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Pinar Ormeci, CEO of Lexful For MSPs, documentation is essential. But it's also one of the hardest parts of running a service business. Inaccurate, outdated, or inaccessible documentation slows teams down, increases onboarding time for new technicians, and can even put service quality at risk. That's the problem Lexful is aiming to solve with a new approach. In this episode, we sit down with Pinar Ormeci, CEO of Lexful, to discuss the company's new AI-native platform built specifically for managed service providers. Pinar explains how Lexful uses artificial intelligence to capture and organize MSP best practices in real time, making documentation not just a compliance task, but a practical tool that drives efficiency and reduces errors. We also dive into some of the challenges MSPs face when adopting AI tools — like ensuring sensitive client data stays secure and meets regulatory or geographic requirements — and how Lexful addresses these concerns with flexible data residency options. Plus, Pinar shares her thoughts on global expansion, including the Canadian MSP market, and what makes Lexful different from traditional IT documentation tools. Whether you're looking for ways to improve operational efficiency, reduce technician burnout, or future-proof your MSP business with AI, this conversation offers practical insights and a glimpse at where documentation technology is heading. Tune in to hear Pinar Ormeci explain how AI can transform the way MSPs capture, store, and use the knowledge that keeps their businesses running. Read Full Transcript Hello and welcome to the ChannelBuzz.ca podcast, bringing news and information to the Canadian IT channel for the last 16 years. I’m Robert Dutt, editor of ChannelBuzz.ca, and as always your host for the show. If you’re an MSP, you know that documentation is both critical and, let’s be honest, often a pain. From onboarding new technologies to keeping client procedures up to date, maintaining clean, accurate and accessible documentation can feel like a full-time job and even then it’s rarely perfect. That’s where Lexful comes in. Founded by Pinar Ormeci, Lexful is a new AI-native platform designed specifically for managed service providers. The goal is to make documentation smarter, faster and more useful, not just for the teams doing the work today, but for future technicians, clients and partners. Think of it as giving your organization a digital brain that learns your processes, organizes your best practices and helps your team actually use the documentation you spent so long building. In today’s conversation, Pinar walks us through what makes Lexful different from traditional IT documentation tools, how the platform’s AI assistant Ask Lex works, and how MSPs can balance the need for actionable insights with security and control over sensitive client data. We also talk about global expansion, including Canada, of course, and what it takes to bring AI-powered documentation to MSPs operating in regulated markets or multiple geographies. Whether you’re curious about AI in the MSP workflow, looking for ways to improve operational efficiency, or just interested in the next wave of tools that may be shaping the channel, this episode’s full of insights from someone who’s building a platform designed for exactly that. Grab your headphones and let’s jump into a conversation with Pinar Ormeci, CEO of Lexful. Robert Dutt: Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate you’re joining us to talk a little bit about what’s going on over at Lexful. Pinar Ormeci: Thank you so much for having me, Robert. Robert Dutt: You’re entering a market that MSPs already know well in terms of documentation tools. What was it that was broken enough about the status quo, the situation, that you felt like, “Oh, it’s time to start from scratch with something brand new.” Pinar Ormeci: Yeah, as you can imagine, everything changed with AI, with the advent of AI and the pace of doing things and how MSPs must react and are reacting to an AI-first world even today, and it’s even accelerating as we continue. So as such, we fundamentally believe that the things that worked yesterday will not work today and definitely not tomorrow, right, for the workforce that contains humans and AI agents. So we are the response to a long-standing pain point that the MSPs have when it comes to documenting what they have, finding answers and context when they need, and also having the ability to update that documentation as needed, right? So MSPs, when they’re operating, they’re going 100 miles an hour across clients, across tabs, across tools, and the last thing they need is wasting time trying to find the right answer, right network diagram, trying to see if that’s actually the latest and greatest. And usually that doesn’t happen. There’s a lot of tribal knowledge that lives in the MSPs because they honestly, at some point, stop trusting the data that they have and things start living in their minds. And that’s the reason why we exist. So yes, we are an IT documentation solution, but we are an AI-native platform that is starting with documentation and our goal is to really help MSPs move into knowledge operations, an AI operating layer, where the knowledge becomes autonomous, the outcomes become autonomous, and really the knowledge becomes a living thing. Robert Dutt: Well, let’s start with where you’re at in that regard. From your perspective and from what you were hearing as you were building up Lexful and planning it out, what’s the real cost of bad, outdated, unfindable documentation inside an MSP’s operation? Both in terms of operational stuff for the organization, but also in terms of ability to grow, margins of the business, the experience that technicians have, those kinds of things that are not peripheral, but not right at the center of operations. Pinar Ormeci: Excellent question. And what we say is that MSP documentation as it stands today is really broken. And ultimately, this is an economic problem. This is not a technical problem in the sense that it costs MSPs real margin. And how does that happen? So today, documents become stale as soon as they are written. Technicians waste hours collectively trying to find the right information, and manual updates really don’t scale. So what this ends up resulting in is missed signals, right? So you don’t act when you should be acting. You don’t find answers as fast as you could. Your technicians get burned out because literally after five, ten minutes of searching and not being able to find what they need, technicians go to other technicians. So everybody’s pinging each other, disrupting. So there’s also a lot of context switching. And this results in errors where you’re trying to solve different clients’ problems. And ultimately and fundamentally, this really results in eroding client trust and churn, right? So we see this documentation problem not as a technical problem, but fundamentally an economic problem that has real impact on the bottom line of the MSPs. And also their top line, because knowledge is also critical, Robert, for AI agents, for workflows. Your AI workflow or your agentic workforce is only as strong as the data that they rely on. So if you have a bunch of unstructured data lying around across different tools and you have no clue how stale or up to date they are, your agents won’t be as useful as they could be. So we are approaching the problem on both sides, both reducing your costs and increasing your margins, but also really preparing you for the agentic workflow and also AI-driven new revenue streams. Robert Dutt: You’ve positioned Lexful as an AI-native platform rather than a traditional documentation tool with AI built in, strapped on, however you want to phrase that. What does that mean in practice for an MSP that’s using Lexful on a day-to-day basis as opposed to using traditional documentation tools or methodologies? Pinar Ormeci: Sure. Legacy documentation tools were built in a different era, right? Before AI existed, they really depended on manual entry, keyword search, and they’re optimized for storage really, not to be an operational workhorse. Not for knowledge operations, where you’re able to put data to work for you 24/7. So our goal with Lexful is to move from this world of scattered docs and tribal knowledge to a unified AI-native platform that delivers the right solution to the right technician, anchored to the right context, to the right client, instantly. So this is how this looks in real life. Let’s say that you’re using a legacy documentation tool and you say, “Hey, I’m going to give Lexful a go. I want to try it.” By the way, you can have a completely free trial where you get to use the full functionality of Lexful in parallel to your existing tool. So there’s no risk. We call it migration without mayhem. So if you don’t like it, no feelings hurt. You can always continue with your existing platform. But this is how it looks. The first thing that we do is we migrate all your existing documentation. That means including your SOPs, onboarding guidelines, runbooks, what have you, your MSP-specific documentation, plus all your client assets and passwords and their documents into the Lexful schema. And while we are doing that, we transform that data into context, relationships, assets. So everything becomes structured so that AI can operate seamlessly and securely, very fast, within the guardrails that we put. So that’s fundamentally different than bolting AI into the scattered docs that are unstructured and expecting much from that AI agent. Before we even migrate the documents, Robert, what we’ve done is we completely context-engineered an LLM model to live in the MSP space. So you have this, let’s say, AI technician now that has access to all your data. And the things that you can do with this are really amazing. So we have AI as UI, as entry point to Lexful. And what that means is you can ask natural query questions in plain English. For example, a technician can easily ask, “Hey, what’s the admin password for this client?” Or they can ask, “Hey, what devices need patching for the clients that are in the Ohio area?” Or “What should I do about it?” Or you can say, “Hey, give me a project plan for me to patch these devices and make sure you’re prioritizing them based on urgency.” Or an L1 tech who you just hired and you’re trying to onboard, instead of pinging the senior technicians all the time, they can literally go to Ask Lex, which is our AI-powered knowledge assistant, and say, “Hey, how does my MSP do onboarding? What’s the best way for me to increase my learning curve immediately? What would you propose?” Because this is an LLM now that has access to all your knowledge and is context-engineered, as I mentioned, in the MSP and all things IT. Robert Dutt: And you mentioned data throughout that. And clearly, for Ask Lex, for the AI infrastructure to have the value that it potentially has, it has to have access to both an MSP’s most valuable data, the best practices, the procedures, the stuff that folks have developed over the however many years the business has been in place, and customer data, network diagrams and passwords, et cetera. How are you balancing getting the most out of that and getting the most value out of Lexful with trust, security, control, all those kinds of things that MSPs and rightly customers are going to be asking about? Pinar Ormeci: Yeah, 100%. And that’s why vibe coding is not going to work for any production-grade solution, but also definitely for MSPs, where you have multi-tenancy, security is of utmost importance. You have all these compliances and regulations and all of that, right? So you have to have a real MSP-grade solution. So in our case, obviously, we are handling really sensitive data, the client’s data, and also passwords, right? As a documentation tool, we have password management as part of that, a rich document creator and asset management. So it’s as sensitive as it gets. What we do is zero-trust security from day one. So Robert, I was the CEO of another MSP-first vendor before I joined Lexful, and what we did was Secure Access Service Edge, which is a SASE solution, right? So I’m so security-first because I’ve seen firsthand all the horrible consequences when security is optional. Security is a must-have. It has to belong in an MSP stack, and MSPs actually shouldn’t even deal with clients if the client says, “Oh, security is optional for me.” So I am very, very security-first. So from day one, what we’ve done at Lexful is we said that we’re going to be SOC 2 Type 2 compliant. So the whole thing that we’re building is built in that framework. We are already in SOC 2 audit, by the way, so hopefully we’ll get the SOC 2 Type 2 compliance. That’s the earliest you can get, by the way, as a young company, by the end of this half. Yeah, so we have a never trust, always verify framework, and we do take it very seriously. Robert Dutt: And similar issue, but from a different point of view, many MSPs, especially those outside the US, care about where data lives or even is in transit, or are required by regulation to care about where data lives or is in transit, whether that’s in-country, region-specific, or even locked down to the level of on-prem. I guess, how are you guys thinking about data residency and deployment flexibility as you scale and as your customer base scales? Pinar Ormeci: Oh, yeah, 100%. So as part of the SOC 2 Type 2, we are GDPR compliant. We are California CCPA compliant. So from a data residency perspective, similarly, we use AWS because we’re a global cloud-native platform. So we have data centers in the US, but also in Europe, in Canada, in Australia. So based on need, we have no problems having data centers locally in the region the MSP resides. Robert Dutt: You touched on this a little bit earlier, but I think for a lot of MSPs who are changing something like a documentation system that’s core to the business, it feels like there’s a risk there. Even if you see potential benefits, there’s also the challenge of leaving familiar systems, even if they aren’t your favorite things in the world. Can you elaborate a little bit on how you guys approach migration and early adoption so that partners can evaluate Lexful and still keep the business running at the same time? You touched on kind of having that parallel migration path. How exactly does that look for an MSP? Pinar Ormeci: Oh, yeah. As an operational tool, you cannot disrupt the MSP operations. That’s fundamental. So that’s why we say migration without mayhem, and it’s actually one of our core features. The other thing is we are very API-first, meaning even the product that we built is built on APIs. Our front end and back end are decoupled. Everything we do is via APIs. We have a RESTful API already out there for the MSPs to utilize. And for the migration as well, we have an API that automates the migration from an existing tool into the Lexful schema. But while we do that, we also have the MSP continue to use their existing tool while we bring that knowledge into Lexful. And then in that two-week trial, the MSP can use both platforms at the same time, really make sure all that data is there. They can validate that everything is to their liking and all of that. And at the end of that trial, if they continue to move with Lexful, then they can let go of their existing tool. So yeah, migration is very important. And like I say, we automate the migration to the extent possible using the API. Of course, migration is not trivial in any tool, let alone a documentation tool, especially if the MSP has so much documentation. So we always suggest, do this after Friday. Your workday is over, or during the weekend. So just don’t do it Monday 9 AM, just in case, because it might take one hour, two hours or whatever. But having said that, hopefully the migration is the easiest part of switching to Lexful. Robert Dutt: You’re working with AWS. I think you’re thinking on sort of a global scale, and why wouldn’t you, since it’s all online, it’s all technology. But as you think about global expansion, and I’m going to be biased here and say Canada in particular since that’s where this audience lives, how are you thinking about global focus? And also, I’m curious, as you’re talking to MSPs, what differences do you see in how MSPs think about and approach documentation, compliance, AI across the various regions that you’re talking to partners in? Pinar Ormeci: I think Canadian MSPs are pretty amazing and very innovation-forward. They’re definitely thinking about AI, their clients. They’re not that different from the North American ones, obviously. So we have very mature MSPs in Canada. And I don’t see massive differences when it comes to Canadian MSPs versus American MSPs, honestly, because the level of maturity in both countries is similar. So from a distribution perspective, we want to go wherever the pain points exist today when it comes to knowledge and documentation. And that is literally everywhere, right, Robert? So we are a global player and we also want to make it easy for the MSPs to get access to Lexful. We are working with Sherweb, we are working with Pax8. So the hope is that we will be part of those marketplaces definitely within this year. So by the way, a lot of our developers are in Vancouver. So we have great ties to Canada. I’m actually flying on Sunday to Vancouver for some internal meetings next week. So from our perspective, everything we do, everything we envision, our vision, we are a global player. We want to be the de facto central intelligence layer the MSPs trust for years to come. Robert Dutt: And along those lines, kind of looking forward, for an MSP who comes on board early days, as you guys are launching, how do you hope their business looks different a year from now after they’ve fully realized what you guys are doing and what you guys will do with Lexful over the course of that year? Pinar Ormeci: Yeah, excellent question. So we are a paradigm shift. I really see us, remember those days, for people who are old enough, like we used to have no internet, man. Like we used to have encyclopedias and the books, and like, my background is in engineering, I’m an electrical engineer. If I didn’t know something, I had to go open a book and like, it was these weird times without the internet. And then suddenly there was the internet, where this collective information and you can search for anything and, you know, then Google and so on. So that’s the paradigm shift that we are trying to bring the MSPs into. Instead of manual keyword-based search, manual updates and so on, now you live in that knowledge. Knowledge is always up to date. You do in-context troubleshooting. The technicians, they can be in co-pilot, they can be in their PSA, they can be in their Teams and they can just ask Lex to get the right answer contextually. The next steps, and then whatever is new discovered in that discussion is automatically detected if there is a gap and then trickled down to the right SOP, right KB. So this is the paradigm shift that we are talking about, so that MSPs can focus on not the mundane, like, “Hey, we need to update this document,” try to incentivize technicians on actually what makes the money, what delights their customers. They can be so much more strategic with their clients because just imagine now all the insights you can bubble up utilizing an AI and LLM that knows all your clients, that knows all the trends, that knows all the compliance needs. It is just a different game. So we’re really trying to bring the MSPs into an AI-first world because otherwise people will get left behind, right? The old ways don’t scale. Robert Dutt: And finally, probably the most important question we’re going to ask today, and that’s good journalistic practice, right, to wait till the very end to ask the most important question. I do have to ask though, is it true that your AI is also your channel chief? And if so, how sure are you that Lex isn’t coming for your job? Pinar Ormeci: Yeah, so I was like, you know, if you’re an AI-native company, we need to have some teammates that are not just human, but humanoid, let’s say. So we have as our channel chief a humanoid robot that has an LLM, has an NVIDIA chip. We have trained him on all the right things. Although at Right of Boom, people told me, “Oh, we thought he was a female,” but so yeah, Lex is amazing. And he is very clumsy though, so I don’t know that he’s coming after our jobs that fast. But yeah, we’re living in some amazing times. It’s just really fascinating as a technical person myself who’s been in the tech industry for 20-plus years. It’s fascinating to be living in these times where everything is moving exponentially. And yeah, so we do have a channel chief that is not a human. And he is with us at all the events that we go to. You can come to our booth and say hello, and then you can converse with him as well, right? Ask him like, “Hey dude, what do you think the MSP’s pain points are? Is Lex doing a good job? Is Pinar a good boss?” So he’ll have an opinion for you. Robert Dutt: All right, so flesh-and-bone channel chiefs have been put on notice. They are in fact on the list of roles that can be replaced. But jokes aside, no matter how good Lex and his AI pals get, what’s kind of the one role in all of this that you think humans will always play no matter where the technology goes? Pinar Ormeci: I think the judgment layer, at least for the, let’s say, near term, right? I honestly don’t know, 20 years… the thing is moving so fast. I keep reading Anthropic’s CEO and it’s just, things are changing a lot. But in the near term, the human judgment is still paramount. Human in the loop is paramount. And with AI, you have to always trust, but verify. So at Lexful, we make it such that we give all the reasoning the AI is doing to reach that conclusion, all the links where it’s going. So we make sure that the hallucinations, if there are any, are minimized and the humans can verify everything. So the human in the loop is ultimately critical and they are the judgment factor. And especially in the MSP channel, relationships are key. One of the things I love about the MSPs and this ecosystem is the community aspect, people helping each other. Then there’s MSPs being like, “Hey, we’re all on the same team” attitude. So I don’t think you can replace that for small, medium businesses. Ultimately, the best we can be is human. We are not AI, we are not robots. Humans, we’ve evolved to be social animals and community is such an important part of the MSP ecosystem. I don’t think that’s going anywhere soon. So we are here, as we say at Lexful, not to replace expertise. We’re just here to expose it to more people so that the technicians can do more important jobs other than just wasting hours documenting or finding the right information. Robert Dutt: I appreciate your taking the time. Good luck on rolling out and evolving Lexful. It will be exciting to see where things go from here. Thank you very much. Pinar Ormeci: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. There you have it, a look at how AI may change your documentation system and maybe even provide a new business platform for your managed services business in the long run, courtesy of Lexful’s Pinar Ormeci. I’d like to thank Pinar for joining us and thank you for listening. That wraps up this week on the podcast. We’ll be back on Monday with In Case You Missed It, our weekly roundup of channel news and trends that you need to know about. And next week and into the near future, we’ll be taking a look at why modern IT environments are increasingly hard to monitor and have a chat with our frequent guest, Tony Anscombe, about the security forces you need to know about. Between now and then, please do subscribe to or follow the podcast in your podcast app of choice. And if it allows you to do so, please consider leaving a review or rating for the show. Have a great weekend. I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca and I’ll see you around the channel.

Sherweb has launched a white-label self-service portal aimed at empowering managed service providers (MSPs) and their clients by streamlining operational tasks. This innovative platform enables clients to manage their technology licenses, subscriptions, and payments independently, reducing the need for service providers to handle routine inquiries. According to Rick Stern, Senior Director of Platform at Sherweb, this autonomy not only expedites the resolution of simple requests but also allows MSPs to concentrate on strategic initiatives. The portal features automated invoicing, curated service catalogs, and integrated chat support, and is already in use by over 450 MSPs following a successful pilot program.The podcast also discusses the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) pricing models, with companies like Globant and Salesforce adopting usage-based approaches. Globant has introduced subscription-based AI pods that allow clients to access AI-powered services through a token-based system, moving away from traditional effort-based billing. Salesforce is experimenting with flexible pricing structures, including conversation and action-based models, to better align with the value delivered by AI services. These shifts indicate a critical inflection point in how AI services are monetized, emphasizing the need for IT service providers to rethink their offerings in light of usage-based economics.Concerns regarding the unauthorized use of generative AI tools in organizations are highlighted by a report from Compromise, which reveals that nearly 80% of IT leaders have observed negative consequences from such practices. The survey indicates significant worries about privacy and security, with many IT leaders planning to adopt data management platforms and AI monitoring tools to oversee generative AI usage. Additionally, advancements in AI are showcased through a Stanford professor's AI fund manager that outperformed human stock pickers, while a study reveals limitations in AI's ability to make clinical diagnoses from radiological scans.The podcast concludes with a discussion on the role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), which is facing an identity crisis due to its increasing complexity and the misalignment of its responsibilities. Experts suggest reevaluating the CISO role to better address modern cybersecurity threats. The episode also touches on the implications of generative AI in education, highlighting concerns about its impact on critical thinking and learning processes. Overall, the podcast emphasizes the need for IT service providers to navigate the evolving landscape of AI and cybersecurity with a focus on governance, accountability, and sustainable practices. Four things to know today 00:00 Sherweb's White-Labeled Portal Signals MSP Shift Toward Scalable, Client-Centric Service Models03:31 AI Forces Billing Revolution: Globant and Salesforce Redefine How Tech Services Are Priced06:49 From Shadow AI to Specialized Tools: Why Governance, Not Hype, Defines AI's Next Phase12:46 From CISOs to Classrooms to Code: Why AI Forces a Strategic Rethink Across the Enterprise This is the Business of Tech.    Supported by: https://www.huntress.com/mspradio/https://cometbackup.com/?utm_source=mspradio&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=sponsorship All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want to be a guest on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights? Send Dave Sobel a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech

The Dublin office of global law firm Taylor Wessing has advised on multiple high-profile deals in 2024, cementing its position as a leading law firm in Ireland for complex domestic and cross-border transactionalwork. Taylor Wessing Ireland was instrumental in delivering deals such as RIP.ie's sale to the Irish Times Group, Sherweb's acquisition of MicroWarehouse, and the acquisition of Mahon Retail Park. These market-leading transactions are a testament to the global law firm's commitment to expanding its Irish operations, while showcasing the depth of its legal expertise. The firm experienced strong growth in its banking and finance, corporate, disputes, IP, data, real estate, patents and tax capabilities, while solidifying its status as a pre-eminent law firm in its key sectors of technology, life sciences, healthcare and real estate. Highlight transactions on which Taylor Wessing Ireland advised include: Banking and Finance Global financial institution, ING Bank N.V's €55 million facility loan to an investment fund managed by Ireland's largest life insurance and pensions provider, Irish Life. The loan was used to refinance existing facilities in respect of Fernbank PRS, a residential development located in South Dublin. Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions Ireland's leading online platform for death notices, RIP.ie, on its sale to the Irish Times Group. Leading global cloud solutions provider, Sherweb, on its acquisition of MicroWarehouse, a prominent player in the Irish cloud technology market. Customer communications technology provider serving financial and regulation industries Mail Metrics, on its acquisition of Adare SEC and a simultaneous equity investment by MML and debt financing by AIB and Bank of Ireland. The management team of Kyte Powertech, a leading manufacturer of distribution transformer solutions, on its sale to R&S Group, a leading provider of electrical infrastructure products headquartered in Switzerland. Activist investor, Engine Capital, on its agreement with drinks company C&C. ATC, a leading energy efficiency, heating and related automated solutions business headquartered in Dublin, on LED Group's acquisition of the company (subject to CCPC approval). LED Group is a leading platform for energy transition solutions backed by Oaktree Capital Management. Real Estate and Real Estate Finance French real estate investment fund, Corum Origin, on its €50 million acquisition of Mahon Retail Park from Ireland's leading commercial property company, IPUT. A number of global real estate investment managers on several deals including: a €100 million refinancing of a landmark development in a prime South Dublin location; a €100+ million refinancing of a landmark mixed-use development in Dublin city centre; an €80+ million financing of a logistics park in Dublin; and a Dublin city centre landmark hotel refinancing. Leading Irish investment and development partner, Elkstone through its investment fund, Geminiville Limited, on the sale of its development lands in Barna, on the outskirts of Galway. Global investment firm, Investcorp, on the acquisition and financing by Capital flow, of two retail parks from US investment group, Davidson Kempner. Advised on lease or sale and leaseback agreements for various clients, including Corum (in relation to the lease of office space at George's Quay House to Personio) and Appeals Centre Europe (in relation to the lease of new office space from Kennedy Wilson). Commenting on the extent of Taylor Wessing Ireland's activity throughout 2024, Adam Griffiths, Partner and Head of the Dublin office said: "2024 has been a year of significant growth for Taylor Wessing Ireland. I want to take a moment to congratulate our clients on a successful year and the key milestones they have achieved. As we look to 2025, Taylor Wessing Ireland remains committed to supporting our clients in their future ventures, leveraging the expertise of our partners to help them prosper and grow." Founded and led ...

A survey by Kaseya reveals that human behavior remains the primary challenge for IT professionals, with 89% citing insufficient training and poor user habits as significant issues. Phishing continues to be the top threat, affecting 58% of businesses, while the adoption of cyber insurance has surged from 27% in 2023 to 61% in 2024, indicating a growing awareness of cyber threats. As IT budgets stabilize, organizations are prioritizing investments in cloud security and security awareness training.Host Dave Sobel also addresses the impending rush for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance, with 76,000 companies needing evaluations and only 50 to 60 assessors available. This situation presents a significant opportunity for compliance preparation services, such as gap assessments and remediation plans. The episode emphasizes that while compliance does not guarantee immunity from cyber incidents, it enhances protection against them. The anticipated release of a second rule to operationalize CMMC by early 2025 suggests that organizations must remain vigilant and adaptable to evolving requirements.The discussion further explores the rising issue of shadow IT, particularly in light of the increasing use of SaaS applications, which have doubled per employee since 2019. Traditional security measures are proving inadequate as employees utilize unauthorized tools without IT oversight, leading to heightened risks of data leakage. The episode highlights the need for robust credential management and modernized security strategies to address these challenges, especially as generative AI tools change the way employees work.Finally, Sobel touches on significant trends in energy innovations among major tech companies, including Google and Amazon Web Services, as they invest in nuclear power to meet the growing energy demands of their data centers. These initiatives reflect a broader trend towards securing reliable and sustainable energy sources, particularly in the context of the increasing energy consumption driven by generative AI. The episode concludes by emphasizing the importance of monitoring how these investments will become profitable, as the tech giants navigate the balance between sustainability and financial viability.Four things to know today 00:00 From Ransomware Defense to Sustainable IT: How IT Pros Are Addressing Evolving Cybersecurity Threats in 202406:29 CMMC Compliance Rush Looms with Limited Assessors and 76,000 Companies in Need of Evaluation07:55 Gartner Warns of Rising Shadow IT as SaaS Use Per Employee Doubles Since 201909:18 Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Energy Innovations: Cynomi, Sherweb, Pax8, Google, and AWS Lead Industry Shifts Supported by:  https://www.huntress.com/mspradio/https://www.coreview.com/msp   All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want to be a guest on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights? Send Dave Sobel a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessoftech.bsky.social

CyberQP, Jimmy Hatzel:What does the elevator pitch sound like coming from Jimmy Hatzel, the VP of Revenue at CyberQP? CyberQP offers Access Management for MSPs including protecting customer admin accounts and automating their security stacks. We touch on their ‘Just-in-Time' accounts and how CyberQP continues to put forth more QGuard feature enhancements. Did we mention that this has to be one of the absolute best companies when it comes to merch and booth design? Follow Jimmy on LinkedIn and visit Cyberqp.com to learn more about this amazing company. Costa Chatjiantoniou, Sherweb:Head of Sales, Sherweb Cloud Services, Konstantinos Chatjiantoniou aka Costa speaks to the importance of supporting their strategic partners and the ITNation community as a whole. We briefly touch on the new partnership with SentinelOne and gain insight into Sherweb's enhanced offerings including their White Label help desk platform.Connect with Konstantinos (Costa) Chatjiantoniou on LinkedIn and learn more about this cloud services and solutions provider by visiting sherweb.com/--- more ---If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you.Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs.Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”.Support and Follow us:YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6gInstagram: @twinstalkitupInstagram: @dsbleadershipgroupTwitter: @dsbleadershipLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUpFacebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Email SPAM issues, SherWeb outage, listener email

SherWeb rant, Stories from the trenches, Hekasoft, More on juice jacking, On This Day

Organizations understand more now than ever, the value of having flexible, scalable, and cost-effective computing power in the cloud. Reducing IT costs, accelerating innovation and security are just a few of the compelling reasons why they embark on a cloud migration journey. We are fortunate to have our friend Michael Slater, Head of Sales - Channel Marketplace for Sherweb join the program to speak about how they provide tailored support for curated cloud solutions, operations & go-to-market strategies for their clients. We touch on some of the benefits of working with Sherweb compared to directly with Microsoft. As the tech giant continues to grow, there comes a need for more specialized ‘hands on' training and focused attention, both for technical and sales training. Sherweb essentially helps leverage performance for the channel. By saying “security is not an obstacle to productivity,” Michael essentially stated how important it is to provide education around cloud security,We also ask him to speak about their own growth, their acquisitions and about understanding Microsoft's new cloud partner program. He also touches on his growth as a speaker. He might just be speaking at a Conference near you in 2023. To learn more about Michael and Sherweb, look for him on LinkedIn or visit sherweb.com/--- more ---If you are looking to learn the art of audience engagement while listening for methods to conquer speaking anxiety, deliver persuasive presentations, and close more deals, then this is the podcast for you.Twins Talk it Up is a podcast where identical twin brothers Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown discuss leadership communication strategies to support professionals who believe in the power of their own authentic voice. Together, we will explore tips and tools to increase both your influence and value. Along the way, let's crush some goals, deliver winning sales pitches, and enjoy some laughs.Danny Suk Brown and David Suk Brown train on speaking and presentation skills. They also share from their keynote entitled, “Identically Opposite: the Pursuit of Identity”.Support and Follow us:YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCL18KYXdzVdzEwMH8uwLf6gInstagram: @twinstalkitupInstagram: @dsbleadershipgroupTwitter: @dsbleadershipLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/twins-talk-it-up/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/dsbleadershipgroup/Facebook: facebook.com/TwinsTalkitUpFacebook: facebook.com/dsbleadership/Website: dsbleadershipgroup.com/TwinsTalkitUp

Larger vendors cannot be everywhere all the time. That's why they partner up with channels and value-added resellers so they as the vendors are focusing on the larger customers, channel partners and value-added resellers can help the smaller ones and provide a quality service.  Full show: https://wethesalesengineers.com/show209

Today on the Evolved Radio Podcast I'm joined by Mike Slater w/ Sherweb. Mike and I dig into the Microsoft NCE program, what's changed, and what you need to know. We also chat about how this partner program is an indication of where the industry is trending in general. Mike's passion for the channel and his depth of experience is perfect for this complex topic. I found it really valuable. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mike Slater of Sherweb.

Ryan talks with Guillaume Boisvert, Director of Product Innovation at Sherweb about tackling the HR Challenge for IT Service Providers. Finding cybersecurity talent is at the top of the list for MSPs trying to scale their business. Guillaume tells us that adding headcount is not necessarily the answer…Objectives can be accomplished by balancing out job functions, training from within or adding new tools to make you more efficient. To learn more about Office Protect by Sherweb and to connect with Guillaume you can find him on linkedin and their website at https://www.sherweb.com/

I love talking with Dave Seibert for lots of reasons: One is his optimism. Before we hit the record button, he just kept going on and on about all the great opportunities he sees in 2022. So I hit record and made him slow down a bit. Dave is a longtime community builder, managed service provider, influencer, Microsoft MVP, and organizer of the SMB Techfest. We sat down for a year-end review and look into the new year. We start with an update on SMB Techfest and their plans for the new year. Q1 (January) and Q3 (July) will be virtual events and Q2 (April) and Q4 (October) will be live, in-person events. As Dave points out, he does his event four times per year because our industry changes all the time. And that's a good transition to our actual show contents. Our industry is typified by "change." Well, the pandemic has sped that up considerably. Dave helps us reflect on what we learned in 2021 and what he sees ahead in 2022. More than half the show is spent on opportunities in 2022! Links: SMB TechFest – quarterly technology conference - www.smbTechFest.com  Complementary registration to join a SMB TechFest conference - www.smbTechFest.com/Go/Worldwide  ProTier Peer Groups – Building Dream Teams to Accelerate Business Growth - www.ProTierPeerGroups.com  DaveSeibert.com – Dave's site for many activities and resources - www.DaveSeibert.com  and of course . . . - www.LinkedIn.com/in/DaveSeibert99  -- -- -- Sponsor Note: Dropsuite Dropsuite provides backup, archiving, and recovery solutions delivered at scale to power your business defense of cloud services. Award winning, safe, secure, and scalable – as well as trusted by top channel partners like Pax8 and Sherweb, Dropsuite protects Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and email from the full range of threats – accidental deletion to full-on cyberattacks. All with an understanding of what MSPs need to be successful and compliant. Interested? Learn more right at https://dropsuite.com.  :-)  

In this edition of the podcast, we break down the security challenges and opportunities around Microsoft 365 with Guillaume Boisvert, director of product innovation at Sherweb.

Michael Slater of Sherweb joins us on the podcast to discuss the current tough environment for those looking to hire talent and offers tips on how solution providers can succeed in getting the people they need to grow.

Host Karl interviewed Guillaume Boisvert, Director for Product Innovation at Sherweb. The topic of the day is: Take Office Security to the Next Level. Guillaume has been instrumental in commercializing Sherweb’s Infrastructure as a Service solutions for public and private cloud. He has more than 15 years of experience developing and marketing web services for both B2B and B2C platforms. Prior to his current position, Guillaume managed Sherweb’s security and compliance product portfolio. He holds a degree in CIS, and has business training from McGill University. The topic here is Sherweb's new Alliance program. Sherweb's Office Protect has been around for quite a while. It adds a serious layer of security to O365/M365. The default Office configuration is designed for enterprise clients, and their defaults are good for a large slice of users. Office Protect fixes some obvious problems, such as turning on 2FA and logging. Both are off by default. That's great . . . until something goes wrong. Office Protect basically implements a new set of "best practices" defined by you, rather then assuming that Microsoft is taking care of your best interest. So what's new? The Office Protect Alliance offering actually monitors those logs, analyzes alerts, and even fixes problems. As Guillaume notes, they take over the problem-solving and you keep the client relationship (and money). He also gives some great examples and information about how insurance companies and hackers both scan your web presence to see how professional you look on the security front. The insurance company wants to determine whether you're a larger risk; hackers are looking at the same information to determine whether you're a juicy target. Find out more about Sherweb Office Protect Alliance at: https://www.sherweb.com/blog/security/office-protect-alliance/ Sherweb's Partner Blog is here: https://www.sherweb.com/blog/category/partner/ :-)  

Topic 1: Cops and Robots Move to stop NYC police from using armed robots. Note: The police do not own any armed robots, but they do own some robots. So this is totally a preventive measure. We previously discussed the use of AI and facial recognition by police departments. The question here is, when do we begin the conversation (before or after deployment)? Related Link: https://link.wired.com/view/5e3f0a597e553f71453d575ddurk4.17ax/3469246b   Topic 2: Is Bitcoin mining compatible with Singapore’s green initiatives? Bitcoin mining uses about the same amount electricity as Norway! Now Singapore is questioning whether this non-green factor is consistent with their go-green policies. Meanwhile . . . Bank of America says there’s no reason to use Bitcoin. Ethereum has more features. And Ethereum is easier to manage if you’re interested in De-Fi (decentralized finance). BofA released a report last week entitled “8 Dirty Little Secrets of Bitcoin.” See the slideshow link below. Related Links: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/cryptocurrency-blockchain-environmental-impact-singapore-14385104 https://www.coindesk.com/bank-of-america-defi-potentially-more-disruptive-than-bitcoin https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/03/22/8-dirty-little-secrets-of-bitcoin-bofa-securities/   Topic 3: Tech Data-Synnex merger - Does this matter to IT consultants? Tech distributors Synnex and Tech Data are merging. Karl is surprised this took so long. But, in the big picture, does this affect you? SaaS companies have been taking distributors (and partners) out of the equation for many years. The cloud is moving servers into data centers, who frequently bypass distributors. Cloud services are more effectively sold by Sherweb, AppRiver, Intermedia, Pax8, etc. Were you surprised? Give us your feedback. Related Links: ChannelE2E Announcement re: Synnex / Tech Data Merger https://www.channele2e.com/investors/private-equity/synnex-tech-data-merge/ CRN Slideshow re: D&H Response to Synnex / Tech Data Merger https://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/d-h-co-presidents-on-standing-out-amid-the-tech-data-synnex-merger-we-are-like-evolution-versus-revolution- -- -- -- Sponsor Memo - Are you still using on-prem file servers and VPNs to share files with remote workers? Egnyte is a business class cloud sharing solution that works more like your on-prem server than other solutions. With a security first approach to file sharing and collaboration, Egnyte offers multiple options for sharing files and collecting files from outside sources. And do it all addressing data governance and compliance. Want to learn more? Check out Egnyte.com/msp, and when you do, tell them we sent you. :-)  

Guests: Mike Smith (MHS Consulting and The Mike Tech Show) and Paco Lebron (ProdigyTeks and MSP Unplugged) Join us for a round-table discussion: Appriver vs Sherweb vs Pax8 Still wondering if you should add 365 to your portfolio? Having a hard time figuring out who to partner with? Mike, Paco and I talk about the […]

No awards this week . . . but we have a sponsor! ----- Topic 1: Remote work versus distributed work We all "went remote" all of a sudden. Did we do it right? The fact that you can go remote does not mean that you maintained culture, and all the good things about your business. We discuss - of course. Related links: https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/the-crucial-difference-between-remote-work-and-distributed-work https://www.workplaceless.com/blog/remote-work-competency-model https://www.lifesize.com/en/distributed-work-hub https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/01/twitter-work-from-home/ Topic 2: Have we not thought big enough about the connected world? We have "some" cool, futuristic technology, but we don't yet have the totally-connected, always-on access we were hoping for. Now that glowing vision of the future is coming into focus . . . brought to you by Huawei. We love the vision. Just wondering if we can get it from someone else. Link: https://thenextweb.com/tech/2020/10/06/moving-past-mobile-why-innovation-must-happen-beyond-smartphones/ Topic 3: Return of “Life after Covid” - Post-COVID CIOs are looking at budget increases. IDG say, "Innovating with a reduced budget will become a high priority for tech leaders as the economy returns to health finds major annual CIO survey." But, at the same time, large companies are enjoying an increase in technology spending. MSPs are absolutely in a position to provide this kind of strategic advice to their customers, and they need to have that kind of insight in order to be relevant in the current planning / guessing phase. Link: https://www.idgconnect.com/article/3583491/post-covid-cios-are-well-placed-for-business-change.html -- -- -- Sponsor Note: The MSP event of the year is back. This time, it’s virtual and free to attend! Sherweb's Accelerate 2020 offers a comprehensive online program to help you gear up for the future of managed services. Industry experts will deliver thought leadership sessions and hands-on workshops on sales, marketing, financials, strategic business planning and customer engagement. Also available will be 1:1 meetings and fun virtual networking. Want to stay relevant in a disrupted world? Join us from anywhere on October 21st and 22nd. Registration is open at accelerate.sherweb.com. :-)  

I caught up with Michael Slater, Director of Corporate Sales at Sherweb. Sherweb has promised that the 2020 Accelerate conference will be focused on MBA for MSPs. Accelerate is always focused on education, and 2020 will continue that approach. Historically, Accelerate has been held in Montreal. So, they decided to move to Florida this year. Well . . . then 2020 happened. Now, the conference is 100% virtual, but still packed with lots of information across two days. More information at: Sherweb Accelerate accelerate.sherweb.com October 21-22, 2020 Register Free! In this interview, Michael walks us through some of the conference highlights. And after the conference is over, "Stage Two" and "Stage Three" will continue engaging partners for the rest of this year and into 2021. Michael makes a point of focusing on Sherweb's commitment to a long-term partner relationship. We discuss a few examples of how Sherweb has lived that commitment in 2020. Lots of great details here. Listen now - and register for the conference! -- -- -- Sponsor note: The MSP event of the year is back. This time, it’s virtual and free to attend! Sherweb's Accelerate 2020 offers a comprehensive online program to help you gear up for the future of managed services. Industry experts will deliver thought leadership sessions and hands-on workshops on sales, marketing, financials, strategic business planning and customer engagement. Also available will be 1:1 meetings and fun virtual networking. Want to stay relevant in a disrupted world? Join us from anywhere on October 21st and 22nd. Registration is open at accelerate.sherweb.com. :-)  

"Sherweb is coming from being a Managed Services Provider. We are good on serving End Customers through our Partner ecosystem." - Marc-André Fontaine - VP Sales & Marketing, Sherweb In this interview, Marc-André talks about Sherweb value proposition to its MSP Partner community in 4 different pillars and how this help them to get better in Marketing and Sales. He also invites all MSPs in Canada to join Sherweb Accelerate Virtual Event happening now in October 21 and 22. Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g95JcGg Watch on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/ggmaURW Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gx_gjze Listen on Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gvTY5at Listen on Google Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gGDr2j6 Caught by Surprise - October 7, 2020 - www.caughtbysurprise.ca

Today's guest is Todd Snapp from Stridepoint, the developer of Relay Managed Security Awareness. We do a deep dive into "Security Awareness" services. And, of course, my big question was about the managed piece of this. Several companies will now send out test phishing email to catch client users opening things they shouldn't. Relay Managed Security Awareness goes way beyond this, including preventive micro education. We also answer the question, "What is security micro education?" Official bio: Todd is the President of Stridepoint LLC. Todd and his team have led the charge against Social Engineering and developed key programs and systems to help organizations defend themselves. Todd was instrumental in performing ethical social engineering attacks on some of the largest companies in the US, including government and Fortune 500 organizations. The attacks yielded unprecedented access to the organizations’ sensitive and highly secured data using only the telephone, email, and facility visits. With over 20 years of experience educating contact centers and managing large global networks, he has insight into the marriage between technical and non-technical security. A self-proclaimed “ethical con man,” Todd has made it his career goal to enlighten the corporate and government worlds to the serious threat posed by low-tech hackers. Related Blog: https://stridepoint.com/blogs/ Web sites: https://stridepoint.com/security-awareness/resources/ www.relayaware.com ----- Today's sponsor is Sherweb: The MSP event of the year is back. This time, it’s virtual and free to attend! Sherweb's Accelerate 2020 offers a comprehensive online program to help you gear up for the future of managed services. Industry experts will deliver thought leadership sessions and hands-on workshops on sales, marketing, financials, strategic business planning and customer engagement. Also available will be 1:1 meetings and fun virtual networking. Want to stay relevant in a disrupted world? Join us from anywhere on October 21st and 22nd. Registration is open at http://accelerate.sherweb.com. :-)  

Thanks to Sherweb for sponsoring this episode! (Details below.) Topic 1: 179 Arrested in Massive Global Dark Web Takedown "Operation Disruptor" is an unprecedented international law enforcement effort, stemming from last year’s seizure of a popular underground bazaar called Wall Street Market. This more than a US-centric law enforcement effort since the dark side of the Internet is international. So, this was a major, successful, multi-national undertaking. Clearly, this is something you should be talking to you clients about. They don't need the details, of course, but they need to know that the threat is real! https://www.wired.com/story/operation-disruptor-179-arrested-global-dark-web-takedown/ Topic 2: Microsoft’s underwater server experiment resurfaces after two years. Turns out, dunking data centers is a great idea! About 1/8th as many failures, compared to data center up here with oxygen and temperature variations. It's also a good test for data centers in space or on other planets. Next up: Placing data centers offshore . . . near you. https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/14/21436746/microsoft-project-natick-data-center-server-underwater-cooling-reliability Topic 3: Microsoft Lighthouse: An RMM. We tackle this straight on. Does the new MS Lighthouse with MSP dashboard compete with you? Or is it simply competing for your attention and money? Announcement: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/small-and-medium-business-blog/announcing-microsoft-365-lighthouse-for-managed-service/ba-p/1698181 Note, also that T-Mobile is offering Microsoft 365 and support services. https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2020-09-21/t-mobile-gets-down-to-business-for-small-business-launches-new-small-business-plans-with-microsoft-365 And HP is offering managed services . . . https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/hp-introduces-subscription-hardware-and-services-program-smbs And Lenovo is offering managed services . . . https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/lenovo-introduces-microsoft-365-managed-services-smbs Should you be afraid? Energized? Should your clients be warned about these changes? We discuss from many different angles. ----- Today's Sponsor is Sherweb's Accelerate 2020: The MSP event of the year is back. This time, it’s virtual and free to attend! Sherweb's Accelerate 2020 offers a comprehensive online program to help you gear up for the future of managed services. Industry experts will deliver thought leadership sessions and hands-on workshops on sales, marketing, financials, strategic business planning and customer engagement. Also available will be 1:1 meetings and fun virtual networking. Want to stay relevant in a disrupted world? Join us from anywhere on October 21st and 22nd. Registration is open at accelerate.sherweb.com. :-)  

“A big Thank You to all Scale Partners. I could not be more proud to this channel. This Channel is showing how we can be impactful in Enterprise, Corporate Accounts and SMB.” - Gui Carvalhal - Scale Partners Director, Microsoft Canada In this episode I talk about the amazing Scale Partners we have in Canada and the deserved recognition they received for their performance in the Microsoft fiscal year 2020. Softchoice, Ingram Micro, Insight were the big winners, alongside Compugen Inc, Long View Systems, CDW, Sherweb that made to the finals. Official blog post: https://lnkd.in/guybS6t Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g95JcGg Watch on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/ggmaURW Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gx_gjze Listen on Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gvTY5at Listen on Google Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gGDr2j6 Caught by Surprise - July 23, 2020 - www.caughtbysurprise.ca

I had a lot of fun recording this podcast with Nicholas Ford (Account Executive - Partner Network at SherWeb) and Jacob Wellman (Associate Account Executive at SherWeb). In addition to working together, these guys are friends who have built a great culture in their department. See the photo we discuss at www.smbcommunitypodcast.com. Topics include fun at work, building a fun culture, and figuring out how to motivate people and teams. And while we have a lot of fun here, there's also lots of great advice about building your team. You can connect with these guys on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-ford-b5a371b1/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-wellman-7a879412b/   Comments welcome.

“When it comes to learning as a salesperson, one essential function is opening up to coaching and feedback. This episode looks at why professional feedback matters and what you can do to become open to self-improvement.”   Episode Overview In this episode, Bruce Scheer talks to Danny Brown about how seeking coaching and feedback can lead to more effective sales and stronger professional relationships. Danny is the Head of Business Development and Alliances at SherWeb, a cloud management service that focuses on helping businesses increase efficiency and improve user experience. Additionally, Danny is an experienced speaker and sales coach who focuses on developing companies and organizations through a culture of continuous improvement. Becoming Better Salespeople Through the Power of Coaching The ever-evolving world of sales demands an ever-evolving salesperson. Drawing on his experience in athletics, Danny Brown argues that all salespeople need to learn to appreciate coaching as a tool for maximizing their success. Coaching refers to the immediate professional feedback provided by peers, managers, and actual sales coaches. The goal of coaches is simple:  they want you to improve. Coaching and feedback are essential to sales success. Those who seek coaching advice are three times more likely to achieve their sales quotas. Overall, seeking out coaching can help reduce your close rate (i.e., the time it takes to close a sale) and maximize your success rate. How should you prepare for receiving coaching? According to Danny Brown, there are three key ingredients that every salesperson must have for successful coaching: The desire to improve The willingness to receive continuous feedback The ability to hone your craft through practice The success of coaching always comes down to you. Just like athletes who are driven by the constant desire to improve themselves, salespeople must have that same drive. Ask yourself:  Are you ready to accept feedback from others? If not, how can you change your mindset to be more open? If you don't have the desire to improve, you are less likely to take the steps necessary to make adjustments to your sales strategies. In addition to a desire to improve, salespeople must adjust their mindset to be open to continuous feedback and improvement. One successful sale or one successful adjustment is not a good reason to stop improving. Instead, you should treat successes as doors to additional improvements. After all, sales can vary from client to client, and the same strategy may not work the same way in each situation. Lastly, practice is essential for honing your craft. Without it, you may fall back on faulty practices, regularly change sales strategies, or stagnate as a salesperson. Danny Brown suggests that salespeople need to turn back to the cadence of sales and to “practice perfect” to fine-tune their sales strategies. More importantly, “practice perfect” requires a mindset of readiness-to-learn to make practice effective and useful. One way to make practice more meaningful is to self-analyze both yourself and a successful sales story. For yourself, you should ask: Who are you as a salesperson? What do you do as a professional? What does your company do? What are the implications of feedback for you as a seller? What things do you need to think about when approaching each sale? What pitfalls do you need to watch out for both in approaching a sales conversation and in soliciting feedback from a coach? When analyzing successful sales stories, consider these questions: What makes the success story a “success”? What worked? How do you repeat that sales story over and over again so it becomes a kind of sales muscle memory? Answering these questions for yourself will serve as a strong starting point before you approach a colleague or manager for coaching advice. When should you seek feedback? Most salespeople receive feedback through annual or quarterly performance reviews. While these are useful, Danny Brown suggests that feedback is more effective when a salesperson solicits it at the start of the quarter. There are two reasons for this: It helps set realistic goals and expectations for the remainder of the quarter. It minimizes the stress you may feel at the end of the quarter when things have not gone well. Essentially, seeking feedback from peers or managers at the start of the quarter means you are more likely to receive continuous feedback that can lead to continuous adjustments. These “micro” adjustments can lead to more sales and significantly less stress, in part because you are more likely to bring your best game throughout the whole quarter. What can you do to solicit useful coaching? The first place to start when soliciting coaching and feedback is with your colleagues. Danny Brown suggests approaching colleagues who are successful in specific areas and seeking advice to help you improve in those same areas. Sales teams should be collaborative, and working together can build a culture of shared experience and teamwork that will increase sales and create a positive working environment. While soliciting feedback from your peers is essential, you should also consider feedback from your sales manager. Managers are in a unique position to provide useful input because they see sales from a business perspective. Unfortunately, many managers are used to impersonal metrics for coaching their employees and may not have the personal experience for more proactive, personalized coaching. Salesforce notes that “only 50% of organizations invest in ongoing training and development of their sales managers.” As a result, getting the desired type of feedback may be difficult because it may not be intuitive to your manager. Danny Brown, however, thinks that salespeople should help their sales managers learn to coach effectively. Doing so not only gives a sales manager a sense of importance and value in the “team” side of sales but also helps focus your manager on details that a metric-based view does not provide. To do so, consider asking some of these questions: Did you introduce the story correctly? Did you ask for the sale at the right point? What could you do to better connect with customers? What could you do to prepare customers for a sale? Did you create urgency for the customer? Did you listen well or speak well to the customer? Did you create a dialogue? Did you ask open-ended questions to get the customer excited? Remember that coaching is not a ride-along. You need to provide colleagues or managers with the things you consider weaknesses about yourself. In doing so, you will give coaches specific targets to meet and increase the usefulness of the feedback you receive. Remember:  Never stop learning. Always grow. Always improve. These principles are essential to becoming a better salesperson and for creating “perfect” sales stories. Key Takeaways: Having the desire to improve yourself is essential to successful coaching. Without the desire to improve, salespeople likely won't seek continuous feedback or make the kinds of adjustments necessary for fruitful sales conversations. Seek feedback at the start of a quarter to minimize stress and to increase your ability to make “micro” adjustments throughout the quarter. Doing so can increase sales success and help you lead with your best foot forward. Learn how to help sales managers provide proactive feedback by asking key focus questions. Since sales managers often see sales from a business perspective, they are not always prepared to provide the personal feedback that can help a salesperson make adjustments. Asking the right questions can help managers see their value in a professional relationship and can lead to more personalized coaching. Resources: Danny's Links: SherWeb Follow Danny on LinkedIn Additional Resources: Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World by John Chambers and Diane Brady “Day in the Life: LeBron James” via Owaves For More Great Content Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review this show on Apple Podcasts. Here's a cool short video that shows you how to do this. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me promote the show to others who will benefit from the insights provided by my guests. Credits Audio Editing and Production by ChirpSound Show Notes and Additional Writing by Shaun Duke from The Duke of Editing  

Don’t miss Brigitte Roy the Director of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation at SherWeb discussing best practices and useful tips for digital marketing, in episode four. 

Join the slightly groggy, sleep-deprived ChannelPro Weekly crew as they discuss some new hardware from Zyxel and Lenovo, a new outsourced NOC offering from lesser-known RMM/PSA vendor Pulseway, the merits of buying versus building customer lists, and the magic ingredients that make for happiness on the job in IT. That’s followed by an interview with Anthony Graziano, of “boutique” Microsoft cloud solution distributor SherWeb, and a look at the surprisingly durable HP all-in-one in Matt’s kitchen (which will soon become part of his tech museum) and its forthcoming replacement.  Oh, and goats. More than you ever thought you’d hear about goats on this podcast. Subscribe to ChannelPro Weekly!    Look for us in your favorite podcast app. If you don't see us (yet) then you can subscribe via RSS in almost any podcast app using this link: http://www.channelpronetwork.com/rss/cpw Show Information: Episode #: 036Title: Stalled by the GoatsDuration: 1:22:23File size: 37.7MBRegulars: Rich Freeman - Senior News Editor, Cecilia Galvin - Editor in Chief, Matt Whitlock - Technology Editor Topics and Related Links Mentioned:  Zyxel Launches 802.11ac Wall Plate Access Point Lenovo Unveils DX8200D Software-Defined Storage Solution Pulseway Adds NOC Services Customer Lists: Buy or Build? 4 Surprising Insights on Tech Job Satisfaction from Spiceworks Two Minute Drill: SherWeb Where's Joel? Matt's Museum Pick: HP TouchSmart 2 Matt's Tech Pick: Planar PCT2235 22” Frameless Projected Capacitive Touchscreen Monitor Rich's ICYMI and What's Up This Week preview