Brian Sherman Posts

The CompTIA Managed Services Community took their best practice discussions to the next level at ChannelCon 2016. The standing room only audience was treated to a unique experience as community leaders turned the tables and made them into expert panelists.

One of the toughest things for new IT services business owners is planning out their portfolios. What services do you need to offer to satisfy existing clients and attract new customers? Security has become one of the biggest differentiators for MSPs today and the topic of expanding those offerings created some interesting conversations in the CompTIA Partner Advisory Council meeting at ChannelCon 2016.

Encryption should be a normal part of the channel security discussion today, ensuring that clients understand the options and benefits these technologies provide. That conversation should also extend to email and backup and disaster recovery solutions. If data could eventually be transmitted across the internet, it’s a prime candidate for encryption.

A recent CompTIA survey found that 44% of managed services firms only support cloud services at the request of their customers. In other words, between a third and half of managed services providers are not capitalizing on what is likely the biggest IT delivery model shift of our time! Here's why that needs to change...

What will customer service and help desk communications look like in the future? How will solution providers change the process to address the Millennial audience? Learn how social media and other technologies will play a bigger role in future channel communications, and how savvy providers will get started even faster.

When the news that Microsoft intended to purchase LinkedIn came out this week, the initial response of those in the channel ranged from disbelief to bewilderment. Many wondered why a company so heavily focused on line of business applications and infrastructure would want to own a social media site. An even larger question filling the comments sections of several publications was why would they ever pay so much?

The conversations at CompTIA’s latest Canadian IT Business Community meeting centered on both activities, as members discussed a number of tech challenges and opportunities before they headed out for an afternoon on the links.

Some of you may know about many of Jean Alexander’s career accomplishments and how she worked behind the scenes to help make the channel a better place for providers, vendors, distributors and anyone else she encountered along the way. She was a very humble person and would be the last person to brag, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t proud of those she worked with to make things happen. This post is intended to celebrate the Jean many of us knew, and highlight how she became such a great mentor, industry advocate and friend to all.