Brian Sherman Posts

CompTIA member Greg VanDeWalker is the senior vice president of strategic relationships at GreatAmerica Leasing Corp., responsible for managing the company’s extensive network of OEM and national partners. He also directs the organization’s managed print services (MPS) initiative, providing education and support for solution providers looking to implement print management strategies.VanDeWalker’s passion and focus around this thriving segment of the IT channel is inspirational and he chairs the ...

Just a few short years ago, protecting a client’s data was like building a moat around a castle. A circle of security kept all the systems locked down tight, with few things accessible outside a company’s intranet. To most, that may seem to be an extremely conservative (and naïve) approach from years past, but some organizations still follow that principle for guarding their infrastructure.Of course, that strategy is a difficult one to defend in 2011. The onslaught of smart phones, tablets, netb ...

It’s not always easy for solution providers to get the training they need, between logistics challenges and scheduling conflicts that need to be resolved in order to participate in remote locations. The time required for travel and class instruction can wreak havoc on a company’s operations, since their clients’ support needs are rarely constant. Even the largest VARs and MSPs run into scheduling conflicts when attempting to balance training needs with the normal work load and emergency issues.T ...

CompTIA member Peter Cannone is chief executive officer of OnForce, a cloud-based source for on-site tech talent. He and other OnForce team members have been involved with CompTIA and the IT Services Community for a number of years, supporting and promoting many of the association’s workforce development initiatives and programs.Cannone has extensive experience in the IT channel and the services community, an essential element when running a company that supports more than 20 technology segments ...

While the old adage claiming that people use only about 10 percent of their brain has been disputed by a number of neurologists, most of them admit that man still uses just a fraction of its true capacity. Few really tap into the potential intellectual power they have available.You don’t have to be the next Einstein or Da Vinci to see the parallel to managed services tools. A couple of the keynotes from this week’s Tigerpaw User Conference emphasized the need for solution providers to create gre ...

CompTIA member Steve Harper is president and CEO of Network Management Group Inc. (NMGI) , a managed services provider and consulting business based in Hutchinson, Kansas. He is a long-time contributor to CompTIA and has been with the association in a number of leadership and support roles over the years, including an appointment to the Board of Directors.Harper is always willing to share his IT channel experience and expertise with peers, vendors and distributors. He has served on advisory boar ...

With the current buzz surrounding cloud, mobility computing and other transformative technologies, a key group of players within the IT channel seems to be taking a back seat. Despite the shift in technology business models and continued infringement from consumer electronics, distribution is still a crucial element of most solution providers’ businesses. And it will likely remain that way for quite some time, but its role is in a state of transition. Another sign of that transformation could be ...

CompTIA member Frank Raimondi recently was named World Wide Channel Alliance Manager for Intel, returning after several years of innovation with other channel organizations. His resume is long on experience, including his previous roles at Intel and serving as a vice president with SYNNEX, as well as CEO of NASBA (The Association of Channel Resellers).Raimondi also has been an active member in CompTIA during that time, helping forge a number of initiatives with the IT Services and Support Commun ...

With the premature passing of Steve Jobs, the tributes quickly filled the airways and social media sites. Many highlighted the technology that Apple introduced over the years, from the original Macintosh to the latest iPhone. But overall, many of the posts missed the real innovation that their founder brought to the world: a quality user experience.While Jobs and his partners were instrumental in introducing personal computers to the masses, the company eventually went in a much different direct ...

CompTIA member Linda Lynch is president and co-owner of the KI Technology Group, an East Lansing, Mich.-based technology consulting organization. She has been an advocate of the channel, a mentor to many in the IT community and was appointed to the CompTIA Board of Directors in January this year.As if Lynch wasn’t busy enough building and leading a successful technology consulting firm, she’s also been extremely active in her neighborhood. She serves on the board of Capital Area United Way, is a ...