Steven Ostrowski Posts

Emerging architecture is the answer to the growing need for cost-effective, high-availability, high-bandwidth networks to keep pace with today's application demands, according to proponents of software-defined networking who spoke during the final session of ChannelCon’s Track4Techs.

The opportunity and change about to hit the IT channel far surpasses what’s happened in the last 20, according to AT&T’s Brooks L. McCorcle, a panelist at ChannelCon’s Channel Chiefs Power Panel. “We need to challenge ourselves to create new and different ways to go to market,” she said.

Patterned like Pardon the Interruption, Tuesday’s ChannelCon conference lunch was spiced up when two of the industry’s most respected — and opinionated — analysts took on some of the hottest topics impacting today’s IT channel.

IT channel firms looking for new sources of revenue should look first to current customers, a panel of channel executives said Tuesday at ChannelCon. “Present your customers with a complete picture of what you can do for them,” advised, Amy Hodge, director with ConnectWise.

Anyone can be innovative, according to futurethink’s Lisa Bodell, but real change requires a change in approach. During her keynote speech Tuesday at ChannelCon, Bodell told the audience, “Thinking has to become a daring act.”

Millennials have arrived in the IT industry — and they’re not the entitled, slacker generation we expected, according to Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer of CompTIA, during his state of the industry keynote speech at ChannelCon 2014. Instead, millennials are already making important changes in the industry.

IT channel companies in search of the next big disruptive force need look no further than their mirror, a longtime industry observer opined Wednesday at the 2014 CompTIA Annual Member Meeting. “You are the disruptor,” Chris Gonsalves, vice president, editorial, for The 2112 Group,  told an audience of IT channel partners, vendors and distributors. “If you’re not making someone uncomfortable, you’re just trudging along in the status quo,” he continued. &ld ...

The dynamics of creativity demand passion from individuals and teams to produce brilliant work, a top-selling author told attendees today at the 2014 CompTIA Annual Member Meeting. “Don’t short circuit the creative process just to get something done,” author Todd Henry told his audience. Rather, he encouraged them to be both “productively passionate” and “fiercely curious.” Henry led the interactive keynote session on “Passion, Collaboration a ...

Managed services providers (MSPs) must routinely and regularly examine their customer contracts and pricing strategies if they intend to maximize profitability. That message was delivered Wednesday by several industry experts during a meeting of the CompTIA Managed Services Community. The session was part of the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting taking place this week in San Diego. “I think as an industry we leave a ton of money on the table,” said Frank Picarello chief operating officer ...

The vast majority of companies in North America measure their customer satisfaction performance — nearly 90 percent of all businesses, according to one recent survey. Yet just half of those companies take their customer satisfaction data and share it with their employees. Even fewer — a mere 8 percent — close the loop with customers to let them know how the company has responded to their feedback. The lack of action on customer feedback can result in missed opportunities for mo ...