Brian Sherman Posts

Every few months, a new technology offering or industry opportunity comes along, seemingly from out of nowhere, and myriad pundits and researchers espouse its merits to the entire channel. From the latest vertical market practice to a new solution delivery method, each undergoes months of close examination and experimentation before it gains traction with the greater provider audience. That process has been instrumental in vetting and promoting the opportunities in cloud and managed services, bu ...

When Alexander Graham Bell got together with two other investors to form AT&T in 1875, it signaled the beginning of a communications revolution. His invention, the telephone, was a major improvement over previous forms of communication such as the letter and telegraph, allowing voice communication between individuals in their own homes and businesses. No longer did they have to wait for others to deliver messages and place orders, so the risk of misplaced or lost information was significantl ...

While many may not have switched their calendars yet, 2013 is officially here. Before all the New Year’s resolutions have either been forgotten or broken, make sure to take time to review what went well in 2012 and what needs to change to make the next year more successful. What challenges and opportunities do you foresee? In reviewing a similar blog post I wrote around this same time last year, it’s interesting to note the similarities between 2012 and 2013. While technology conti ...

The IT community is rich with career opportunities, despite dismal overall job growth projections and many companies continuing to struggle with economic challenges. There seems to be no shortage of open positions in IT for the properly prepared individual, whether their skills are more technology-oriented or focused on the business side. As the business community relies more and more on IT to run and improve their operations, demand for qualified and trainable professionals will continue to gro ...

The biggest obstacle those building new businesses or practices face is not their creation and launch. No, the most daunting issue new business owners struggle with is how to manage and perfect their back office operations. Upfront costs and planned expenses are much easier to project on paper than when the doors are open and the organization is in full swing.That’s especially true in a managed services business. Few IT professionals have the financial and general management training or experien ...

In today’s economic environment, IT organizations have to continually reassess the way they do business, making necessary changes to best serve their clients and stay ahead of their rivals. With the rapid advances in technology and delivery systems, the challenges here are escalating more quickly than the opportunities they bring, making staffing service desks and properly training employees a particularly difficult task.Can an IT services company afford to run its operations the same way today ...

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, also known as Cyber Monday, online retailers offer deep discounts to attract customers. The number of online transactions completed today may not top the brick-and-mortar retail sales of Black Friday, but that gap continues to close with each passing year. A growing number of consumers are choosing the Internet over the annual trek to the mall, preferring the comfort of shopping from their own home or office over the hustle and bustle of the mall and other store ...

According to some industry experts, cloud computing is both the biggest threat and largest opportunity facing the IT channel. Though that prediction may be confusing, there is a lot of truth in it, and it should sound an alarm for every single solution provider. The debate on the pros and cons of cloud services has been raging for quite some time, but few dispute that the delivery model is here to stay and everyone in the industry will have to learn to adapt. Each company needs to understand clo ...

Those who can walk the walk typically close more sales than those who can only talk the talk – a point that tends to get lost in the shuffle of a growing business. If an organization can’t deliver on the promises it makes to its customers and prospects, its chances for long-term success are greatly diminished.No ethical entrepreneur opens a business without a desire to provide high-quality products or services to his or her customers. Best intentions and goals rarely change over time, but each o ...

It’s a challenge to build a successful company into a viable long-term entity. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first five years, while two-thirds of organizations close their doors before celebrating a ten-year anniversary. The reasons are numerous; from cash flow issues or the departure of a key employee to planned obsolescence and mergers.These challenges are felt by IT services businesses, especially given the complex ...