perspective and voice in tech. And every guest can share their unfiltered and unapologetic story and take on the industry. Lenka and Vera will champion those voices that too often have been left out and unheard.Vera shares her experiences as a female leader in the tech space and Lenka discusses how she's found things as someone new to the industry. The co-hosts share their hopes and aims for Wired for Connection, the types of guests they're looking for, and why everyone can and should have a seat at the table.Mentioned in This EpisodeT-Consulting Cloud marketplace: Pax8IT conference: Pax8 BeyondIT peer group: IT Nation

In this episode of Partnerships Unraveled, we sit down with Craig Fulton, industry veteran and M&A advisor at Evergreen, to break down what it takes to scale an MSP beyond founder-led sales.Craig brings 20+ years of experience building high-impact MSP communities (including IT Nation at ConnectWise) and now advises business owners on driving enterprise value and successful exits.Here's what we unravel in this episode: Why Founder-Led Sales Caps Growth – The hidden bottlenecks in MSP sales and why hiring a dedicated salesperson can double or triple customer acquisition. Building Scalable Sales & Referral Systems – How top MSPs create repeatable processes for generating consistent inbound business. The Power of MSP Collaboration – Real-world examples of MSPs working together—even with competitors—to drive growth. Localizing MSP Marketing for Maximum Impact – Why small businesses buy from people they trust, and how sponsoring local events and sports teams can be a game-changer.Mastering MDF & Partner Programs – The right way for MSPs to secure and leverage vendor marketing development funds to drive real ROI—and why tracking & reporting is the secret to getting more funding.Why Vendor Partner Programs Often Fall Short – The gaps in vendor support that are failing MSPs and how vendors can better enable their partners to succeed.Craig's insights cut through the noise with hard-earned lessons on MSP growth, sales, and marketing. If you're an MSP leader looking to scale smarter, this is an episode you can't afford to miss.Connect with Craig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigmfulton/_________________________Learn more about Channext

Described by an attendee as the 'Super Bowl for MSPs', IT Nation Connect did not fail to deliver. Events and communities like IT Nation are vital to ensuring you are fitted with necessary tools and resources to meet the demands for greater protection, support and growth. This is why over 7,000 attended IT Nation Evolve, Summit and Connect in-person or virtually. The week was filled with incredible workshops, activities, coaching, performances and speakers from all over the world, including Tony Hawk and Bob Burg. You've made it through an amazing conference; now what? It's time to make sure you've made the most of your conference experience. Did you hit your goals? Are your next steps clearly outlined? Gregg Lalle, SVP & GM of IT Nation shares how TSPs and leaders can build from the momentum of the week. Highlights include: Amazing growth of ConnectWise and IT Nation, including 3,500+ in-person attendees with 150+ solutions partners. Some of his key takeaways from IT Nation Evolve, Channel Summit and Connect. Benefits of joining a peer group. An unashamed recognition of others making an impact within the community. Opening Keynote as well as the handoff from Jason Magee to Manny Rivelo. 3 Pillars of IT Nation: Community of Communities, Partner-Centric Ecosystem, Education First. Slogan of "Wise Together. Rise Together" The live event may be over, but you can still register for a FREE virtual pass and access 100+ on-demand sessions and 6 Keynotes through February 8th. Follow Gregg on LinkedIn and visit connectwise.com/theitnation to learn more about IT Nation. --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Empowering the Managed Service Providers (MSPs) community involves equipping them with the necessary tools, resources, and support to drive growth, improve service delivery and strengthen client relationships. Dor Eisner, CEO and Co-Founder of Guardz, a cybersecurity company focused on protecting small and medium-sized businesses shares how they are addressing the unique challenges SMBs face, such as limited budgets and IT resources, by providing a unified, easy-to-use platform that integrates security and compliance tools. Highlights include: Background from being a commander in the Intelligence force. Meeting with cyber insurance carriers to better understand the type of attacks they are dealing with to develop their framework. The importance of education and partnerships, like their collaboration with SentinelOne, to stay ahead of emerging threats. Encouraging SMBs to prioritize cybersecurity through basic protections and trusted solutions. Hiring the best talent to stay ahead of the competition and threats. Building and strengthening partnerships within IT Nation. Follow Dor on LinkedIn and visit guardz.com/ to learn more about their unified platform for threat detection and response across identities, emails, devices and data. --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Being a champion for diversity and women in the tech sector involves actively promoting, supporting, and driving efforts to ensure greater representation, inclusion, and equity for women and underrepresented groups in the technology industry. Michelle Ragusa-McBain, Global Channel Chief at SonicWall, is one such champion. Highlights include: Michelle stated that we are her favorite twins. Ties husband Jay McBain for the most appearances on our programs. Love of travel and taking her children along. The beauty of exposure and perspective. Michelle's passion for elevating women and leaders of diversity within tech; to be seen and heard. Key moments from IT Nation, including discussions on the evolving challenges of cybersecurity and the importance of empowering the MSP community. A glimpse into SonicWall's future, emphasizing investments in partner-focused strategies, innovative solutions, and advancements in automation and AI to strengthen cybersecurity efforts. Follow Michelle on LinkedIn and visit sonicwall.com to learn more about their cybersecurity products, services and network of partners. --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Send us a textIn this episode, Joey Pinz and Jay McBain discuss key insights from the IT Nation conference, where 7,000 MSPs gathered to explore industry trends and challenges. Jay, a veteran industry analyst, shares insights on the growth of managed services, the influence of private equity, and the shift towards subscription models preferred by millennial buyers.

A good onboarding experience with new partners is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire relationship; and, helps to build trust and loyalty, while increasing the likelihood of a long-term retention. This could translate into producing advocates and evangelists of the community. AJ Adade, VP Onboarding & Consulting, ConnectWise, shares some thoughts on how focusing on the success of the partner can translate into success of the organization. Highlights include: Family background and how the military has helped to shape his leadership. Leadership foundation and why ConnectWise. Onboarding mindset and journey into the ecosystem. How success is measured; it's about the partner's success. The impact of testimonials and community. Be clear with your growth destination by starting "with the end in mind." Follow AJ on LinkedIn and keep up with the IT Nation community by visiting connectwise.com --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Instead of randomly building your network, what if we could create communities that helped everyone involved achieve their goals together? These intentional relationships can help accelerate growth and success through a common commitment to learning, encouragement and accountability. Pete Sorensen, Vice President Strategic Initiatives at ConnectWise joins us to help kick off IT Channel Summit and IT Nation Connect with some thoughts about the power of community. Highlights include: The IT Nation Mission for the community is "Wise Together, Rise Together". A focus to provide resources and support for the vendors in the community. The peer group story often goes from, 'misery loves company' to 'I can learn and not make mistakes myself,' and then to 'benchmarking' and success. Viewing mentorship as a gift. Pete's love for the Iowa State football program. Leadership lessons learned from the farm and his family Follow Pete on LinkedIn and visit ConnectWise.com to learn more about the IT Nation community. --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

In this engaging episode of the MSP Business School podcast, host Brian Doyle welcomes Doug Kreitzberg of SeedPod Cyber as a Pitch IT finalist. Doug, joined by recurring guest and ConnectWise Evangelist, Sean Lardo and his coach Matt Koenig, a PitchIT finalist with Nodeware. They discuss the significance of cyber insurance within the MSP space. Brian humorously acknowledges Sean's growth as a regular contributor on the show before diving deep into how SeedPod Cyber's innovative solutions are bridging critical gaps in the industry. Matt, a coach from across the globe, shares insights from Tokyo, Japan, adding a multicultural dimension to the lively discussion. The conversation highlights the critical role of proactive risk management in safeguarding businesses against cyber threats. "There is something sexy about getting your claim paid in full," Brian states, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive cyber policies. With less than three weeks to the finals at It Nation, Doug draws attention to how Seed Pod Cyber is elevating MSPs' capabilities by facilitating conversations around cyber liability insurance. The competition underscores each contestant's unique narrative, promising an intense showdown with Doug's product potentially emerging as a frontrunner. Key Takeaways: Cyber Insurance Importance: Cyber insurance is vital to safeguarding businesses, especially SMBs, post-breach, potentially saving their existence. MSP Empowerment: Seed Pod Cyber aids MSPs in risk conversations, offering insightful tools to guide clients on cyber policies. Product Differentiation: Understanding and explaining the coverage details of insurance policies can set MSPs apart in client interactions. Market Positioning: Matt emphasizes the sexiness of a product that ensures clients' claims will be paid, illustrating market needs. Integration and Involvement: The show discusses vendors' integration within MSP offerings, maintaining efficiency and agnosticism. Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Guest Name: Doug Kreitzberg  LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougkreitzberg/ Company: Seedpod Cyber Website: https://seedpodcyber.com/ Name: Matthew Koenig LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkkoenig/ Company: Nodeware Website: https://nodeware.com/ Name: Sean Lardo LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanlardo/ Company: ConnectWise Website: https://connectwise.com Host Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylevciotoolbox/

Send us a textPodcast Episode Summary: Chris Reid on MSPs and Identity Verification

Send us a Text Message.In this episode of Joey Pinz Disciple Conversations, Joey sits down with a military veteran and current IT leader at the ConnectWise IT Nation Evolve and Grow event in Denver. They delve into the veteran's journey from the Marine Corps to a successful career in tech, exploring the impact of military discipline on navigating the complex world of IT and business. The conversation highlights the importance of structured living, the evolution of the IT Nation community, and the ongoing efforts to support managed service providers (MSPs) through knowledge-sharing and innovation.Top 3 Highlights:Military to Tech: How military discipline shaped a thriving career in IT.IT Nation Evolution: The shift towards an open ecosystem for MSPs.Balancing Act: The importance of balancing work, health, and personal life.

Send us a Text Message.Title: "Balancing Leadership and Success: Insights from Andre Gilmore"Summary: In this engaging episode, Andre Gilmore dives deep into the principles of leadership, the evolving nature of college athletics, and the importance of holistic growth in the MSP space. Andre discusses how great leadership is rooted in building trust and inspiring others, making tough feedback more palatable when it comes from someone who believes in you. He also explores the balance between personal and professional life, particularly in the context of small business owners who bear immense responsibility. The conversation touches on the complexities of paying student-athletes, advocating for financial literacy before athletes can access their earnings.Top 3 Highlights:Leadership Beyond the Field: Andre emphasizes that great leadership is about inspiring others and building trust, much like a mentor giving tough but valuable feedback.Holistic Success in Business: Andre shares how MSP owners must balance professional success with personal well-being, a philosophy integral to the IT Nation Evolve peer groups.Future of College Athletics: Insightful thoughts on student-athlete compensation and the importance of financial education in safeguarding their future.Hashtags: #LeadershipMatters #MSPInsights #CollegeAthletics #SmallBusinessGrowth #HolisticSuccess #ITNationEvolve  Join us for enlightening discussions that spark growth and exploration. Hosted by Joey Pinz, this Discipline Conversations Podcast offers insights and inspiration. 

There are bonds and partnerships that can not only support successful growth, they can foster healing and recovery from traumatic experiences including brain injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A partner of the Twins Talk programs, ConnectWise is committed to bringing awareness and support for our veterans and organizations who champion their mental health wellness and recovery. K9s for Warriors, an organization providing highly-trained service dogs to military Veterans, while contributing to policy-level reform, is one of those organizations. Andrea Caby Barrow, Invent Programs and Events Manager at ConnectWise, facilitates the partnership with K9s for Warriors and coordinates activities for our IT Nation community. Attendees and members of the community are able to participate in making treats and meet veterans and members of the K9s for Warriors organization through IT Nation Secure and IT Nation Connect. Learn about the formation of this incredible organization from a passionate representative and why more should get involved. . They fought for our freedom, let's empower our veterans and heroes by donating and getting involved with this amazing organization. Visit k9sforwarriors.org/ and make a difference in the lives of our veterans and rescue dogs. --- more --- If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you. Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs. Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”. Support and Follow us: YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6g Instagram: @twinstalkitup Instagram: @dsbleadershipgroup Twitter: @dsbleadership LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/ Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUp Facebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/ Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

The burden of responsibility placed on MSPs (managed service providers) is huge. They not only must keep all their clients' IT systems running and secure, but they also have to be proactive in data governance, backups, cybersecurity and much more. Plus, there are the small matters of internal HR, Finance, Marketing and the rest!The ConnectWise ASIO platform is the go-to software that MSPs use to run their businesses, and on this episode of the Tech Means Business podcast, we talk to APAC Evangelism Director, Nick Moran.Nick ran his own highly successful MSP business in Australia for nearly three decades, a company he started from scratch and built to a point where it was acquired last year. Instead of enjoying a well-earned retirement however, Nick soon joined ConnectWise to share his experiences and promote the capabilities of the company, plus he's helping improve the platform further still, in line with feedback from frontline staff in MSPs across the APAC region.Entirely developed from the ground up on cloud-native, containerised technology, and integrating AI functionality, the ConnectWise ASIO™ platform is the world's first purpose-built platform for TSPs, taking ConnectWise ahead of its competitors in this highly specialised software space.You can check out ConnectWise here:https://www.connectwise.com/Information on the IT Nation event in Sydney is here:https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/apacConnectWise ASIO platform:https://www.connectwise.com/platformNick Moran's LinkedIn profile is here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmoran/The show's host, Joe Green, is here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

Exploring SaaS Protection with Stephen Thomas & Jeannine EdwardsDescriptionJoin Joey Pinz as he dives into an enlightening conversation with Stephen Thomas and Jeannine Edwards. With a rich history in the IT and MSP sectors, Stephen and Jeannine share their experiences from ArcServe Storage Graph and their insights on the transformative potential of SaaS Assure. Discover the critical role of MSPs in educating clients about comprehensive SaaS data protection and the importance of building robust vendor-partner relationships. This episode highlights the need for MSPs to go beyond M365, emphasizing the broader applications of SaaS and its untapped potential in the MSP community.Highlights:SaaS Assure Development: Understand the creation and benefits of SaaS Assure as a consumption-based, easy-to-use solution for comprehensive data protection.Vendor-Partner Relationships: Learn about the importance of trust and passion in building successful vendor-partner collaborations.Personal Insights: Enjoy surprising personal anecdotes, including having a one-eyed dog and the experience of traveling in an Airstream at Fort Wilderness.

In this engaging episode of Joey Pinz Disciple Conversations, Amanda Lee delves into the dynamic world of the IT Nation community and ConnectWise Secure event. Amanda, a seasoned professional with 18 years in the channel, shares her insights on the importance of collaboration, continuous learning, and cybersecurity for MSPs. She emphasizes the critical role of media in driving growth and efficiency within the ecosystem, highlighting how innovation and competition benefit all stakeholders.Top Highlights:Innovation and AI in Security: Amanda discusses the intersection of AI and security at ConnectWise, emphasizing the importance of protecting small to medium-sized businesses from cybersecurity threats.Effective Marketing Strategies: The conversation touches on cost-effective marketing strategies for MSPs, such as leveraging social media and building relationships with local media to enhance visibility.ConnectWise Partner Program: Amanda highlights the free marketing tools available through the ConnectWise Partner Program, encouraging MSPs to engage with these resources for growth and operational efficiency.Listeners will also enjoy Amanda's personal anecdotes, including her love for dogs and her sons' involvement in lacrosse. This episode is packed with valuable insights for MSPs looking to thrive in an ever-evolving technological landscape.

Navigating Business and Life with Abraham Garver

Summary for the Episode with David Bellini

Join us in this insightful episode as Jeff Bishop delves into the dynamic world of IT Nation events and the transformative impact of AI and automation on the industry. Discover how these technologies are driving business innovation and efficiency, and explore the challenges and opportunities they present for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Jeff shares his thoughts on the importance of maintaining control and privacy in the face of rapid technological advancements, emphasizing the need for meaningful conversations and networking at industry events.Top 3 Highlights:AI & Automation: Jeff discusses the role of AI and automation in revolutionizing the IT industry, highlighting both the opportunities and potential risks involved.MSP Networking: The conversation emphasizes the value of MSPs engaging in deep, meaningful discussions to share insights and solve common problems, rather than just attending demos and sessions.Customer Engagement: Jeff underscores the importance of engineers, UX designers, and product managers directly interacting with customers to fully understand their needs and challenges, ensuring the development of effective solutions.Hashtags: #Innovation #AI #Automation #MSP #ITNation #Networking Possible Titles with Icons

Welcome to Season Seven of Tate Talks In this episode I chatted to Gregg Lalle of ConnectWise About Gregg MSP leader with over 14 years in the space – entrepreneurial spirit with a history of starting and growing businesses from incubation.   Former SVP of International Sales for ConnectWise and now SVP and GM of IT Nation. Connect with Gregg on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and check out the ConnectWise website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music - https://www.purple-planet.com

The application window for PitchIT 2024 is still open. The annual PitchIT Accelerator Program is now in its 5th year, and we are thrilled to partner again with Sean Lardo, ConnectWise and the IT Nation community.Sean Lardo, Head Evangelist and a true voice for the partner joins us once again to talk about IT Nation and the upcoming PitchIT Accelerator Program. PitchIT is a worldwide ‘Shark Tank' like competition that invites organizations to highlight their innovative solutions, be discovered and to learn from the community. 26 vendors are chosen to be a part of this amazing 16-week incubator program, led by industry experts, covering sales, marketing, branding, messaging, product security, and more. From that cohort group, 3 will become Finalists and present live at IT Nation Connect. Additional highlights include:PitchIT winning prize of $70,000.ConnectWise marketplace.The 3 Finalists alone have generated over $3M in ARR.To learn more about the Accelerator program and to become a participant:https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit--- more ---If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you.Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs.Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”.Support and Follow us:YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6gInstagram: @twinstalkitupInstagram: @dsbleadershipgroupTwitter: @dsbleadershipLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUpFacebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

In this episode, Dave Sobel brings us three important tech news updates. He starts off by discussing ConnectWise's IT Nation announcements, including the shift from Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) to Unified Monitoring and Management (UMM). ConnectWise UMM aims to provide a more comprehensive solution for backup monitoring and service-level management. Dave also mentions the enhancements made to ConnectWise's Business Management Solutions (BMS) based on partner feedback.Next, he highlights Comet Backup's partnership with Wasabi at Cronus Launch's MSP Academy and SAS Alerts, which offers real-time mobile security. He also touches on the topic of self-perception and how AI disruptions are impacting business models.Three things to know today00:00 ConnectWise's IT Nation Announcements: Sidekick, UMM, and more04:02 Comet Backup Partners with Wasabi, Acronis Launches MSP Academy, and SaaS Alerts Goes Mobile for Real-time Security05:58 Self-Perception, AI Disruptions to Business models, and Leading Like LassoAdvertiser: https://rejectioncon.com/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.comFollow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech.

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Hosts Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoyl... Robb Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-roge... Tim McNeil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/ Sponsors vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com OSR Manage: https://osrmanage.com 1:09 Robb starts the podcast enthusiastically as he mentions that both companies, OSR and vCIOToolbox, are attendees for IT Nation.  4:40 Robb commends Brian for his improved 30-second pitch and expresses pride in his progress in delivering a concise message. Brian then discusses the challenges of crafting a 30-second pitch and how he improved through the PitchIT program. 6:11 Brian talks about his journey from avoiding self-promotion to becoming more comfortable with it. They discuss the benefits of receiving constructive criticism and the importance of embracing it to grow. 12:43 They discuss the impact of PitchIT and how it has helped them refine their pitches and brand messages. 15:02 The hosts encourage listeners to attend the PitchIT competition at IT Nation and witness vendors' well-crafted 30-second pitches. 19:44 Brian delivers a short and concise pitch for vCIOToolbox and asks for the audience's support in the competition.

Mike Giovaninni and Adam Walter will be giving a talk at 4:00 Friday November 10th at IT Nation connect. This podcast is a preview of that talk and how you can effectively step into a CIO or CISO role to do a risk assessment with a versitile tool...the SWOT.

1:13 – Abe outlines his plans to discuss three topics in today's podcast. First is his lunch conversation with an IT Nation member, which he thinks would be very helpful for the listeners. Second, an update on the overall market (acquisition). Lastly, IT Nation on Denver this August 2023. 5:26 – Abe shared a slide of the lunch conversation. He explains that in just 3.5 years, there are already 73 parties now involved and it includes 11 platform investments. 7:46 – The guest talks about the Modes Theory™. Robb does a follow-up to what is the Modes Theory™ about and what it is for. He emphasizes that one best aspect of the Modes Theory is that, you can have your leadership team take the assessment which means you can see and understand where your people are coming from.  12:50 –  “Organic growth is more valuable than M&A growth”, Abe emphasizes. Although he himself is an m&a advisor, he advocates organic growth. The business should have and focus on its secret sauce and grow organically, then later venture into m&a.  He urges that these three should be satisfied: the business core, the best customers, and use m&a to help complement the first two strategies.  17:01 – Brian raises the question about vertical shifting. Abe gives advice and expands on how important having deep expertise in whatever vertical you are in.  20:51– Robb clarifies Abe's early statement in which the latter says that having 20% growth than a good profit is better. Abe explains further and discusses his previous point. 25:16 – To increase valuation, Abe suggests attending peer groups such as IT Nation every year. Lastly, he emphasized MSPs making a strategy to grow organically.   26:40 – Tim talks about how Sales Maturity helps a lot of MSPs during their pre-peer group stage but in the organic growth phase to get up and make an organic sales model

Tate Talks with….Vicky Bruns, ConnectWise Listen to me have a great conversation with Vicky Bruns, starting with me totally mispronouncing Asio along with a super fun fact about owls - Trust me. From selling diamonds and business loans, all the way to the world of MSPs and rescuing donkeys. Enjoy.. About Vicky Vicky began her career at ConnectWise in early 2015 as a Business Development Manager. In 2017, she attended CompTia's ChannelCon in Austin, Texas, and was instantly hooked on becoming more involved in the channel community. Later that year, she was promoted to the Growth Org to assist with orchestrating the onboarding, sales, and management of strategic channel vendors within the ConnectWise Ecosystem. In 2020, she took on the additional role of helping to manage partner experience and strategy through the transactional ConnectWise Marketplace, which experienced 40% growth from 2020 to 2021, and 60% growth from 2021 to 2022. As current Manager of the Marketplace Account Management and Vendor Specialist teams, she is responsible for helping to lead customer adoption, expansion and retention efforts of 3rd party products and services within The IT Nation community on a global scale. You can connect with Vicky on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-bruns-a7615420/ ConnectWise - https://www.connectwise.com Vicky spoke about : Group - Carrie Richardson - A Seat at the table weekly peer group Podcast - Killing IT Podcast Podcast - MSP Media Network Podcast - New York Times Daily Podcast Podcast - Ted Talk Radio Hour I mentioned No Such Thing As A Fish Book - The Outward Mindset Book - Never Split the Difference Book - Spare by Prince Harry Credits: Music - https://www.purple-planet.com

Tune in for an all-new episode of the Conquer Local Podcast to learn about Managed Service Providers with Michelle Ragusa-McBain, a highly-visible thought leader in the global technology channel and serves as Provider Elevate Leader for the Global Partner Organization at Cisco.Michelle's mission is to help MSPs elevate and succeed via a partnership with Cisco solutions and the Provider Elevate community. Entrepreneur Magazine named her as one of the top 4 people to inspire women to pursue a career in Tech, and SMB Magazine recognized her as one of the 150 most influential people in the global IT Business Community. CompTIA named her Advancing Women in Technology Leader 2021, and Channel Futures awarded her the Circle of Excellence for Channel Leadership & Innovation and DE&I 101 award and recipient of the prestigious Cisco Worldwide Innovation and Growth Award.Michelle keynoted at the largest and most influential technology conferences globally including Channel Partners, CRN, CompTIA, IT Nation, and Kaseya. Michelle serves as Chair Emeritus of Advancing Women in Technology for CompTIA, sat on the board of CRN's Women of the Channel, is Co-Founder of Tech Worlds Half non-profit; a longstanding member of the National Women in Technology Group, and most recently serves as Florida Leader for Alliance of Channel Women. In her free time, she is a passionate advocate for Women, Diversity, and Inclusion in Technology and enjoys traveling the world with her husband Jay McBain and daughters Brooklyn and Cali with 85 countries and 6 continents to date, or spending time with her fur kids- Husky Auggie Doggy and Calico Kitten Luna Meow.Conquer Local is presented by Vendasta. We have proudly served 5.5+ million local businesses through 60,000+ channel partners. Learn more about Vendasta and we can help your organization or learn more about Vendasta's Affiliate Program and how our listeners (like yourself) are making up to $10,000 off referrals.Are you an entrepreneur, salesperson, or marketer? Keep the learning going in the Conquer Local Academy.

Tate Talks with…. Dan Scott Really good chat with Dan, I am sure you will love this episode as there are some amazing real world tips for MSPs to take away. Learn about Dan's career, his land-rover and how he went from SBS 2003 to where he is today and how I learned a new word. About Dan As Director of The IT Nation Community in EMEA, Dan Scott leads the global IT Nation programs with a focus on the region's culture and needs. Dan's career in technology has spanned internal IT, MSP technical, operations and business transformation roles over 15 years prior to joining ConnectWise & The IT Nation in 2020. In 2021, Dan was elected as Vice-Chair of the CompTIA UK&I Executive Council, in recognition for his work to further grow the community and contribute to the success of the members. You can connect with Dan  on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjpscott/ ConnectWise - https://www.connectwise.com Dan spoke about : Podcast - Kermode & Mayo's Take Podcast - Sweeny Talks  Books/Podcasts - Lee Cockerell Book - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team : A Leadership Fable Book - The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea Website - Holly Scott's Interior Design (Dan's wife's business with great interior design ideas) Credits: Music - https://www.purple-planet.com

In this interview, Richard talks to Dan Scott, the IT Nation Community Director, EMEA, for ConnectWise. The IT Nation is an MSP community group, brought to you by ConnectWise, the IT software and services company.IT Nation membership includes conferences, community events, product trainings and more. The supportive community is what really helps MSPs to grow their business and thrive, even in times of uncertainty. This interview was recorded live at the IT Nation Event in Orlando, Florida, in November 2022.Dan told Richard how IT Nation works and the kinds of events they run, why they're committed to an open eco-system, and how he got started in the industry. They also discussed ConnectWise Evolve, which was previously part of HTG.They also discussed why MSPs should embrace peer groups and how the IT Nation groups work. Dan explained the feedback scorecard and how members measure their progress. He also told Richard about how the peer groups work around the world, and what's coming up next in the event space.Mentioned in This EpisodeConnectWiseDattoEvent: IT Nation ShareCompTIAThe Tech TribeEvent: Acronis CyberFit SummitBook: Bob Burg: The Go-GiverConnectWise EvolveEvent: IT Nation ConnectEvent: IT Nation Secure

Be a fly on the wall and join Vonahi, AlertOps as we discuss IT Nation 2022 highlights. Also guest star appearances from Tom Lawrence and Elizabeth Copland! Amazing discussion, massive margaritas, Guacamole is made fresh and a really fun environment all around!

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Guest Name: Scott Haselkorn https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-haselkorn-1a449282/ Company: Haselkorn, Inc. https://haselkorninc.com/ Hosts Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylemetathinq/ Robb Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-rogers-07415251/ Tim McNeil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/ Sponsors vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com OSR Manage: https://osrmanage.com Scott Haselkorn joins us today on MSP Business School. Scott is the president of Haselkorn Inc. 1:25 Scott starts off his backstory by revealing that he had a learning disability when he was younger and shared about the first book he read that he thinks made a significant impact on him starting early in MSP. He also talks about how he started wanting to own a computer store as his first dream. 4:00 Scott describes how, at the age of 12, he ventured to buy computer processors by calling Intel in California and acquiring a credit card, tax ID, and applications aided by his parents. He also states that he started out fixing his parent's computers, friends' parents' computers, and even teachers' computers throughout high school. 6:58 He shares that he got his first job in a local place as a tech support and eventually moved to the commercial support department, transferred to Network Administration, and was laid off twice from the same company. 9:30 Scott speaks about he did a training class in dental offices on how to use dental software and got his first paying client through his dad. He then that time started to think about MSP and sort out what his goals were. 11:43 He shares his first encounter with IT Nation and how surprised he was to see many people who like computers the same as he does and make businesses out of them. He also shared the time he started his journey with ConnectWise and how it changed his life. 15:00 Scott then talks about his objectives and says he focuses on security-focused practice to make sure his clients can prevent or don't experience rainy days. He also points out that we should always keep evolving as threats keep changing every day. 17:44 Brian dives right into the conversation, agreeing with what Scott said and noting that one cool thing about the industry is it is ever-changing. He shares his thoughts that these days it is more on “keeping up with the bad guys” and focused on the security-first model. 20:50 Tim and Brian express their astonishment at how Scott was predestined to be working in MSP since he read that book in 4thgrade. Tim adds that it was the game-changer for Scott. 24:13 Scott closes the podcast by saying that all the MSPs all over the globe are peers and teammates. He hopes that as teammates, we can make the world a safer place for the good guys.

We took a different approach for this podcast and brought on a group of people to talk about how to make the most of an industry conference. 6 guests from across the IT landscape converged on Stride 2 Freedom to throw down some pro tips like Fudcutter and Dare to Suck! You don't want to miss this one in prep for IT Nation.

Host Karl chats with Dave Sobel from MSP Radio and The Business of Tech (and the Killing IT podcast).   Dave is regarded as a leading expert on IT and managed services, cloud computing, and virtualization, and is a featured speaker at industry events including Channel Partners, Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, IT Nation, SITS London, and as a CompTIA trainer at multiple events, and is often quoted in business and technology publications.   Dave started his career as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, as well as a product developer and designer. He owned and operated a IT Solution Provider and MSP for over a decade, both acquiring other organizations and eventually being acquired.   Since his MSP experience, he has worked for multiple vendors at such companies as Level Platforms, GFI, LogicNow, and Solarwinds, leading community, event, marketing, and product strategies, as well as several M&A activities.     Resources and links: MSP Radio: https://www.mspradio.com/ Killing IT Podcast: https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesobel/ --- --- ---  Sponsor Memo: Cisco  Did you know Cisco helps Managed Services Providers directly? Know about the Cisco Partner Program? Focused on helping partners combine managed services expertise and service creation with innovative Cisco technology and proven go-to-market resources, there's a program option for you. With provider pricing, MDF, and marketing resources coupled with Cisco's leading technologies inculding  Meraki, Duo, and Umbrella, learn more with the link right in the show notes.     https://lnkd.in/gsydMya      :-)      

Our last episode of the year is a "best of", but we'll be back with brand new shows in 2022. Happy New Year, Doin' It Nation! 01:20 Guest Introduction 03:45 Josh's only trip to Aruba 7:01 Bill Hader impressions 10:19 “Worst case scenario” 11:20 Does Josh get nightmares? 17:45 What “makes” the story? 21:09 Establishing a relationship 23:13 Not giving away the story 31:20 Lauren Sivan 31:21 Betonline.AG Promocode CLNS 50 34:40 Dick joke 37:07 How Jenny watches Dateline 42:40 An attorney with a pony tail 50:43 Tex McIver 55:04 Everyone knew about Bill Cosby… 62:40 Josh starts at ABC 65:19 Project Smile (Donate Here: http://www.projectsmile.org/ )   Follow us all on twitter : @JoshMankiewicz @jennyjohnsonhi5 @dannyzuker @theguydf @doinitpodcast

IT Nation is excited to be starting Partner Led User Groups this year. Join us as Susan Rhodes, Lisa Desimine, and Juan Mack talk about the ins and outs of Partner Led User Groups.   Susan Rhodes - Director of IT Nation Communications Lisa Desimine - IT Nation Program Manager Juan Mack - IT Manager at Matrix Integration

On this week's episode of Stories from The IT Nation, join us as we discuss the latest and greatest news about IT Nation Certify. In this podcast, we were joined by Brian Kelly, partner, and Chief Operating Officer at Longleaf Network. Tune in and learn about an exciting new feature The IT Nation is now offering.

When all your competitors are merging or being bought outright, what do you do? Do you stay independent or do you look to do the same as them? When they all lock into one business focus, do you do the same or do you carve your own path? Jason Bystrak and Peter DiMarco, Vice Presidents at D&H Distributing (104 year old family owned company), join me on this episode to talk about how to know what you should do for your business. They know firsthand the questions you need to ask yourself and whether you should care what your competitors are doing. The conversation also goes into how a $5 billion company operates with 36% employee ownership versus a $50 billion company. I especially loved the conversation about egos, complicating things and the bottoms-up versus top-down method of deciding your businesses next steps. If you have employees, or are thinking about adding staff for the first time, Peter's insights into hiring practices will open your eyes. Jason Bystrak is the vice president of the cloud and services business unit for D&H Distributing, and leads a team of cross-functional experts responsible for the strategy and execution of the company’s XaaS ("Everything as a Service") business, helping channel partners deliver total solutions in a subscription model. He oversees technology practice areas including cloud, professional services, security and unified communications. He is the chair of the Channel Development Advisory Council for CompTIA, previously served as chair for CompTIA’s cloud community, and has been named to ChannelPro-SMB’s list of 20/20 Visionaries, as well as CRN’s 100 People You Don’t Know But Should. He frequently offers insight into the opportunity and future of cloud at strategic industry events, including CompTIA’s ChannelCon, Channel Partners and IT Nation. Peter DiMarco joined D&H in 2015 as vice president of VAR sales, Computer Products Division (CPD). He oversees sales teams working with all value-added resellers that sell through the CPD division, including commercial, government and education solution providers as well as managed service providers. Peter manages the inside and outside sales teams, solutions and Cloud support teams focused on new market growth strategies, aimed at helping its SMB solution providers evolve towards larger mid-market sales opportunities and solutions. He is focused on driving VAR engagement efforts including the VAR Track events at D&H's trade shows, and a new K-12 Advisory Board focusing on this vertical market, in addition to driving new programs and support services. Peter previously served as an IT channel development leader at EarthLink, and has coordinated sales initiatives with partners such as Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Lenovo, VMware, Apple, Juniper, Citrix and HP. His IT distribution experience includes a vice president of VAR sales position at Ingram Micro.

To get the most out of The IT Nation, you have to be engaged! Join Craig Fulton and Bradley Schow as they talk about engaging within the best community around.

This International Women's Day is themed Choose to Challenge and The IT Nation women definitely choose to challenge. Join our partner, Stephanie Kingslien, and a few members of The IT Nation team, Paige Degidio, Susan Rhodes, and Nancy Bosek, as they reflect on why this day is so important.

Susan Rhodes - Director, IT Nation Communications Andre Gilmore - Director, IT Nation Programs Lisa Desimine - IT Nation Program Manager Jay Ryerse - VP Cybersecurity Initiative   Discussing Evolve, Share, and why to join peer groups and the IT Nation.  

Join Susan Rhodes, Director of Communications for the IT Nation, as she chats with Jay Ryerse, VP of Security Initiatives at ConnectWise, and Nick Espinosa, Chief Security Fanatic and CIO at Security Fanatics, as they get excited for IT Nation Secure, happening virtually on October 14 and 15th!

In this episode of Stories from The IT Nation, Susan Rhodes, Director of IT Nation Communications at ConnectWise, speaks with Dan Saxby, IT Nation Program Manager at ConnectWise, about the benefits of peer groups offered by IT Nation Evolve, and more specifically, the unique value of its service executive peer groups. The two are also joined by special guest Adam Hannemann, Director of Operations at ImagineIT, to hear his story of how he’s grown personally and professionally through service-focused peer groups designed for his role. If you’d like to learn more about IT Nation Evolve, please visit: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/evolve

In this episode, we get to know another special member of The IT Nation: Joe Somerville of Network People, Inc. Speaking with our host Craig Fulton, Joe gives us a look into the success that Network People has had with shifting focus to putting people and the customer experience first. Craig and Joe also share the story of how they met and how Joe has gotten both himself and his staff more involved in The IT Nation.

In this episode, we get to know a special member of The IT Nation: April Westervelt, ConnectWise Admin at Portland Internetworks. Speaking to our host Craig Fulton, April tells her story of succeeding as a woman in IT, shares tips for fostering a positive company culture, and explains how she maximizes her time with The IT Nation community.

In this episode, join Craig Fulton as he gets to know one of our newer members of The IT Nation, Nathalia Fernandes from Eola Technology Partners. Nathalia shares her story of how she turned to The IT Nation to bolster her knowledge of ticket management, dispatching best practices, and more.

On this episode of Stories from the IT Nation, we sit down with Corie Leaman, ConnectWise’s Director of IT Nation Events, to talk about all of the changes, challenges, and opportunities that are unfolding in the world of virtual events. We also share some exciting updates about IT Nation Explore. To find more information on our IT Nation events, you can visit: ConnectWise.com/TheITNation.

In the latest episode of Stories from the IT Nation, ConnectWise Chief Talent Officer Jennifer Locklear and Doug Westervelt, president and CEO of Portland Internetworks, discuss how successful businesses can attract and retain an all-star team. Learn more about how to invest in and develop top talent within an organization, how to screen job candidates, and how your company can differentiate itself from the competition to become a desirable workplace to prospective employees.

In this episode of our Stories from The IT Nation podcast series, Alona Bolotnikova, Chief Perfectionist at Perfecting Service, and Topher Barrow, Product Marketing Manager at ConnectWise, talk about the steps and audits to put in place to measure customer service levels. Learn how to create an immediate improvement in your customer service experience by following the advice outlined in this podcast.

Customer service is one of the biggest differentiators when choosing between MSPs today, but how do you know whether you’re doing it correctly? In this episode of our Stories from The IT Nation podcast series, Brian Troy, Director of Product Marketing at ConnectWise, and Alona Bolotnikova, Chief Perfectionist at Perfecting Service, discuss the role customer service plays in client retention, how to create a better customer experience, and the risks of not getting customer service right.

Arnie Bellini, CEO of Connectwise nailed it.  All MSPs have a social responsibility to protect their client data.  Watch Arnie's full keynote from IT Nation 2018 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csjMxc4q7EM&t=1682s.  The entire youtube video is amazing but the last third really drives home the point of MSPs owning the responsibility of cybersecurity for their clients. Need help marketing your managed IT services business and wanting to steal business away from those MSPs who still don't understand the importance of a great cyber security offering...talk to Ulistic at https://www.uistic.com.

How many IT conferences do you attend throughout the year? How many money are you spending going to IT Nation, MSP World, DattoCon, GlueCon every single year? Are you getting value from this investment? In this edition of the "From The Driver's Seat," we crack the seal on how much money are you wasting attending conferences when you could be putting that money towards connecting with your target audience and investing in marketing. Connect with Stuart at https://www.ulistic.com

Navigate is Continuum’s annual user conference—and it’s packed with great content, networking opportunities, and actionable insights that attendees can leverage across a number of key aspects of their businesses. Tune into this episode of Stories from the IT Nation to discover four can’t-miss attractions at Navigate 2018!

SIP? PRI? Hosted VoIP? We know you don't care about any of them but which should your company be using? Mike takes the mic and answers this question for IT Nation. Having worked with voice from every provider imaginable for 17 years, and a consumer of business voice for 13, Mike has strong opinions on this topic and let's 'em fly.

AVG Announces Cloud Care As I was wandering the floor at IT Nation, Jessica Turner from AVG stopped me to give me some information about the new AVG program: Cloud Care. Then Austen Clark wandered up to hand me to AVG marketing goodies. I assumed he was an AVG employee, but he’s a very happy client of theirs and volunteered to hand things out. So I snapped this picture:   Jessica agreed to an interview. She brought me up to speed on the new AVG program and the revenue opportunities for MSPs. This service is provided on an as-needed basis with month-to-month payments. Includes anti-virus, content filtering, and remote IT services. We also went into deployment options, installation, their dashboard, how new users are added to the system, and more.   Download the Interview with Jessica Turner from AVG. For more information on AVG Cloud Care, visit www.avg.com/cloudcare. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.     Side story: Jessica has a great sense of humor. When I interview people, I take a picture of their badge so I get the name right, like this:   I asked Jessica if I could take a picture of her badge. She said yes. And as I focusing in I heard her say “Uh. I’m up here.” I’m up here!    

As the IT Nation show was winding down, I talked to some guys from Continuum. Joe Consolmagno is a Technical Account Manager for the Mid Atlantic Region. Raymond Vrabel is Director of Technical Account Management. Continuum was at IT Nation to talk to partners about how they integrate with a variety software programs. In addition, they introduce a variety of products. I asked Joe about the performance of Continuum worked during Hurricane Sandy’s visit to New York and New Jersey. The result was pretty impressive. The combination of Continuum and Datto made response to the disaster fast and easy. In addition to “Continuum Vault” for disaster recovery, the performance of the cloud-based NOC was excellent. Ray mentioned that during the disaster, about 3,000 virtual servers were spun up in the cloud – many of them in advance of the hurricane just to make sure that companies would have no downtime. Download the Interview with Joe and Ray from Continuum here. For more information about Continuum, visit www.continuum.net.   For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

I always like catching up with Dan Wensley from Level Platforms. Dan makes a point of starting out this interview with a ringing endorsement of the IT Nation conference. Level Platforms recently added helpdesk and NOC support for MSPs. The phones are answered in North America – primarily in Ottawa, Ontario. The key to success is the integration with clients’ existing RMM solution. We talked quite a bit about the lessons from Hurricane Sandy and the power of cloud services during a disaster. Hurricane Sandy was a real test for how MSPs will react to disasters in the age of cloud-based management and disaster recovery. Dan is proud of the performance of their NOC during the hurricane, and he’s confident that they will perform just as well in the next disaster. Download the Interview with Dan Wensley from Level Platforms here. For more information on Level Platforms, visit www.levelplatforms.com. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

Interview with Erinn Davis, Community Manager for ConnectWise, Labtech, and Quosal Erinn Davis is one of the hardest working people I ran into at IT Nation. We grabbed an empty boardroom to talk about these three products and her role connecting with the community. The “Community Team” currently has 12 people. They manage all partner-facing activities at ConnectWise, Labtech, and Quosal. These activities include facilitating user groups and working with social media. One person on this team is Holly Soule. I mention the Pinterest pages she manages. You can see a taste of this at http://pinterest.com/connectwise/look-learn/. When we took the picture, the first shot didn’t capture Erinn’s hot shoes, so we had to redo this. Download the Interview with Erinn Davis from ConnectWise, Labtech, and Quosal here. For more information on LabTech, visit www.labtechsoftware.com. For more information on Quosal, visit www.quosal.com. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

My friend Nancy Hammervik is the Senior Vice President, Industry Relations at CompTIA. On November 9th she was awarded a Bronze Stevie Award as “Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit – 11 to 2,500 Employees.” The Stevie Awards were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide. All organizations and individuals worldwide may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The Stevie Awards are given out by the American Business Association. We talked about her role mentoring women in business and specifically women in IT. Nancy deals with pretty much everything in CompTIA that deals with partners: Communications, education, and a lot more. Their goal is to be vendor neutral while providing education and opportunities for VARs and MSPs. Download the Interview with Nancy Hammervik from CompTIA here. For more information on CompTIA, visit www.comptia.org. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

Alan McDonald is President and CTO of Xilocore. Xilocore is a “business continuity and disaster recovery” company focused value added resellers. The develop entire disaster preparedness plans that can be added to managed service offerings. In addition to simply having a business continuity plan, Alan talks about testing recovery systems on a regular basis. He notes that the most successful partners for his product are those that focus their business around disaster recovery. And of course I made him answer some questions about their partner program. Download the Interview with Alan McDonald from Xilocore here. For more information on Quosal, visit www.xilocore.com. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

While at IT Nation last weekend, I grabbed Kent McNall, CEO of Quosal for a quick interview. This “killer combo” of products is one of the most impressive things I saw over the weekend. Quosal was one of the highlighted products in Arnie Bellini’s keynote speech. Kent gave us some of the details about how Quosal connects the LabTech RMM to the ConnectWise PSA. We talked in some depth about the “possibility engine” in LabTech that triggers quotes from Quosal. From little things like the need for RAM, all the way up to creating an automated proposal for replacing an entire server, the LabTech/Quosal combination can help you find opportunities among your clients that you might otherwise miss. Quosal was written as an open application, so it works nicely with Autotask and other products in addition to ConnectWise. And with the LabTech integration it is very obvious that other RMM tools will want to develop a competing product as well. Download the Interview with Kent McNall from Quosal here. For more information on Quosal, visit www.quosal.com.   For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

One of the fun people I don’t get to see enough is Ian Watkins from the UK. He has been using ConnectWise for seven years. I caught up with Ian as he was in line to get into one of the breakout sessions. So we recorded this podcast in the hallway. He gives us his perspective on the data protection issues for companies in the UK and European Union. We also talked about other vendors — and some comments about the music at the event. Download the Interview with Ian Watkins – ConnectWise user from the UK. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

While hanging out in the PacketTrap booth, the talk turned to an interesting product combination that surprised me. Geoff Parker from PacketTrap tells me that a number of partners came by the booth and mentioned that they use these tools together. Hmmm . . . aren’t they both RMM tools? Well, yes, but they each have some outstanding features that makes them even better in combination. This is a quick interview but very interesting. Download the Interview with Geoff Parker from PacketTrap here. For more information on PacketTrap, visit www.packettrap.com. For more information on LabTech, visit www.labtechsoftware.com. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

ChannelEyes is now in its second year and Jay McBain was on the floor at IT Nation to talk to vendors about connecting with partners. According to Jay, most MSPs work with an average of eight vendors, and yet they are overwhelmed with the information flooding from vendors to partners. Jay explains the mobile “Channel Candy” apps that ChannelEyes makes available for vendors to develop. Channel Candy apps will live on your cell phone/mobile device and be a direct communication system between vendors and their channel partners. Jay gives us a great deal of detail on channel relations and how ChannelEyes is working to improve those relations. Download the Interview with Jay McBain from ChannelEyes here. For more information on ChannelEyes, everyone should visit www.channeleyes.com. For vendors to view the mobile app, visit www.channelcandy.com. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

Kim’s cloud display was very clever. In fact, it caught my eye and I had to take a picture. Then, of course, I turned on the microphone to ask what they do. Integral is a “full IT solution provider.” They were recruiting partners to resell their managed service offerings, including cloud services and hosting/colo services. SSAE 16 SOC2 Audit Compliant. (See http://www.ssae16.org/ssae-16-reporting/ssae-16-type-2-reports.html) Their channel program has no minimums and no quotas. They will help train you to sell their solutions, so they can help you with both sales and technical support. Download the Interview with Kim Mann from Integral here.   For more information on Integral, visit www.integralsg.com.   For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

I dropped by the Symantec booth at IT Nation and had some fun horsing around with Anne Stobaugh and Dal Gemmell. They brought me up to speed with some of the latest programs at Syamantec. Anne made a point that Symantec is trying to be very MSP friendly. They offer a monthly subscription buying program AND promised that you don’t have to worry about Symantec contacting end users! The monthly program is a buy-what-you-need model and great for cash flow. A few products are available in this program either on-premise or in the Cloud, including End Point Protection and Backup Exec. Dal focuses on that Endpoint Protection piece and says Symantec is totally supporting Windows 8 devices at this time. As he says, “In this business, if you don’t adapt quickly to change, you’re not going to be in business for very long.” Symantec is also a big supporter of HTG. They support some groups directly and try to have a tight relationship. Their goal her is to stay tuned to what MSPs are looking for. Symantec has an “MSP Specialist” team that focuses completely on MSP products and issues. You can contact the MSP team at … msp@symantec.com or call 855-210-1101. Download the Interview with Anne Stobaugh and Dal Gemmell from Symantec here. For more information on Symantec, visit www.symatec.com.   For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.  

Karl with Jenna from Spam Soap Jenna Chase is always in a good mood, and she really enjoyed the IT Nation vendor floor this year. We caught up with her on the last day. Spam Soap is a cloud based email and security provider. Which means cloud-based spam filtering, archiving, encryption, and hosted Exchange services. Of course they’ll filter any email you need filtering, so you don’t have to be hosted with them. Download the Interview with Jenna Chase from Spam Soap. For more information on Spam Soap, visit http://spamsoap.com or Call 866-772-6688.   For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.    

One of the vendors that seems to make every show is eFolder (www.eFolder.net). I talked to Booth Dude Tel Hulsy about the eFolder product and what they’re up to. eFolder Crew at IT Nation Ted’s big push is the eFolder/AppAssure combination that allows client systems to be imaged to the eFolder cloud. This gives them on-site data recovery plus cloud-based recovery options. We also talked a bit about the explosion of data on client sites and how that affects backups. Ted explained a bit about eFolder’s de-duplication feature. Other topics included . . . – Why public cloud? – How does the availability of bandwidth affect recovery? – Running clients in the virtual environment in the cloud – The “eFolder Continuity Cloud” Download the Interview with Ted Hulsy from eFolder. For more information on eFolder, visit www.eFolder.net. For more information on IT Nation, visit www.TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit www.ConnectWise.com.

ConnectWise Goes Way Beyond PSA I had a chance to sit down with Arnie and David Bellini near the end of IT Nation and get some insights into what they’re doing and where the company is going. Arnie Bellini is the CEO of ConnectWise and David is the COO. Arnie Bellini, Karl Palachuk, David Bellini As Arnie describes ConnectWise, their mission is to help you run your business better by bringing all of your “Silos of Chaos” into a common interface. Now, in addition to the features built into ConnectWise, they are building strong alliances with other products in order to take integration to a higher level. Two of the coolest things I saw at the keynote were the “Marketplace” and the “Partner Kits.” You can check out the Marketplace at www.connectwise.com/marketplace. They list all of their all integration partners – about 400 in all. The Partner kits are available at www.connectwise.com/partnerkits and include quick-start kits for sales, helpdesk, human resources, and more. Arnie is justifiably proud of their success with product integration. One of the coolest things he demonstrated in his keynote was the ability for Labtech to find problems and connect to Quosal so Quosal and automatically generate a sales opportunity in ConnectWise with a draft sales quote. At that point the sales team can fine-tune the quote, collaborate with the tech department, and get the quote out to the client. And of course Arnie loves the partnership ConnectWise shares with HTG – the Heartland Technology Group. He looks at HTG as the group that’s going to push innovation in the IT support business. . . . And there’s a lot more covered in this 12 minute interview. Download the Interview with Arnie Bellini from ConnectWise here. For more information on IT Nation, visit TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit ConnectWise.com.

One of my old friends Steve Noel talked to me about his role at Axcient and what the company’s up to these days. Steve is a Techno Sales Engineer at Axcient. Steve Noel Axcient is a 100% Channel focused backup and BDR solution. Steven doesn’t describe their solution as “BDR” but he says, “We eliminate downtime.” Whether your systems are physical, virtual, or some combination of things, Axcient can back up your stuff. Steve gives us a few notes on the new people who working at Axcient development. He promises that they have a lot of new developments in the funnel. Axcient is on a 6-week development cycle, so he expects some big changes very soon. Because the appliances are in constant communication with Axcient, they can increase functionality and update systems remotely and automatically. And of course quality assurance is very important in this process. Steve also gave us some information on their integration strategies for LabTech, ConnectWise, and other products. In addition, they have a strong relationship with the HTG groups who were present at IT Nation. Download the Interview with Steve Noel from Axcient here. For more information on Axcient, visit http://www.axcient.com. – – – – – For more information on IT Nation, visit TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit ConnectWise.com.  

I sat down with Larry Walsh, CEO of The 2112 Group at IT Nation. The 2112 Group is an analyst firm that supports vendors in the solution provider community. They provide “leadership and best practices” for solution providers. Larry Walsh – The 2112 Group On the topic of having vendors selling direct versus selling through the channel, Larry says that this has always been true. He explains how you differentiate yourself so the vendors’ practices become irrelevant. On the question of how vendors can help get the right information to solution providers, he says “The channel is awash in content.” So he is not worried about whether solution providers will have access to information. But he argues that solution providers need to figure out what their business model is going forward. Once they do that, they can get the information they need from their vendors. Download the Interview with Larry Walsh here.  (17 MB) For more information . . . ChannelNomics.com ChannelNomics on Twitter and Facebook lmwalsh2112 on Twitter and Facebook – – – – – For more information on IT Nation, visit TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit ConnectWise.com.    

Kevin McGibben – CEO of LogicMonitor – met up with me at the ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando Friday. LogicMonitor is a “pure SaaS based IT infrastructure monitoring service.” We talked about what that means and why it is NOT an RMM tool. LogicMonitor discovers and analyzes everything at the hardware level and up through virtual environments and hosted services. As a SaaS model, there is no on-premise tool. And because they deploy to any location at once, you can monitor everything from database performance in hosted environments all the way down to hardware at your colo facility. The price is also very good . . . and very much in line with standard Managed Services pricing. Everything can be based on pure usage for you while you parcel out monitoring across all your clients. There is one master portal that you can customize. Kevin McGibben of LogicMonitor In case you want to take a closer look and see if this is something you can integrate into your managed service business, LogicMonitor is happy to extend a trial to partners. To get a better idea of the price point, please listen to the podcast: Download the Interview with Kevin McGibben from Logic Monitor here. For more information on Logic Monitor, visit LogicMonitor.com. – – – – – For more information on IT Nation, visit TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit ConnectWise.com

I caught up with Jason Samples from PacketTrap at the ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando. My first question was “What are you doing here?” PacketTrap has both a PSA and an RMM tool. Their RMM tool is an “agent/agent-less hybrid” that integrates fully with other PSA systems – including ConnectWise. So they are having good luck talking to their clients and prospects on the vendor floor. Jason Samples from PacketTrap PacketTrap offers trials for their tools. Jason recommends that you start with the RMM side. Once you’re comfortable with that, then they invite you to look at the PSA. They have a number of online training videos and we’re planning to do a webinar together in the next month. Download the Interview with Jason Samples from PacketTrap here. You can find out more about PacketTrap at www.packettrap.com. – – – – – For more information on IT Nation, visit TheITNation.com. For more information on ConnectWise, visit ConnectWise.com.