Brian Sherman Posts

Despite the experiences of many solution providers, some suggest that there isn't a real IT skills shortage, but a lack of key talent in the right location. Regardless of whose opinion you believe, the IT community needs to do a better job of inspiring youth and other industries' displaced workers to pursue a career in high tech. With the continually rising demand for service and support technicians, developers and integrators, many companies can't onboard new hires fast enough—and it's only ...

Despite the experiences of many solution providers, some suggest that there isn’t a real IT skills shortage, but a lack of key talent in the right location. Regardless of whose opinion you believe, the IT community needs to do a better job of inspiring youth and other industries’ displaced workers to pursue a career in high tech. With the continually rising demand for service and support technicians, developers and integrators, many companies can’t onboard new hires fast enough—and it’s only exp ...

Leadership is defined as a function, act or role in guiding groups or individuals, but those who attended last week's CompTIA Breakaway conference know that description doesn't do it justice. The members who step up to head each of the association's 11 peer communities aren't paid for their efforts, and most spend hundreds of hours each year to accomplish all of their group's ambitious industry-enhancing goals. Much of their work happens behind the scenes, from organizing calls and planning upco ...

There’s one key reason that VoIP solutions of the past were slow to gain traction in many markets: they were often presented as a simple and cost-effective replacement systems for traditional phone service. While the traditional early adopters and some of those implementing new service were willing to make the leap, there wasn’t a real value proposition for others to make a switch. If current phone services were working well, few businesses were willing to experiment with something as critical a ...

When it comes to locking down your customers’ networks and critical data, the end goal is to prevent any intrusions or information loss. Obviously, with all the nefarious characters wreaking havoc on the Internet and sharing ideas on how to penetrate the various security measures that businesses (and individuals) employ, that’s objective is getting harder to accomplish. For every new threat prevention method, the bad guys seem to create multiple ways to get around them. It’s more than a game to ...

Over the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a variety of IT channel events, from the largest industry conferences to smaller, regional get-togethers. Regardless of the show’s size or number of associated activities, there never seems to be enough time to do everything you’d like to do (let alone everything you need to do).As an editor, I scheduled almost every waking minute at tradeshows for interviews, demos and networking. In order to accomplish that level of activity, the process ...

Regardless of which side of the issue you’re on, last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding the disputed sections of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 added greater urgency to EMR (electronic medical records) implementation, and a shot in the arm to those building a healthcare IT practice. Of course, those relying on federal legislation to drive business may be missing the real opportunities in doctors’ offices, clinics and other medical-related organizations: business improvement.The most succe ...

As a frequent traveler and lover of the outdoors, I have a special place in my heart for the critical business tools that can be easily packed and transported wherever I’m going. My first ThinkPad, a pre-Lenovo, “brick-by-today’s-standards” laptop, introduced me to the benefits of the mobile workplace that’s become commonplace today. Rather than saving work to those lovable floppy discs in my corporate office and transporting them home at night to toil away on my home PC, the laptop gave me the ...

Have you ever considered how your clients’ manage their printers and copiers, and how much these devices and the related infrastructure cost their organization’s each year? If you’re not already providing managed print services, or considering the opportunity, it’s a great time to evaluate the benefits (and obstacles) of offering them to your business customers.Not only are the channel options for offering managed print services expanding, but more businesses are open to outsourcing their print ...

While some may choose to dismiss the various discussions, events and training programs on cloud solutions as hype, there are many more proving that the business model works. Members of the IT channel can be somewhat cautious, but it’s rare for them to ignore business applications that their customers want. And everyone from the smallest mom-and-pop retailer to the largest corporation wants the benefits that cloud services offer, according to respected industry analysts.For example, IDC reports t ...