Podcasts about managed it

In this episode of the Workforce Connections podcast, we're joined by Mike Rhea, Chief Revenue Officer at Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS). Mike shares his journey from growing up in a military family and thriving in martial arts and football to eventually shifting into banking and breaking into tech sales without earning a college degree. Raised in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area and a former student at Virginia Tech, Mike's story is one of resilience, adaptability, and grit. What started as a retail job evolved into a passion for building and scaling businesses, with Mike playing key roles in helping multiple companies grow exponentially in revenue and reach.Today, Mike leads national revenue efforts at ITS, a rapidly expanding managed service provider supporting small to mid-sized businesses. Under his leadership, ITS is reshaping how companies view IT by delivering more than just support—they're offering strategic, forward-thinking solutions that help companies to grow smarter and more securely. Through ITS's three core offerings, Managed IT, ITS Secure (cybersecurity), and ITS Verify (cyber insurance protection)—Mike and his team aim to serve as proactive technology partners, helping clients stay ahead of challenges instead of just reacting to them.Mike is a devoted husband and proud father of two outside the office. Mike puts family first, whether planning a surprise trip to Cabo for his wife, attending soccer games and daddy-daughter dances, or encouraging his kids' entrepreneurial spirit. He's also committed to personal growth through reading, learning from mentors, and surrounding himself with high-level thinkers. His advice for young people is powerful: Be intentional about who you take advice from, stay focused, and speak as if you've succeeded. Mike's story is a reminder that with belief, drive, and the right mindset, success isn't just possible; it's within reach.Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS):Intelligent Technical Solutions | Managed IT Services

Championing Synergetic Culture® with Adam Bieber (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 855) In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray interviews Adam Bieber, Director of Business Development at Logic Speak and Founder of The Synergetic Culture® Company. Adam shares insights on his dual roles in managed IT and cybersecurity, and his consulting firm […] The post Championing Synergetic Culture® with Adam Bieber appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

Championing Synergetic Culture® with Adam Bieber (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 855) In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray interviews Adam Bieber, Director of Business Development at Logic Speak and Founder of The Synergetic Culture® Company. Adam shares insights on his dual roles in managed IT and cybersecurity, and his consulting firm […]

In this episode, we chat with John Erisman, a community-driven professional with over 25 years of experience in Lancaster County. John has been with Stratix Systems for 3+ years, where the company focuses on Managed IT, content management, and imaging. He's also actively involved in local initiatives, including the Lancaster Stormers and as a social studies teacher. Outside of work, John enjoys outdoor adventures and spending time with his wife, Beth Olson, their three boys, and grandchild. Tune in as John shares his passion for community and tech!

The Stinson family has owned and operated a jewelry businesses for five generations. In addition to being excellent craftsmen, the family members have built a reputation of caring for customers' jewelry needs and their precious purchases. The family's thoughtfulness has created loyal customers who send their children and grandchildren to purchase precious jewels from the Stinsons.

BigFoot Adventure in beautiful Grundy county offers zip lining, disc golf, camping, hiking and more. Visitors of all ages are welcome to enjoy Tennessee's natural landscape while laughing and smiling with their family and friends. Owner Andy Baggenstoss tells us why he started the park and how he keeps his clientele in mind when deciding what activities to develop.

Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about…All things Bridgestone with Bridgestone Morrison Plant Manager Tim Painter.What is “The Wayback Machine” and what does it do? The latest on community events, Channel 6, The Connection Magazine, and more!To give us feedback, questions, or ideas for future guests email us at blcpodcast@benlomand.net.

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, we sit down with Sethu Meenakshisundaram, co-founder of Zluri - a SaaS management and identity governance company born out of the need to tackle hidden SaaS costs that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic.Sethu recounts the inception of Zluri during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing how the founders identified a critical need for better visibility and control over hidden SaaS costs even for small businesses. Sethu highlights Zluri's evolution from a cost optimization tool to a proactive platform, addressing the diverse needs of both enterprises and smaller companies. Explore the value of integration, automation, and maintaining up-to-date to ensure scalable and adaptable IT management solutions. Additionally, Sethu shares insights on Managed IT, Shadow IT, and the emerging Shadow AI.Key Takeaways00:00 Ensure meaningful customer engagement with authentic SaaS.03:17 Utilize analytics tools for detailed user insights.07:06 Embracing problem led to $50,000 saving.12:16 Different service delivery models for varying sizes.13:37 Zulary needs integrations, highlights importance of security.19:46 Complexity of integration improved, faster value delivery.23:26 Questioning the purpose and value of work.24:50 Champion Leadership Group scales revenue and outwits competitors.29:02 Zluri offers exhaustive IT discovery engine.31:53 Admin roles crucial, over-permissioning poses security risk.36:52 Expand discovery, control and technology for visibility.38:27 Architecture supports user access reviews for scaling.42:16 Be prepared, but do it anyway.45:39 Investing is complex, understand it thoroughly.Tweetable Quotes"Without integration, the platform doesn't work, which means integration is a core story of Slurry." — Sethu 00:17:54Shadow AI: "People are using a lot of AI application that they don't want their IT to know of. And to use those apps, they are exchanging the company's data as a bottom." — Sethu 00:28:12"Importance of Access Control in Safeguarding Organizations": "People find it very hard to get access to a job, and sometimes they do not get the right level of access, which means they get over permissioned in an application. And that becomes a critical issue during times when bad actors pop up because they can do a lot of things." — Sethu 00:32:12But as our vision expands, do we have the technology today to expand along with that? And the answer is yes." — Sethu 00:37:19"Engagement is one of the most important metrics SaaS leaders can track. Why is that? Well, it's a forward-looking measure of revenue and an early warning system of churn." — Jeff Mains 00:01:01The importance of tracking authentic SaaS customer engagement: "You've got to go beyond vanity metrics and focus on actions that indicate genuine involvement and significant outcomes." — Jeff Mains 00:02:36Quote: "Got to implement customer feedback loops. And to do that, we wanna actively seek feedback from users through surveys, through interviews, through in-app prompts." — Jeff Mains 00:04:30 Quote: "Tracking authentic SaaS customer engagement requires focusing on the right metrics, using advanced tools, and incorporating continuous customer feedback." — Jeff Mains 00:05:08SaaS Leadership LessonsEmbrace the Problem You Love: Sethu's journey with Zluri began with a genuine passion for solving a significant problem they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic– hidden SaaS costs. His deep connection to the issue drove the successful pivot from gamifying corporate learning to addressing...

Unlock the secrets to successful sales leadership as we sit down with Lee Weech, Vice President of Sales for Executech. Learn from Lee's vast experience as he discusses how Executech has thrived over the past 25 years in managed services, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and cloud solutions. Discover why cloud migration and robust cybersecurity measures are more critical now than ever and get tips on how to protect your corporate data in the age of AI technologies like ChatGPT.    Gain priceless insights from Lee's early sales experiences, where transparency and confidence played a pivotal role in closing deals. Hear his candid stories about failures and the lessons they imparted, illustrating how accountability and resilience can turn professional hardships into stepping stones for success. Lee's personal philosophy on sales will inspire you, whether you're starting your career or looking to overcome your own professional challenges.    Peek behind the curtain of sales leadership with Lee as he shares the ups and downs of steering a team in the managed service provider industry. Learn the art of balancing responsibilities, the importance of self-care, and the role of delegation in fostering a cohesive and successful team. Lee's approach to hiring, transparency, and leadership will offer you practical strategies to build a supportive, honest, and high-energy work environment. Tune in for invaluable lessons and inspiring stories that can transform your approach to sales and leadership.  Lee Weech is the Vice President of Sales for Executech having helped clients find solutions for Managed IT, Security and Cloud-based solutions to improve their efficiencies for 8 years within 8 locations in 6 states.    Lee is originally from San Diego moving to Utah is 2005. Along with his two kids, Jackson 18 and Kara 16, they enjoy a very active life together including ATV riding, skiing, golf, hiking, paddle boarding, traveling and proud to carry the National Park annual pass.  Lee enjoys giving back to the community as the former chair of the Salt Lake City President Ambassadors and volunteers within the Daybreak community in South Jordan, UT.    Quotes: "Honesty, showing up, and transparency are the core values I hold true. Whether it's telling a client they don't need an expensive solution or showing up in a snowstorm, these principles build trust and long-term relationships."  "The hardest thing for me in leadership is delegation. By doing everything myself, I'm not helping my team grow. It's important to give them opportunities to handle challenging situations, knowing I've got their back."  "Reflecting on past failures, I've learned that lack of effort and attention to detail can lead to job losses, but these experiences also serve as critical learning opportunities. Accountability and resilience are key to transforming professional hardships into stepping stones for success."    Links:  Lee's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeweech/ Executech - https://www.executech.com   Get this episode and all other episodes of Sales Lead Dog at https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog 

On this episode of the Driven by DCKAP podcast, Karthik sits down with Brad Feakes, President of EstesGroup - a leader in combining Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, and Managed IT solutions with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Brad has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, construction management, supply chain, and ERP systems, and in their conversation he shares his wealth of knowledge. From strategies of implementation, how to ensure there's synchronicity with all systems, the role of integration and AI tools, as well as the role of business culture and managing teams, this conversation covers everything ERP, and much more. Be sure to watch the full episode to gain all the invaluable insights our latest guest shares!

In our thirteenth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about…Our FIRST video podcast (which can be found at our Ben Lomand Connect YouTube Channel) and all things FiRST National Bank of Middle Tennessee with President Pieter van Vuuren.What is multi-Gig?Micah's Show and Tell: What is a Firewall and what does it do?The latest at Channel 6, the Connection Magazine, and more!

Buds & Blooms and Tristar Plants have greenhouses in Sparta, Tennessee, that sell plant varieties locally and nationally! Listen to Owner Allen Selby as he discusses the importance of small businesses helping one another during times of crisis and how he broadened his market when the opportunity presented itself.

This week on the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast, host Larry Weidel is joined by Orrin Klopper, Co-Founder and CEO of Netsurit, a managed IT, Cloud, and Security service provider (MSP).

This week on the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast, host Larry Weidel is joined by Orrin Klopper, Co-Founder and CEO of Netsurit, a managed IT, Cloud, and Security service provider (MSP).

This week on the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast, host Larry Weidel is joined by Orrin Klopper, Co-Founder and CEO of Netsurit, a managed IT, Cloud, and Security service provider (MSP).

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly sophisticated, so do the methods and tactics used by hackers to exploit it. Join Anne Valaitis, Keypoint Intelligence's Principal Analyst of Managed IT Services, as she mines the topic of AI-powered hacking with Carlos Fernandes and Steve Britt of Agile Cybersecurity Solutions (ACS), exploring the latest trends and discussing how organizations can remain secure and compliant.

Mad Cow Running Company has been a wonderful asset to the McMinnville community. The store provides all the shoes, equipment, and encouragement you need to get outside and get moving! Owner Monica Moore joined the show to tell us her vision for the store and a healthier community.

For their quarterly discussion of all things managed IT services, Keypoint Intelligence's Anne Valaitis and Carl Schell catch up on recent developments and what dealers need to know about the space as 2023 comes to a close. Their conversation potpourri touches on Unified Communications-as-a-Service, cybersecurity, what happened at our Office Document Technologies conference, and a teaser of some of the IT research we have planned into early 2024.

In der neuesten Episode begrüßen wir einen wahren Visionär, Steve Sterthues. Sein leidenschaftliches Engagement für Technologie und Prozessautomatisierung hat Unternehmen transformiert. Erfahre, wie Automatisierung und Managed IT die Arbeitsweise von Unternehmen beeinflussen und revolutionieren können. Begleite uns bei einem inspirierenden Interview über Innovation, Technologie und den unermüdlichen Ehrgeiz, die Zukunft der Unternehmensprozesse zu gestalten. Ein absolutes Muss für alle, die sich für die Digitalisierung, Technologie und Unternehmensentwicklung interessieren. Mehr zu dieser Podcast Folge findest du hier in den Shownotes: https://www.wealthacademy.space/posts/scheduled/853-mit-steve-sterthues Werde Teil der Community: www.wealthacademy.space Oder besuche unsere Website: www.sven-lorenz.com Noch mehr Content von Sven gibt es hier: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svenlorenzspeaker/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SvenLorenzOfficial/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svenlorenz.official/

In der neuesten Episode begrüßen wir einen wahren Visionär, Steve Sterthues. Sein leidenschaftliches Engagement für Technologie und Prozessautomatisierung hat Unternehmen transformiert. Erfahre, wie Automatisierung und Managed IT die Arbeitsweise von Unternehmen beeinflussen und revolutionieren können. Begleite uns bei einem inspirierenden Interview über Innovation, Technologie und den unermüdlichen Ehrgeiz, die Zukunft der Unternehmensprozesse zu gestalten. Ein absolutes Muss für alle, die sich für die Digitalisierung, Technologie und Unternehmensentwicklung interessieren.Mehr zu dieser Podcast Folge findest du hier in den Shownotes:https://www.wealthacademy.space/posts/scheduled/853-mit-steve-sterthuesWerde Teil der Community:www.wealthacademy.spaceOder besuche unsere Website:www.sven-lorenz.comNoch mehr Content von Sven gibt es hier:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svenlorenzspeaker/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SvenLorenzOfficial/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svenlorenz.official/

Milner's Tom McMahon, President and General Manager, along with Juan Santos, Regional Sales Director, sit down with Keypoint Intelligence's Carl Schell to talk about the company and its trajectory in the future. The conversation spans office and production print, managed IT, changes the organization has made and will be making to drive success, and plenty of other topics—all to get to the heart and soul of Milner the company.

In our twelfth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about… All things White County with Sparta District Manager Ben Clark and District Customer Relations Supervisor Tammy Odom. “Tech to School”: The latest technology and app recommendations for students young and old. The latest at Channel 6 and outdoor events around our area. Micah's Dad Jokes Reiew and more!

Keypoint Intelligence's Anne Valaitis and Carl Schell sit down again to talk about managed IT and cloud services, framing much of the dialogue around our Advisory Service research and deliverables. Here they discuss IT in Europe, Anne's panel session on unified communications at the BTA National Conference in Boston, and more, closing with a bit about the Pitt-WVU rivalry—all fun stuff to be sure!

As we embark on Think Cloud's 20th Anniversary, it's time to pause, reflect, and celebrate the incredible journey that has led us here. Over the last two decades, Think Cloud has pioneered ground-breaking solutions, driving digital transformation across industries and borders. Today, we are thrilled to have Scott Clark, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Think Cloud, join us in the studio for our Hack podcast. Join Leon, Dean, Paul, and Scott as they delve into the fascinating story of how it all began.  Scott envisioned taking a start-up from humble beginnings to becoming a leader in Managed IT and Cyber Security Solutions. With his passion for continuous innovation, he and his award-winning team have developed a service that exists to help customers succeed through the adoption and use of digital technology. We invite you to listen in and celebrate this significant milestone with us as we share our stories and insights on the journey so far. Full Blog on www.think-cloud.co.uk

Joshua and Sarah Morgan own The Monroe on 415th, a modern wedding venue in Middle Tennessee. Sarah discusses how each detail of the venue — from the design to vendor recommendations — aims to make each couple's wedding day a perfect and memorable experience.

Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS) provides practical and cost-effective IT solutions for Las Vegas companies in the automotive industry in their latest guide. For more information about 'The Ultimate Guide to Managed IT for Automotive Businesses', please visit https://www.itsasap.com/ultimate-guide-managed-it-automotive Intelligent Technical Solutions 3330 West Desert Inn Road Suite B, Las Vegas, Nevada 89102, United States Website https://www.itsasap.com/ Phone +1-702-869-3636 Email prc.pressagency@gmail.com

Join Max, one of our resident Business Ninjas, speak with Ephraim Ebstein, CEO and Co-Founder of FIT Solutions. In this episode, Ephraim talks about the importance of finding the right motivation when it comes to starting a business.FIT Solutions is a leading provider of IT services and solutions. They specialize in Managed IT, Enterprise IT, Cybersecurity, Cloud Services, IT Projects, and Healthcare IT. FIT Solutions understands that IT is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve can be a challenge. That's why FIT Solution's team of certified professionals is dedicated to keeping up wit the latest technologies and trends so they can provide the best solutions for each client.Learn more about each of the individual IT and managed cybersecurity services that FIT Solutions offers here: https://fitsolutions.biz/-----Do you want to be interviewed for your business?  Schedule time with us, and we'll create a podcast like this for your business:  https://www.WriteForMe.io/-----https://www.facebook.com/writeforme.iohttps://www.instagram.com/writeforme.io/https://twitter.com/writeformeiohttps://www.linkedin.com/company/writeforme/https://www.pinterest.com/andysteuer/Want to be interviewed on our Business Ninjas podcast? Schedule time with us now, and we'll make it happen right away! Check out WriteForMe, more than just a Content Agency! See the Faces Behind The Voices on our YouTube Channel!

In our eleventh episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about… All things Arlo with Information Systems and Managed IT Manager Chris Centracchio. Mailbag Segment: The explanation of IP addresses with Network Operations Supervisor Clent Kesey. The latest at Channel 6, the Connection magazine, and outdoor events around our area. Micah's Trivia and more!

Anne Valaitis, Principal Analyst of Managed IT Services in Keypoint Intelligence's Office Group, speaks with Stephen Boals of cyberconIQ on the far-reaching consequences of ignoring human assets in a cybersecurity plan—and make no mistake, you need a plan. Learn how organizations are navigating this rocky road and managing risk with critical business changes that will deliver stability and protection to companies and their people.

Keypoint Intelligence's Anne Valaitis and Carl Schell catch up on what's happened in the world of managed IT and cloud services in the last couple of months. Along with discussing some of the news that came out of the recent NYC Cyber Security Summit and the Sharp National Dealer Meeting, they also provide some details on IT-focused service deliverables that will be published this year.

Julie Keel, co-host of the Housing Hub Podcast, joined the show to discuss bringing a spotlight on housing needs in the Upper Cumberland by podcasting.  Aided by a South Cumberland Community Fund grant, Keel and co-host Sophia Wickersham work to centralize information for their clients.

In our 10th episode, Bryan and Karen find themselves talking about… The past, present, and future of Ben Lomand Connect with board members Joe Roper and Gerald Sitz. Ben Lomand Connect's help in the farming and finance sectors with Mr. Roper and Mr. Sitz. Plus, the latest at Channel 6, the Ben Lomand Connect YouTube Channel, The Connection magazine, and indoor events around our area.

Anne Valaitis, Principal Analyst of Managed IT Services in Keypoint Intelligence's Office Group, speaks with Nelson Chiu, Cofounder of Lonocode, on the rapid development in and of no-code/low-code technology. Among their various points of conversation, they discuss the evolution of heavy, on-premise solutions to the managed application services being offered today, along with how the benefits of these products are driving adoption rates at a healthy clip.

In our ninth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about… Ben Lomand Security installation and layout discussion with Tim Sharpe Security Smart Home devices to enhance your home or business with Blake Thomas The latest at Channel 6, the Connection magazine and indoor events around our area Micah's Trivia and more!

Mandy Eller, executive director of Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, discusses the health care challenges of rural Tennessee and how the clinic addresses those challenges in Grundy County.

From being expelled from school to $30M in revenue, Orrin Klopper has become a recognized and successful entrepreneur. He is a Co-founder and the CEO of Netsurit, a Managed IT and Security Services company founded 24 years ago during the lead-up to Y2K. Since then, he's grown the company to 100 people and over $30 million in revenue through acquisitions and organic growth.  Orrin is also a founding member of EO South Africa and a member of YPO. In this episode… Many businesses have invested a lot in technology, but most users have not caught up to the changes. Much worse is that some companies fail to educate their people about technological vulnerabilities and how to protect themselves against cyber attacks.  You can have all the security in the world, but if your users are unaware, they may become a window for a security breach. How do you respond if your tech system is breached? Equally important, how do you maximize the total value of your tech stack? Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, featuring the CEO of Netsurit, Orrin Klopper. They discuss the typical tech security breaches most companies face, how to respond to an IT security attack, maximizing your tech stack through innovation and automation, and more. 

Carrie Huckeby, executive director of the Tennessee Broadband Association, joined the podcast to discuss the history of telecom cooperatives, broadband expansion across our state, and the importance of engaging the next generation to continue the legacy of cooperatives.

Welcome to The Future Financial Adviser, where our mission is to make advice accessible to more Australians. On the show we discuss the latest digital platforms, best practices, and evidence-based investing strategies, to give financial advisers the tools they need to help more investors improve their financial well-being. In today's episode, we speak with Tom Buckley, Managing Director of Managed IT services company All IT. He shares his thoughts on the recent cybersecurity issues, what happens if your server gets hacked, the most important things businesses should look out for to tighten their cybersecurity, and some data protection fundamentals everyone, including financial advisers, needs to be aware of. So, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Future Financial Adviser Podcast!If you're ready to modernise your financial advisory business and reach a new generation of investors, then this show is for you! If you've been enjoying the show, please make sure to share it with your network and leave a review on your favourite listening platform.Episode Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:08 - Tom Buckley's Backstory02:23 - The Whole New World for the IT Industry05:43 - 3 Risky Data Areas08:22 - 3 Business Data Security Must-Haves12:16 - Boosting Business Security15:21 - Small Businesses Need Data Security20:41 - Clients should know their data's location22:58 - Data protection fundamentals27:53 - Proactiveness is a Must29:07 - Final Comments and Messages29:52 - OutroAbout Our HostNigel Baker is the founder of Scientiam.com.au, built by advisers for advisers to simply help advisers engaged with digital to help more people.Scientiam is unique in that it believes advisers have an important role to play in educating and guiding clients. However, because of time and legislation, it is hard to help everyone and not everyone needs comprehensive advice.In his private client business, Nigel and his team faced the problem of wanting to help people without turning them away - they looked for a solution and could not find one, so they built Scientiam.Nigel has two decades of experience in the wealth management industry, having worked for some of the largest global institutions, and was a partner in one of Australia's largest Accounting and Financial  Advice groups. He is also the author of ‘The Super Secret' which uncovers the truth about how to invest successfully. Nigel is passionate about helping others understand money better so that they can achieve what is of utmost importance to themselves and their families.Connect with Nigel:Visit the Scientiam website: https://scientiam.com.au/Follow Nigel on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/nigel-baker-b25662 Follow Scientiam on Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/company/scientiam-investment Follow Scientiam on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullscientiam Follow Scientiam on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scientiam/ Connect with Tom:Reach out to Tom at 02 8077 1095 or t.buckley@allitservices.com.auFollow Tom on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/spurbuckThanks for listening, we would love your feedback and please hit like and subscribeWant more content on super, visit scientiam.com.au You can also attend our weekly zoom classes on all things super - simply register on our website --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nigel-baker6/message

In our eighth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about… HUGE grant news for residents of Cumberland and Coffee counties and why grants are important. A behind-the-scenes look at what went on during the August partial outage. The latest at Channel 6 and the Mobile Wi-Fi Van. Micah's Trivia and more!

In our seventh episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves talking about… Talking all things about Network Operations with Bill Jennings and Albert Frasier. What smart home technology are we using today and what are the benefits? The latest on Channel 6 and area fair schedules, plus items you and your family can grab from us there. Micah's Trivia and more!

Larry Flatt, executive director at Motlow State Automation and Robotics Training Center, discusses how the center is preparing its students to help meet growing workforce demands in Tennessee.

In our sixth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves back at the Main Branch and talking about… Customer service and sales with Business Development & Customer Relations Manager Gena Barry. What are GigaMesh Extenders and why might I need them? The latest in Channel 6 and area events. Micah's Trivia and more!

Dr. Margaret Sutton, co-owner of McMinnville Drug Center, joined the show to discuss how technology has helped the pharmacy better serve its community. Technology brings faster service, helpful programs, and better care to customers.

In our fifth episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah find themselves at the BLC Plant Operations Facility and talking about… What goes into getting fiber built and run to your home, plus the latest build updates with Director of Operations Chad Dees. What are ExperienceIQ and ProtectIQ and why do I need them? The latest in The Connection Magazine, Channel 6, and area events. Micah's Trivia and more!

Tony Lawrence from the Bybee Branch Church of Christ joined this episode to discuss how the church didn't modify its message, but how it was conveyed in a different way during COVID. The church used technology to ensure that members and visitors – whether at home, in the hospital, or around the world – could still participate in services during the pandemic.

In our “foreth” episode Bryan, Karen and Micah find themselves in “The Golf Capital of Tennessee” and talk about… -The growth of fiber throughout Cumberland County with District Office Manager Tommy Brown and Business Sales Representative Rosa Smith. -Why do I need the Ben Lomand Home App and what does it do? -The latest in the Connection Magazine and area events in May. -Phobia trivia with Micah and much more!

Karen is joined on this episode by Tiffany Anton, Vice President of The Biz Foundry. From workshops and training programs to providing a co-worker space and business connections, The Biz Foundry helps entrepreneurs no matter where they are in their small business journey.

In our third episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah talk about… -The state of Ben Lomand Connect with Board President Roger Bynum (Coffee County) and Vice President Cain Rogers (White County). -What is a Biz Box? -The latest at Channel 6, and area events. and much more!

Karen is joined on this episode by Vickie Benedict, owner of Linen and Grace Boutique in downtown McMinnville. After purchasing the store, Vickie knew she wanted to make changes, but how could she do that without upsetting the loyal customer base? Customer feedback, faith and prayer led to a rebrand that has proven to be a huge success. Listen as we discuss her special vision along with the power of good marketing!

In our second episode Bryan, Karen, and Micah talk about…-revolutionary new Gig/Gig pricing, global supply chain issues, fiber build updates, and annual meeting info with BLC GM/CEO Greg Smartt,-a deep dive into the dual-band, Wi-Fi 6 GigaSpire Blast router and GigaMesh Extenders.-what's happening in the new BLC Connection magazine, Channel 6, and area events.-and much more!

Karen is joined on this episode by General Manager Bill Rogers and Assistant General Manager Ben Newman of Caney Fork Electric Cooperative. They discuss how members should respond in moments of crisis and how they can help mitigate outages to keep the power on.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with cityCURRENT partner, Amit Kanda, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for ProTech Services Group, Inc., who provides an overview of the Memphis-based business solutions company and their different service offerings, including Managed Services, Technology and Consulting, Security Services, Cloud Services, SDaaS, and Talent Acquisition. During the interview, Amit talks about the benefits of Managed IT Services and the power of partnering to offload many of the repetitious processes so companies can focus on growth and doing what they do best, how security is changing the way organizations do business, how moving to the cloud speeds digital transformation, and the benefits of being local with team members who can respond quickly. Amit also highlights the company's commitment to community and some of the different nonprofits they support.Visit www.psgi.net to learn more.

In our first episode, Bryan, Karen, and Micah talk about... the 24/7 Network Support Center and how Donette Freeman's team is ready to meet customers's needs, the difference between fiber and copper internet service and why speed is important, Ben Lomand Connect's fiber build plans for Quarters 1 and 2 of 2022, and much more! To learn more about Ben Lomand Connect, visit https://benlomandconnect.com/.

David is joined by Justin Brake from OnServe to discuss how better ticket solutions improve Managed IT performance. Everyone in the IT Managed Service Provider industry has a different vision of the Stack. The MSP Stack Podcast explores MSP approaches to great client experiences and talks about the collection of tools and technology that make the MSP indispensable. Subscribe to join us as we talk to MSP Owners and Operators about all the buzzwords! PSA, RMM, Remote Management, Patch Management, Ticketing, Time tracking, Task management, CRM, Billing & Invoicing, Cybersecurity, Email security, Zero trust access, Licensing, Password management, Documentation, Backups, ThreatOps, and more.

Did you know that about 68% of Americans use the same password across accounts? Let's be real you're probably one of them. Rich Delaney of Delaney Computer Services (DCS) is here to tell you why that is DEFINITELY not a good idea.Segment 1Rich tells us how his business started. Sitting at his kitchen table in the 1990s building computers from scratch and selling them to local businesses to make more money to build more computers! We learn what a Managed Service Provider (MSP) is and the types of businesses DCS generally work with. We also get a visit from Rich's dog Cooper, the actual CEO of the business!Today in New Jersey History: Franklin Murphy was born in Jersey City on January 3, 1846. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War at only 16, founded the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark, and served as NJ's 31st Governor from 1902 to 1905.  Segment 2Rich discusses the challenges that face his business, particularly staffing issues and supply chain issues. People being able to work remote or work for large technology companies put a strain on the available labor force available to companies like DCS. Supply chain issues are also a significant issue for DCS and its clients. Upgrading computers, servers, people working remote and having different needs require Rich and his team to stay flexible, creative, and proactive to ensure their clients have the highest quality products, services, and, most of all, security. New Jersey Fun Fact: New Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with 7 malls in a 25 square mile radius.Segment 3Rich describes the prevalence of cyber crimes with the increased need for technology to be more pervasive in our lives. Rich and his team have had to become extraordinarily vigilant over the last four or five years with respect to cyber security. We also discuss why it is so important to use different passwords across all of your platforms.  Delaney Computer Services: dcsny.com Phone: 1-844-TECHIESInstagram: @dcsmanageditservicesThank you to our sponsors: Albert & Whitney CPAs awcpasllc.comContact the show: greetingsfromthegardenstate@gmail.comWebsite: greetingsfromthegardenstate.comFollow us on Instagram: @greetingsfromthegardenstateMusic (used with permission): "Crazy" by Manny Cabo www.mannycabo.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GardenState)

BIO: Ted Clouser started in technology at the age of 16 when he formed his own computer business. In 1996, he joined PC Assistance of Little Rock, and he and his wife purchased the company in 2018. STORY: When Ted bought his company, he continued managing it instead of being a leader, leading to a couple of challenges, including a huge debt. LEARNING: Seek counsel when entering a new venture. To succeed, you must put your doubts and fears aside.   “Go win today. Make it successful. Don't worry about tomorrow. You're going to get out of this one day at a time.”Ted Clouser  Guest profilehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-clouser-58a842156/ (Ted Clouser) started in technology at the age of 16 when he formed his own computer business. In 1996, he joined PC Assistance of Little Rock, and he and his wife purchased the business in 2018. Within a year, Ted rebranded to https://www.pcatechsolutions.com/ (PCA Technology Solutions) and has expanded to a total of three locations. Passionate about both people and technology, his firm focuses on Cybersecurity, IT Consulting, and Professional Services, Managed IT services, and Voice-Over-IP (VoIP). Married in 1998 to Stephanie, Ted has a daughter at the University of Alabama and a son at Scotland Prep in Pennslyvania. Worst investment everIronically, Ted's worst investment ever is the company that he's the CEO of today. He joined PC assistance in 1996 and was fortunate enough to spend his entire career at that organization. Somewhere around 2018, the founder and CEO decided that he was ready for an exit strategy. So they began the conversation. Ted was the executive vice president at the time, had over 20 employees, things were very successful, and he figured it would be a slam dunk to buy the company. This seemed like a perfect transition. It made complete sense. Ted's advisors warned him that there would be challenges during the transition and changes as he went from VP to President and CEO, and he needed to prepare for them. He was, however, adamant that nothing would change because he'd acted like a president and CEO anyway. He believed it was going to be a smooth transition. So fast forward to January 1, 2018, when Ted took over ownership, it was great. He was on a high, and things were really beginning to fall together. He felt like it was a dream come true, and it was for about six months. Then the nightmare began. For about 20 months after Ted took over, an identity crisis started to unfold. He was in a state of depression, and the process completely changed who he was as a person. He came to realize that he had built a company, over 20 years, that was entirely dependent on him. It did not have any foundation and no processes. He also learned that he had an unhealthy identity with the organization. Ted had always seen himself as PC Assistance, and when he moved into a president and CEO role, he tried to be the vision caster instead of the guy that did it. He was simply managing and not leading his company, and this brought so many challenges, including debts. Lessons learnedSeek the counsel that you need to really think through and plan a new venture. Andrew's takeawaysWhenever we make a big move in our lives, there are doubts and fears. These can motivate us at times, but ultimately, we have to put doubts and fears aside to be successful. Master the art of listening. Get a piece of paper and a pen and when other people speak, shut up and write down what they're saying. Challenge yourself only to ask questions and write answers down. When you take over a business or build a new one, start with building cash flow. Actionable adviceTruly seek wise counsel. No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsTed's number one professional goal for the next 12 months is to make sure he doesn't get in the way of what his team is doing. On a personal front, Ted's goal is to be the best husband and father that he can be. Parting words  “Go for it. Dream big, seek counsel, and...

In today's episode we're joined by Gus Patakakis, CEO of Long Island Server Solutions. L.I. Server Solutions is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and "much more", offering "cradle to grave" Managed IT and consulting solutions. Gus shares the unique aspects and challenges companies are facing today where Managed IT and consulting is essential, the security mindset all companies (even small businesses) must adopt, and how partnering with InterSoft Associates has helped Long Island Server Solutions meet demand with confidence.

Here's what I see on almost every resume that comes my way: either there isn't an achievement in sight, or the few achievements that are there are mixed in with bulleted job duties. This creates what we resume writers call “death by bullets.” A looooong laundry list of job duties, maybe a few achievements, that don't impress the reader and causes them to lose interest fast. Job descriptions Let's start with your job descriptions. This should be a 2-3 line paragraph of the daily job duties you performed – either most frequently or those that are most applicable to the specific position you are applying for. There's no room for fluffy words or extra verbiage in this paragraph. Stick with the most important, most relevant, and/or most differentiating tasks. Here's an example: Manage daily operations of 23 facilities in Florida including all construction, remodels, maintenance, repairs, equipment installations, warranty work, and operations budgets. Hire and collaborate with contractors. Recruit, hire, train, and coach facility managers; develop managers for promotions. Directly supervise 28 including 23 general managers. (This is 4 lines on her resume – written in present tense because this was her current job at the time I wrote her resume: Here's another example: Identified opportunities and developed/implemented solutions for general operations management, project management, human resources management, and staff development. Managed project portfolio and facilitated monthly review of all projects and resource allocation breakdown with senior leadership team. Direct supervision of 3; indirect supervision of teams as large as 100. (4 lines on resume – written in past tense because it is a previous job) Achievements You need achievements on your resume because they tell a prospective employer HOW WELL you did your job – not just THAT you did what was expected of you. It is your achievements, not your job duties, that market you. When you mix your job duties up with your achievements, you dilute the effectiveness of your achievements. Ideally, you will have progressively more achievements as your jobs are more recent. At most, 5 achievements per role.   What makes an achievement impactful? -Is specific -Starts with an action verb (parallel structure) -Leads with results -Leaves the reader wanting more (2 lines max) Example #1: Instead of – Grew customer base This high-impact achievement bullet: – Catapulted customer base 400% and revenue 700% by launching a comprehensive social media campaign. Example #2: Instead of – Managed new-hire in-processing This high-impact achievement bullet: – Processed 140 new employees in just 30 days including all paperwork, orientation, security clearances, and computer access. Example #3: Instead of – Managed IT installation project This high-impact achievement bullet: – Spearheaded 1200-unit IT installation project including beta testing, identifying and training superusers, and troubleshooting. Are you in the wrong job that chips away at you every day? The CareerSpring coaching program will help you find a job that uses your zone of genius, recognizes your value, and pays you what you're worth. Schedule a complimentary consult to learn more:  https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2

I chat with Matt LeLacheur  (Principal / VP of Sales) of AGR Technologies about everything from SEO to IT support for your dental office. Established in the year 2006, AGR is a global team of IT Solution provider professionals with a combined world experience of more than 25 years in the field of Managed IT, IT Security, Networking, Infrastructure, Strategic IT Consulting, IT System Integration, and other IT-related services.  Go to the see the deals section to find their promo offer: Get Free Website SEO done with the purchase IT Support Plan* is AGR 2021  Enjoy the episode!

Tips To Reach Your Target Audience With Mike Maynard Breaking through the virtual barrier to improve your business You might be thinking now that a lot of us are working from home, how do we reach the right audience? Before COVID-19 you could meet people by doing lunch meetings and networking things where you might be able to find the right person interested in your product or service. We've got Mike Maynard here from NapierB2B, and he's going to go through some solutions and how you can find the right audience. So Mike, how would you go about making sure that you can reach an audience from home? Mike: That's a great question to start off with Josh. It's hugely challenging to reach people at home. Our clients who we work with tend to sell to big business, and almost all of the people they wanted to reach sat in an office and they could send salespeople to meet them. Now obviously, COVID has completely changed that. Even if people are working in the office, you still can't get salespeople out there to meet them. So what you need to do is understand what sort of media and what sort of information people are consuming at home and how that's changed from when they're in the office. There Are Multiple Channels Out There So it comes down to being in their social feeds, being in their news feeds and creating a strategy to be able to track down the decision-maker in the business?  Mike: We're seeing clients have success with different tactics. I think one of the things that's really clear, is that different audiences, different sorts of people you want to reach with your marketing, are actually going to prefer different channels. So absolutely social, for sure is bigger. You look at all the stats activity and social media is way up. Now, people are working from home,  but equally don't rule out things. For example, the good old email newsletter. Great newsletters can actually be very valuable today, particularly in some industries where perhaps people aren't receiving the trade magazines they might have been reading in the past. With social media, do you think the amount of noise is becoming a problem, or the message getting washed out? Battling Against the Noise Mike: Whatever channel you choose, you've got to battle against noise. I If you're trying to use email marketing, absolutely, you're still battling against noise and spam filters, trying to remove that noise. Unfortunately, sometimes that spam filter is going to think your messages are noise rather than signal. So absolutely, I think everybody's battling against noise.  We've seen a big move online, particularly from some of the companies who were perhaps a bit more focused on traditional media previously. All that's doing is adding to the noise. Now, of course, we have seen that some of the paid channels actually become slightly less competitive. So for example, if you want to advertise travel destinations on Facebook, now's a pretty good time globally, because there's not much travel advertising going out on Facebook. However, whether it's good for your business is a very different question. So it's not the case that everything has got more noisy and everything has got more difficult, but it's always the case that:  If you don't stand out and you don't add value, then people are not going to listen to you. So I would forget about the competition and how much noise or not there isn't any one channel and work out how you can create content and information that's actually going to be of interest to the people you want to influence. Focus On Your Target Market It comes down to making sure that you understand your target market, making sure that you've profiled your ideal client. Mike: Absolutely. So we're all about focus. I think today, it's not just about having your ideal client, but it's also understanding the individuals within that client. For example, let's say you're looking to market an IT services company. You might want to talk to somebody who's the I.T director, I.T manager, but you also want to reach the CEO of the company, and potentially even the finance director or the guy in charge of the money. All three of those people will have very different thoughts about what they want from an IT services company. So what you need to do is not just tailor your message for your ideal company, but also tailor the messages for each of those three people within it to make sure that they hear information that addresses their concerns, their worries, and makes them feel you're the right business for them. That information could also vary depending on who you're talking to. It could be analytical information, it could be emotional information. Once you found out that you've got that, then it just comes down to the channels that you need to be able to talk to or find people on. There's lots of different places out there that you could be throwing your content up. Your target will probably be on LinkedIn and might have an Instagram account too, but, do you want to spread the message too thin, or do you want to focus? Mike: You absolutely want to focus. I think you need to find out what really works for you. One of the interesting things is you can't always predict that, and we have companies where one has fantastic results on social media, and the other will have email as their primary vehicle for reaching people. Both of them will be doing great, both clearly doing the right thing. Yet, it's different channels.  For me, there's a lot of different factors that affect what's going to be the most important channel. There's no point marketing in a place where your audience doesn't visit. If your audience is never on Instagram, don't go to Instagram, it’s a waste of time. But if you're where they are, then it's about:  Building a presence Building authority Building an approach that works for you, and also works for your customer  It's about finding a platform or a channel, that's going to make a difference for you. That's going to reach your audience and a platform or channel where you can actually contribute. Going back to marketing with Managed IT services, you know that there are some companies with awesome podcasts, there are other companies that are not doing podcasts because they're much more introverted. I can say over the years, we've tried many different things. It comes down to working with what works. One of the things we do that we find can help connect you with the right person is we send out postcards to our ideal clients. We found no one gets a handwritten card in the post. So that's one way that we've made sure that we stand out a little bit.  Current Trends In Online Marketing With Facebook and any sort of online marketing, I've noticed a trend and I just wanted to see what your thoughts were. Do you think at the moment businesses are pushing it more or pulling back? What are you seeing out there? Mike: I think there's a mix of approaches. We did some research amongst the industries we work in. It really was interesting to see that there was a group of people who were carrying on as they've always done, there was a group of people who were slashing marketing budgets and a group that were actually increasing. We saw the same with our clients. Some of that is due to how people approach marketing and where they see marketing as a cost or where they see it as an investment.  We have a Managed IT services client, who literally more than doubled their spend with us. When everyone's working from home, there are huge demands on I.T systems which I'm sure you know. Whereas we had other clients where they've cut back because their business has fallen.  Targeting Specific Accounts Can Work If you are doing digital marketing and you are trying to be in people's newsfeeds, are you better off tracking down the decision-maker for the account as a marketing process? Mike: I think the more focused you can be the better. So just sending out content and hoping it reaches the right person is clearly the wrong approach. What we're seeing is a lot of our clients moving to targeting specific accounts. So, LinkedIn is the primary platform for most people where you can target by industry, you can target by job role, and you can even target by company. You need a certain audience size, you can't literally target one person at one company when you do that. But you can build up really focused audience lists.  We're seeing people do the same thing on email, as well, I'm being very focused in my work on building their email list, and making sure they understand within that email list. Different industries might have different concerns, and the IT director wants to hear very different things from the CEO of a company. That's hard work and it takes time. This is one of the reasons why I do say that, that people shouldn't try and do everything. Just trying to spray stuff across almost all channels is the wrong thing. Doing one thing well is definitely the best approach. How to Get Started If you don't have an email list and no digital leads, where do you start? Mike: It's one of these great questions that really needs to be answered with well, it depends. Where you start is your best guess as to what's going to give you the best return. Let's say you sell an engineering product. The big concern from all your customers is how to get prototypes of this mechanical engineering product. Perhaps you want to produce a lead magnet around 3D printing, for example. I would use that lead magnet across a number of different channels to see which one drives the most interest, because that's going to then start giving you an indication of where your customers are actually looking at information and looking for content. There are all sorts of different ways you can do that. You can do that through SEO, you can do it through paid search, you can do it on social media, you can even do it through targeted ads. We're seeing clients using Google ads to target display ads on particular websites. The one thing I would say as well as if you don't have an email list, the one thing you probably do have is visitors to your website. So retargeting is like a poor man's version of an email list where you can actually target ads to people who visited your website. That certainly is a good approach if you know that people who you can sell a product to are actually visiting the website.  For anyone that's not sure what retargeting is, it’s where:  If someone comes to you, you can hide a little sneaky thing on their computer that lets you continue to market to them afterwards.  It's fantastic for some businesses, for example, if you're a florist and you want to send flowers out and remind everyone the week before Valentine's Day, “hey, don't forget your partner”, it's great to know that you're in front of mind, even if they may have not have done something with you for 12 months. When it comes down to retargeting, the costs are significantly more cost-effective and efficient than virgin marketing when you are marketing to people based on long-tail keywords through AdWords. It's definitely a great way to go about it Understanding Your Sales Cycle What would be an average timeline that you'd expect going from A to B to actually seeing some dollars trickle through for a business in the IT Professional Services industry? Mike: That is so hard to say, but if we look at our clients, some of their sales cycles are pretty much immediate. They're eCommerce vendors, so they can pretty much immediately generate sales. But they've already got that email list. We have another client that makes baggage handling systems for airports and their sales cycle is 20 years. So 20 years from starting marketing all the way through. I think the first thing you've got to understand is how long your sales cycle is in your particular business. In professional services, you can certainly generate leads very quickly using lead magnets and producing great content should generate leads pretty much straight away. Converting those leads that sales process is very difficult. It can depend on a lot of things. For example, in your business, Josh, where you're selling I.T services, if they've already got an incumbent company, then you probably don't really have an opportunity to get their business until the contract comes up for renewal. So there can be a sales cycle of anything from a month to a year, depending on how long is left on the contract. Don’t Forget About Phone Calls I think it's very hard to say how quickly you can get revenue because it's very dependent. But the reality is you can get leads. At the end of the day, marketing can do a lot of things, but you've just got to pick up the phone. even today, with people working from home, if someone's interested, you've got to pick up the phone and talk to them. That will ultimately start driving that sale. Getting back on the phone is 100% something to be in front of mind, keep the personal touch. We use a lot of automation, we're always talking about automation, but I don't think you should ever automate the human connection. That's something that you should always just keep so you have that authenticity in your voice, keep the emotion, keep that connection with someone as opposed to just sending them just the newsletter.  Content Ideas That Work A lot of people always use the term “I don't have enough time”. I think it's just that they probably don't want to spend their time on doing certain things, such as content creation. A lot of people don't like that. But it is one of the cornerstone pieces of a good digital marketing campaign. How can you get people out of that rut? Mike: Since my business is an agency I probably should be saying everyone employ agencies, they're a fantastic solution. But that is not always the case. Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and do things slightly differently if you're trying to generate some content. If you're really not the sort of person that wants to sit down in front of a computer and type out a white paper, an article, or an ebook, it's actually very easy. Just record yourself talking about it, and get it transcribed.  I think one of the biggest challenges people have is getting that first draft of something down. So anyway you can do that, whether it's just scribbling, speaking into a microphone, or have someone just chat to you. You can transcribe it, and then turn that into an E-book or a white paper. All those sort of things make it easier to start. You can bring in an agency and they can make the quality of the text that much better and they can make the layout look beautiful, but the end of the day, if you don't start with something that's helpful to your audience, an agency is stuck, they can't do anything. However pretty we make it look, it's not going to help that potential customer, it's not going to get them to pick the phone up to you. So find the way that works for you to get that first draft. Then keep editing and editing as it is much easier than writing that first draft, I can assure you that once you've got that first bit of information down, it's so much easier. I always think the first five minutes is the hardest when it comes to any task you don't want to do. It doesn't matter if it's public speaking and you're talking in front of an audience of 20 or 2000. The first five minutes is the hardest. I used to hate making content, but I've fallen in love with it. Everyone out there that is looking for a client, as long as you've got a business that's out there to make a difference you should have a story that goes with that as to how you're doing something different. It shouldn't be driven by money. As soon as you start writing it down and you start talking about what it is and how your solution differs to other people, you'll start finding the people that resonate and become raving fans.  Mike: Just getting started is the key. I think people will find it much easier going forward, there's millions of tools on the market that are going to help you, whether it be creating emails, or whether it's creating E-books, there's tools to help you do that automatically. But the reality is, it's all about having a point of view. I can guarantee if you're in business, and your business is making money, you have a point of view. That point of view matters to somebody because you've got customers that value that point of view. We're seeing a lot of people struggle to get content created, because they feel that something written there's got to be 20 times better than something verbal, and often that's not the case. Avoid Buying Spun Content I've seen a lot pop up more and more recently is people that are using spun content. They purchase subscription content and make a few newsletters for your industry that you send out to your clients. They are vaguely about your industry, and my personal thought is knowing how much work goes into developing content and making sure my brand and my message comes through is that I don’t like this option. What are your thoughts? Mike: I think the answer is people are not looking for you to be a trade magazine. They've got trade magazines for that, they've got other newsletters, they've heard this information 100 times. So yes, if you've generated your own content, is the quality going to be as good? Maybe not, but is the value to your potential customer going to be higher? Absolutely. It's not about getting something that looks pretty. To me, the great thing about digital, perhaps the one thing I think the digital has done to completely change marketing is that marketing is no longer subjective. I can tell you, we run tests with ads. We'll have two ads, and almost unanimously, both within the agency within the client, everyone will go, “I love that ad” but  I hate that second one and we will run the two ads as an A/B test. The one that everybody hates performs best.  So subjective opinions, particularly your own subjective opinion, is quite often wrong. If you keep doing something, whether it's an email newsletter, or a podcast or a blogging, you will get better. I can tell you, we started our own podcast. Not only was I terrible in the first podcast interview, but actually I've managed to lose the recording as well. Every time you start, you know, you look back and you think, my first attempt was awful. Maybe it is, but actually, there are still people who think it's great.  Remember to Measure Your Engagement  I completely agree. Make sure you're measuring what you're putting out there so that you can see the results of your fruit. If you're going to the effort to make sure that you can see people are reading and clicking scrolling through and how long they're spending their session times on it. Whatever the content is, ask for reviews. This is something that people don't do, but ask your client. They may give you some feedback that you wouldn't have even thought about and give you information from a perspective of your client as opposed to what you think your client wants.  Mike: I totally agree. Also, the one thing I'd add to the measurement is to measure something that matters. One of the worst things about digital is that it's given people any number of different metrics they can use to measure their marketing campaign. We work with a small engineering company, and they're doing some email marketing. If you look at the click-through rate, there's a group of people that have fantastic click-through rates, in fact, they click on every single link in every single email. So measuring the click-through rate is crazy, because it's not a human doing it, it's clearly a spam filter that's looking at the email and making sure that there's no links that you shouldn't visit. Ironically, we found out for sure that one of these was purely spam, because we found out the guy who we were sending to was on furlough, and didn't even have access to his email.   It comes down to how you can measure whether what you're doing is generating either quality leads or opportunities, or ultimately customers. At the end of the day, as a business owner, I don't make any more money, if my click-through rate goes up 10%. I make more money if I get more customers. I think people really need to think about that and not get dazzled by some of the sparkly bits on tools. Mike’s Book Recommendation  The metrics have to matter. I like his story there on the spam filtering, because that happens quite a lot. I wanted to ask you one last question. What would you say is your favourite book that influenced the direction that you've got in your business? Mike: I'm going to pick a book that is a little bit different. I read Lance Armstrong's autobiography, “It's Not About the Bike”, which is interesting. Lance, I mean, he is a very interesting character. He's got clearly a huge number of character flaws and is certainly very imperfect. He wrote the book before the emission of cheating with drugs, so he's still denying taking drugs in the book. But he talks a lot about his life and his cancer treatment. There's a bit in the book that kind of talks about the people who survive cancer and the people who die. He said, there are optimistic people who survive, they're optimistic people who die. People who really look after themselves and survive, some of them died.  He really brings home the fact that you can do a lot to get yourself in the best position, but sometimes there's things you can't control. We could do everything right as a business, as an agency, and COVID could still take the business down. It doesn't make us a worse business. That's really influenced my thinking, all you can do is really do the right thing and then hope the circumstances make you successful. Getting in Touch  Anyone out there that's looking to get in contact with Mike, visit Napierb2b. You can find out a bit more information about the voodoo that he does and go from there. Stay good and stay healthy.

Managed IT is, more or less, the outsourcing of some or all of a company’s IT operations. For some businesses, this means hiring a managed IT firm to handle everything: purchasing and setting up computers and servers, training employees on equipment, strategizing for future technological growth, and much more. For other businesses, managed IT functions as an expert guide, offering advice for big projects like cloud migration, server room design, and even IT hiring.So, how does it all work? On this week’s podcast, we’re joined by Dave Stamm, CEO of Stamm Technologies, to talk about all things managed IT. Listen in, and you’ll learn about Dave’s story, how Stamm Technologies and their clients are adapting to COVID, and what the technological future of the workplace might look like. We’ll also hear Dave’s opinion on the ol’ server vs. cloud debate, and you’re also sure to pick up a few tips to help streamline the IT experience in your workplace.

Have you ever wondered what hackers do when they retire? Some of them build successful companies. Matt Strebe is one of those people. Matt is more than a retired hacker. He is an extreme environment network engineer, globally published author, software developer, and CEO of Connetic, a Managed IT services company with 20 [...] The post How to Go From Hacker To CEO appeared first on Small Business Advice Help For Startups and Entrepreneurs.

We are excited to welcome back Ron Dolan, President of TIP Technologies and Matt Fogo, SVP Sales and Marketing at NeoSystems. In this episode we cover the unique benefits of being a reseller of the TIP Technologies software for NeoSystems. As well we cover off on how partnerships such as these are necessary to scale your sales organizations.

 Podcast CreditsBe sure to connect with us in our Lead Sell Grow – The Human Experience Tribe Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadsellgrowLearn more about our services:LeadSellGrow.bizImprove your sales and stay connected – Free Gifts Here https://shor.by/TheGoalGuidePodcast Intro and outroArtist: DisfigureTrack: BlankMusic Provided by: NoCopyrightSoundsWatch: https://youtu.be/p7ZsBPK656sFree Download / Stream: http://ncs.io/blank

Jennifer Koon is a Marketing Communications Professional with more than 25 years of corporate and agency-side experience with firms big and small. In 2001, Jennifer founded Michael Mackenzie Communications which develops and manages marketing and public relations programs for growing technology firms and professional service providers. Clients include Managed IT solution providers, law firms, CPA firms, HR & financial consultancies, and other services organizations with complex sales. Show Notes: In this episode, Tim and Taylor sit down with Jennifer Koon to discuss the importance of knowing when and how to invest in marketing, lead nurturing, marketing automation, and understanding your unique sales proposition. Key Points in this Episode: • Contributions to Small Business [0:02:59] • Key Milestones [0:04:18] • Role Within the Agency [0:05:12] • Impatience as a Strength and a Weakness [0:06:47] • Understanding Value Proposition [0:07:56] • Identifying Your Value Proposition [0:09:14] • When to invest in Marketing [0:13:28] • Creating a Marketing Campaign [0:14:53] • Marketing Automation [0:17:30] • Referral Marketing Program [0:20:18] • What Works & What Doesn't [0:22:47] • Rapid Fire [0:26:27] • Take Aways [0:31:25] • Contact Information [0:32:24]

Learn more about the following:How NeoSystems.Cloud helps enhance TIP Technologies service via it's FedRAMP Ready FISMA Moderate statusThe value of bringing software such as TIP Technologies to NeoSystems' SaaS portfolioHow this partnership will serve government contractors needing to become CMMC Compliant 

Managed IT services is not new, but it has gained considerable prominence, thanks to COVID-19, and the need for IT systems and networks to work optimally with limited onsite support. Christopher Reckord, CEO of tTech Limited in Jamaica, provides a primer on managed IT services, including when it might not be a good fit for an organisation; and questions to ask when evaluating a managed IT service provider.   Show notes and links to some of the things mentioned during the episode can be found at www.ict-pulse.com/category/podcast/ Do subscribe and leave us a review!

If you've ever wanted to know more about workflow automation, this is an episode where we capture a lot of the steps and work that goes into a large project.  From working with test data, to best practices with regards to XML packets and milestone planning, we dig in.

In Episode 5 of The Tech Factor we talk all about Managed IT, what is it, how is it different to calling someone up when something goes wrong (break/fix) and why do you need it in the modern world of IT.

The current crisis has some people feeling uncertain while others are facing unemployment and underemployment. All the while, the cybersecurity and managed IT fields continue to have thousands of jobs open and not enough talent to fill them. NeoSystems wanted to provide the greater community with thought leaders and speakers to provide real-time advice on what they see from the market, the opportunity, and the skillsets needed now. Listen along as CEO, Michael Tinsley, and Recruiting Director, Chris Maslyn discuss what they are most excited about in this content series.

Join NeoCast host, Erin Keating as she speaks with Accenture Federal CISO Nicole Dean. In this episode they talk about the build up towards the CMMC deadline in September and what prime contractors like Accenture Federal are doing to prepare themselves as well as their subcontractors. Also, as a member of the CMMC Accreditation Body, Nicole shares the latest updates on when assessors will be coming on line and what she anticipates for the Body as they move forward with accrediting companies. For updates on the CMMC, Nicole advises listeners to stay updated on www.cmmcab.org.

In this episode we explore change management:When is the right time to engage the change management experts in any business process improvement and automation project?How does communication play a role and what should be considered?Who needs to be involved with the change management project for it to be successful?What are the top 3 things that make a change smooth and productive?

In this episode we go deeper, answering questions like:What is required under contractors under FAR Part 9?What does it mean when a contractor signs an invoice? What is the contractor promising?What would be required by contractors for cybersecurity compliance under FAR Part 9?Does the CMMC certification change anything?

Join our host and resident experts as we dive deep into how contractors should look at the certification requirements and how the government will handle the onslaught of companies looking to become certified.  You don't want to be left behind as 300,000+ contractors via for certification, learn how you can best prepare and where to look for help.

Join host Erin Keating and expert Eric Crusius as they discuss the headlines out of the CMMC version 0.4 that was released in early September.  Discover what role NIST 800-171 plays, how this compares to FedRamp, and some details on the five levels of certification. NeoSystem's own Ed Bassett then joins to discuss ways in which his team can help government contractors tackle their IT needs in the face of these requirements.

Sponsors: Osgood Brewing ( http://www.osgoodbrewing.com/ ) - Mention the show  Mon - Fri 11AM - 4PM and get 10% off food! Blue Frost I.T. ( https://www.bluefrostit.com/ ) - Managed IT service provider for the EZSP -Dad weighs in on a Dad who's struggling with his daughter asking for cash when she's loaded with mucho dinero. -The Red Wings stink and Dad has thoughts about the team. -Dad looks back on his favorite films.  He surprised me with films he's seen.

Execs' Desk Pull Up A Chair host Scott Whiddon interviews Mike Sanchez, Owner of M.S. Architects, Inc. and Richard Rodriguez, CEO of Centuric, Managed IT and Cloud Computing

Jim & Bridget Fitzpatrick/ASBN Atlanta Small Business Network is your local source for business news, information, resources, best practices and event coverage. From start-up to success, they are your go-to resource for small business in Atlanta, Georgia.   Victor Gollahon/MSA Digital MSA's founding principle is to provide exceptional service. Using that guiding light, they now […] The post Jim & Bridget Fitzpatrick with the Atlanta Small Business Network (ASBN) and Victor Gollahon with MSA Digital appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

My professional career started at the age of 14 when I followed the encouragement of my father to start my first venture. While enrolled full-time in college, I worked in sales for AT&T and as a IT consultant with EDS. After graduation from UF with my bachelor’s degree, I joined the Management Consulting practice of Ernst & Young LLP, now Cap Gemini, leading projects in IT Project Management, Post Merger Integration and ERP Implementations worldwide. I then moved to E.piphany, now Infor, as an executive in their Consulting organization leading CRM implementations for Fortune 100 firms before joining Lectra Systems as the CIO and Director of their North America and Caribbean Consulting Organization. In 2003, I left Lectra to start Infinity Business Systems, later renamed Infinity Technology Solutions, a leading IT service provider with operations throughout Florida and Georgia. Infinity provided a complete technology offering for hundreds of businesses, including hardware and software solutions, outsourcing, Managed IT Services, Cloud Solutions, VoIP Telephony, website and software development services. Infinity received numerous awards, including recognition as a Best Place to Work in Florida, 4 time winner of Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500/5000, a 5 time winner of the 50 Fastest Growing Firms in Tampa, 3 time winner of Best Computer Support organization in Tampa Bay, Orlando Chamber’s Most Outstanding Small Business and Greater Tampa Chamber’s Business of the Year. I led Infinity to success transforming a $24,500 investment into one of the nation’s fastest growing and most successful Managed IT firms before selling Infinity to Zeno Office Solutions in 2012. I am currently the CEO of Cloud Guru. I enjoy giving back to the technology industry thru over 40 speaking engagements per year and consulting with firms on topics related to Cloud Computing, Managed IT Services and Entrepreneurship. I am a dedicated family man that runs his life based on Christian principles. Faith@Work features business people discussing their faith and the impact it has had on their life and work. Please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/faithatworkradio/ and reach out to our sponsor www.lymerevive.org.

Show Notes - Episode 001 Join us as Peter Larsen talks about how he has built a successful career in sales. Peter takes us on a fascinating journey, describing how he got into sales, one of his biggest professional failures, and how he has intentionally developed a mindset that has propelled him to the top of his game. _______________________ Peter is a sales professional at Cobb Technologies, offers a range of services and products including: Printers, Copiers, Digital Solutions, and Managed IT services. You can find Peter on LinkedIn here.  ________________________ Thank you for spending some time with us on the Lead. Learn. Grow. podcast. If you'd like to learn more about my company, Ascend Performance, Inc., you can visit our website here. 

How would you define your managed IT services provider business? Back in my early days of running a managed IT services business, we were clearly a technical company.  However, I was way offside.  I quickly learned in order to grow a successful managed services business I needed to rapidly become a sales and marketing organization. Fast forward to 2018.  Being a marketing and sales organization is simply not enough.  Managed IT service providers today need to become media organizations. A media organization that produces content to educate and information businesses and organizations who have questions about technology and how technology can help their businesses. Have questions about becoming a media company?  Visit https://www.ulistic.com and lets talk.

My guest this week is James Crifasi, Vice President and CTO of RedZone Technologies. In this interview we discuss the importance of password security. Implementing a strong password policy and educating users is vital to your organization’s IT Security Immune System. Listen to the interview to learn about how to create a strong password in order to protect your company from hackers and fishing attacks Major Take-Aways From This Episode: • A lot of customer calls about hacks in reality are a lost password issue (because someone lost their password and someone else used it). • Password cracking systems use dictionaries that include not only a word dictionary, but also movie and book titles. • The main issues of easy-cracked passwords: habitual passwords and poor password policy. • Passwords that work best are phrases intermixed with numbers or symbols. • Two-factor authentication prevents someone from using your password against you. • Make your password interesting, not more complicated! Once malware starts cracking your passwords, it is capable of doing anything. • The nature of the advanced fishing attacks is the ability to say, “If your silly enough to lose your password and don’t have two-factor authentication, your password could be cracked.” • Two-factor authentication solves 90% of the problems for remote access. About James Crifasi James Crifasi is Vice President and CTO of RedZone Technologies in Annapolis, Maryland. The firm provides Managed IT and Security solutions to businesses based in the Mid-Atlantic and supports client locations nationwide. Currently, James leads the RedZone teams that support clients in their efforts to [protect against hackers, as well as successfully and repeatedly pass any and all security examinations and regulatory audits. He is a member of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector. InfraGard is dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the U.S. James is also a frequent speaker on security issues and the expanding threat landscape. Prior to joining RedZone in 2005, James built IT infrastructures, improved organizational performance, lead IT initiatives, and lowered costs in the Retail and Biotechnology industry. He has also consulted with Banking and Finance institutions to implement network security and high performance business systems. James holds several degrees from the University of Maryland: a B.S in Computer Science and Algorithmic Theory, a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Management. He has over 20 years of IT security, architecture and integration experience. His varied education and experience, plus his broad knowledge of assessments and audit regulations, enables him and his team to deliver on the security needs of RedZone clients. Under his leadership, RedZone has successfully developed into a world-class IT service organization Read full transcript here. How to get in touch with James Crifasi LinkedIn Useful Links and Resources: For password or any security questions, email defenseinnovation@redzonetech.net www.redzonetech.net - RedZone Technologies Website This episode is sponsored by the CIO Innovation Insider Offense and Defense Community, dedicated to Business Digital Leaders who want to be a part of 20% of the planet and help their businesses win with innovation and transformation. Credits: * Outro music provided by Ben’s Sound Other Ways To Listen to the Podcast iTunes | Libsyn | Soundcloud | RSS | LinkedIn Leave a Review Feedback is my oxygen. I would appreciate your comments, so please leave an iTunes review here. Click here for instructions on how to leave an iTunes review if you’re doing this for the first time. About Bill Murphy Bill Murphy is a world renowned Innovation and Transformation (Offense and Defense) Expert dedicated to your success as an IT business leader. Follow Bill on LinkedIn and Twitter.

We speak to a man who has been there and done it… from the business buyer to the eventual seller of his own company.  Jamison West overhaul his business model from the traditional IT, time and material (trading dollars for hours), to the new Managed IT Services monthly recurring model.  His new business gave him a 15%  jump in EBITDA, from the original 4%, so he was averaging to a healthy 17%! Jamison gained great insight into the whole sale/valuation process during his acquisitions of multiple Managed IT firms and then used this experience to consciously prepare everything in his business before he finally sold to a strategic buyer. This episode is a perfect example on how to maximize the value of your business while simultaneously achieving the day-to-day efficiency of your business and TRULY moving from the hub to the spoke. Why did he start acquiring businesses in the first place? There are certain benchmarks in the Managed Service Industry for recurring revenue and overall company size that are benchmarked by a Managed IT Service peer group called HTG.  This lead Jamison on a quest to grow organically, AND acquisition, in order to hit the numbers he thought he needed to achieve for a future buyer to pay top dollar. The first two acquisitions helped add staff and mass to his firm and allowed Jamison in make strides in the direction he wanted to go.  The third merger / acquisition proved to be a much bigger challenge due to culture and management, but the right intentions were there! Why did he change business models from time & material to recurring revenue? Jamison was charging more than a fair price for his time but quickly realized he was needed by multiple clients at once. Obviously he couldn’t be in more than one place at a time and his clients had a top stop on how much they were willing to pay.  Therefore, there was a problem that was ready to be solved! Not only was his time a limitation but the current situation came with serious highs and lows. In order to change the company's emphasis from the revenue ups and downs of project work, Jamison flipped his business model and expanded so he could provide fixed-fee services and thus improve his own potential scalability. Ultimately he realized that the clients were not just paying for the time he's working, they're also paying for peace of mind and immediate availability to any question that needed to be answered for the business’s technology. To do this he needed a lot of staff. Thanks to advice from his peer group of similar businesses, he decided to increase his price by 20%. He figured that if 20% of his clients left he'd only have 80% of the work to do with 100% of the revenue he had before. How did it affect his valuation? Like we said soon he had a business that was 17% EBIDTA rather than 4%! In terms of take home dollars, and the formula that his buyer used to acquire his company, it was worth a TON more.  Jamison knew if he had locked in contracts that a buyer who collected money the first of each month would pay WAY more than if he had to resell new agreements / time and material each month. Therefore, it was less risk for a buyer (especially a strategic competitor) to take Jamison’s company and their clients and bring them into their platform.  They had more time, energy and resources that they could apply to keep those customers.  With a contract in place it allowed them to prove their service, trustworthiness and ability to exceed the client’s expectations before the agreement came due. How did he structure the deal to sell? He used a specific industry broker that created a slightly different structure than the standart multiple of EBIDTA. It was actually a comp

We speak to a man who has been there and done it… from the business buyer to the eventual seller of his own company.  Jamison West overhaul his business model from the traditional IT, time and material (trading dollars for hours), to the new Managed IT Services monthly recurring model.  His new business gave him a 15%  jump in EBITDA, from the original 4%, so he was averaging to a healthy 17%! Jamison gained great insight into the whole sale/valuation process during his acquisitions of multiple Managed IT firms and then used this experience to consciously prepare everything in his business before he finally sold to a strategic buyer. This episode is a perfect example on how to maximize the value of your business while simultaneously achieving the day-to-day efficiency of your business and TRULY moving from the hub to the spoke. Why did he start acquiring businesses in the first place? There are certain benchmarks in the Managed Service Industry for recurring revenue and overall company size that are benchmarked by a Managed IT Service peer group called HTG.  This lead Jamison on a quest to grow organically, AND acquisition, in order to hit the numbers he thought he needed to achieve for a future buyer to pay top dollar. The first two acquisitions helped add staff and mass to his firm and allowed Jamison in make strides in the direction he wanted to go.  The third merger / acquisition proved to be a much bigger challenge due to culture and management, but the right intentions were there! Why did he change business models from time & material to recurring revenue? Jamison was charging more than a fair price for his time but quickly realized he was needed by multiple clients at once. Obviously he couldn’t be in more than one place at a time and his clients had a top stop on how much they were willing to pay.  Therefore, there was a problem that was ready to be solved! Not only was his time a limitation but the current situation came with serious highs and lows. In order to change the company’s emphasis from the revenue ups and downs of project work, Jamison flipped his business model and expanded so he could provide fixed-fee services and thus improve his own potential scalability. Ultimately he realized that the clients were not just paying for the time he’s working, they’re also paying for peace of mind and immediate availability to any question that needed to be answered for the business’s technology. To do this he needed a lot of staff. Thanks to advice from his peer group of similar businesses, he decided to increase his price by 20%. He figured that if 20% of his clients left he’d only have 80% of the work to do with 100% of the revenue he had before. How did it affect his valuation? Like we said soon he had a business that was 17% EBIDTA rather than 4%! In terms of take home dollars, and the formula that his buyer used to acquire his company, it was worth a TON more.  Jamison knew if he had locked in contracts that a buyer who collected money the first of each month would pay WAY more than if he had to resell new agreements / time and material each month. Therefore, it was less risk for a buyer (especially a strategic competitor) to take Jamison’s company and their clients and bring them into their platform.  They had more time, energy and resources that they could apply to keep those customers.  With a contract in place it allowed them to prove their service, trustworthiness and ability to exceed the client’s expectations before the agreement came due. How did he structure the deal to sell? He used a specific industry broker that created a slightly different structure than the standart multiple of EBIDTA. It was actually a comp

My guest today is Bill Stucklen, CEO of Stack Advisors. Bill and I discuss a specific portion of the Managed IT space. Stack Advisors is a company that provides expertise to MSPs using Labtech and Connectwise. The reason I was interested in having Bill on to chat was that it seems counter-intuitive that an IT company would outsource its internal systems management to a third party, but it makes a ton of sense for many MSPs.

Luis Giraldo is the Founder and CEO of Ook Enterprises, a Managed IT service provider focusing on the small business space in Vancouver. Luis and I explore the what and the why of managed services for businesses. As well as, some of the trends we see in the partnering and sales process for managed service business owners as well as companies looking to outsource their IT to a partner.

Host Kevin Willett is joined by Ron Couming from RCS Technology Solutions. RCS Technology Solutions is a provider of website design, and development, SEO, Internet marketing and Managed IT solutions to organizations of all sizes  that optimize productivity, strengthen customer relationships, enhanced customer acquisition and retention and  drive profitability. For more information please visit their website at http://www.rcstechnologysolutions.com/ For  more information about the Friends of Kevin Networking Group and to see a list of upcoming events, please visit our website at http://friendsofkevin.com Audio file:  Ronald Couming.mp3

-Originally aired on 09/05/2015- Episode 31 of "In The Oil Patch" This week on "In The Oil Patch": host Kym Bolado and her co-hosts Alvin Bailey and Roy Holley bring in the newly appointed Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, David Porter. Chairman Porter breaks down important issues pertaining to the oil & gas industry including the EPA's new regulations, the possibility of lifting the Export Ban here in the United States and he talks about the Obama Administration's role in all of this. From his humble beginning as an accountant from Midland to paving new paths with oil regulation, Chairman Porter has just about seen it all and our exclusive interview puts the industry into a brand new perspective for you. Stream the episode to get all the information! From the Texas Railroad Commission's website: "Chairman David Porter was elected statewide by the people of Texas in November 2010 to serve a six-year term as Railroad Commissioner and was unanimously elected by his fellow commissioners to serve as Chairman in June 2015. Chairman Porter has a strong and proven record of principle-driven free market, conservative leadership for Texas. "Upon taking office in 2011, Porter created the Eagle Ford Shale Task Force, the first of its kind at the Texas Railroad Commission, to establish a forum that brings the community together to foster a productive and forward-looking dialogue regarding drilling activities in the Eagle Ford Shale. The Task Force is comprised of local community leaders, elected officials, industry representatives, environmental groups, and landowners. The goal of the group is to open the lines of communication between all parties involved, establish recommendations for developing the Eagle Ford Shale, and promote economic benefits locally and statewide. "In recognition of his foresight and leadership, Porter was named “Man of the Year” by The Oil & Gas Year, Eagle Ford, Texas 2013. He has also been recognized by Shale Oil & Gas Business Magazine and Unconventional Oil & Gas Magazine for his proactive efforts to implement policies that allow industry to safely, efficiently, and economically produce the energy that is needed to support Texans and the Texas economy." Learn more about the Texas Railroad Commission: http://www.rrc.state.tx.us Also on the show, we have Cecil Johnson of High Touch Technologies for our Business Spotlight segment. Cecil is a veteran in the I.T. world and he gives us a rundown of what High Touch is all about. Whether it's hardware, software or cloud/browser driven solutions you need, High Touch Technologies delivers results backed by their 100% employee-owned brand. From High Touch Technologies' website: "Creating reliable, efficient rent-to-own software wasn’t the only way High Touch pioneered. An early adopter of the Software as a Service model, we not only provided software but also upgrades and technical support as part of the package. Customers knew that High Touch would be there when they needed them. High Touch and its employees anticipated customers’ broadening technological needs. And our expertise broadened with them: Web development. Security from spam, viruses and other threats. Managed IT solutions. Unified communications systems of phones, email and computers. Cloud computing. Colocation of servers. Mobile devices and apps. Custom programming for legacy systems." Learn more about High Touch Technologies: http://hightouchtechnologies.com "In The Oil Patch" is brought to you by SHALE Oil & Gas Business Magazine and proudly sponsored by the South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable (STEER) and the Kahlig Auto Group. Stay tuned for more great episodes every Saturday night at 10pm CST on KTSA 550am and 107.1fm! If you have any questions for our experts, please email them to radio@shalemag.com.

Talking Public Relations with Stephanie Richards, MA, of SowGrow Public Relations and Managed IT Services with Mike Remy, CEO of Dimensional Solutions Managed IT This week we’ll learn how a good PR expert can help a company get exposure in local and national media outlets that helps expand their brand’s reach and recognition. Stephanie Richards […] The post SowGrow Public Relations and Dimensional Solutions Managed IT Services appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

What is the future of Managed IT services? That’s what we’re all trying to figure out, right? There are tons of opportunities surrounding managed IT services, but many MSPs aren't sure of the best way to capitalize on the growing market. The spend by small businesses for IT services is expected to cross the $1 trillion mark in 2015. Clearly, there’s a lot of room in the market, but it can feel like being a little fish in a big sea.    On Episode 1 of MSPradio, Nate Teplow sits down with Mark Connolly, VP of Sales at Continuum and Mark Zahar, VP of Channel Sales at Continuum, to discuss the future of the industry and how MSPs can take advantage of the opportunity at hand.