Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis

Let’s talk the big MSP players for this prediction.

When I covered the impact Capital has on a market, I focused on the lack of R&D investment. PE based companies often focus on cutting expenses by headcount and anything risky, and one of those cuts is R&D. Building something new is hard, and it gets in the way of driving profitability. It’s way easier to just go buy things and roll it in than it is to build something.

The second is the changing face of management. As I said back in September with Microsoft’s Lighthouse product, the future of management is that you don’t need to script it yourself, but instead configure management policies. You can see this in software development trends – serverless and codeless compute are the direction. You manage fleets of other devices not by writing scripts to control it, but by configuring policies. Which is exactly the tool Microsoft has built in their Lighthouse product.

And notably, the current “MSP providers” have not.

Prediction in the podcast.

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I spend a lot of time on the show bemoaning the cybersecurity landscape. The adversaries are better organized than we are. They have a coherent business strategy, complete with Diversification of revenue. Company lifecycle management. Affiliate programs and building a distribution channel. Financial management. PR campaigns. One group this year put $1M in Bitcoin out just o prove they had the resources to payout.

Another seller was listing access to the RMM platform of multiple companies for a total of $150,000.

I don’t think we give enough credit to the other side in this fight, as they are well organized crime organizations.

Prediction in the podcast.

About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.

MSP Radio is supported by our partners:

ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Firetail · HaloPSA · LogMeIn · Mailprotector · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI

Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.

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I spend a lot of time on the show bemoaning the cybersecurity landscape.     The adversaries are better organized than we are.     They have a coherent business strategy, complete with Diversification of revenue.    Company lifecycle management.    Affiliate programs and building a distribution channel.     Financial management.  PR campaigns.      One group this year put $1M in Bitcoin out just o prove they had the resources to payout.

Another seller was listing access to the RMM platform of multiple companies for a total of $150,000. 

I don’t think we give enough credit to the other side in this fight, as they are well organized crime organizations.   

Prediction in the podcast.

My first prediction for 2021 is regrettably not a cheery one – if you are expecting things to bounce back right away, you’re not going to get that.

The good news is that it appears that things in 2020 were not as bad as initially thought it would be – while it did look quite bad, as the year comes to a close it appears that rather than tech budgets being down about 6.3%, the year may be down only 2.5% and another .4% for 2021, per Forrester.

Things continue in the podcast.....

About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.

MSP Radio is supported by our partners:

ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Firetail · HaloPSA · LogMeIn · Mailprotector · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI

Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

Want the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story?

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Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

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My first prediction for 2021 is regrettably not a cheery one – if you are expecting things to bounce back right away, you’re not going to get that.

The good news is that it appears that things in 2020 were not as bad as initially thought it would be – while it did look quite bad, as the year comes to a close it appears that rather than tech budgets being down about 6.3%, the year may be down only 2.5% and another .4% for 2021, per Forrester.

Things continue in the podcast.....

Support the vendors who support the show:

👉 https://businessof.tech/sponsors/

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

Want the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story?

📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe

Looking for the links from today’s stories?

Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

🌐 https://www.businessof.tech

Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights:

💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079

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A listener came with a great question.

"I’m 20 years old and have been working at a help desk for about 6 months. I dont have any certifications yet and will have a associates in May of 2021. I would love to start a side hustle in the IT field to gain more real world experience and income. I love how MSP sounds but I feel like its way over my head. Should I get my certifications and help desk experience first? Or dive into a small MSP river and learn as I go?"

This felt like too big a question for just me, so I asked several other MSP owners who I respect for their take.

Answers from MSPs Dave DelVecchio, Amy Babinchak, Mark Essayian and Forrester's Jay McBain, plus final insights from Business of Tech Podcast host Dave Sobel.

About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.

MSP Radio is supported by our partners:

ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Firetail · HaloPSA · LogMeIn · Mailprotector · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI

Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

Want the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story?

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Looking for the links from today’s stories?

Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

🌐 https://www.businessof.tech

Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A listener came with a great question.

"I’m 20 years old and have been working at a help desk for about 6 months. I dont have any certifications yet and will have a associates in May of 2021. I would love to start a side hustle in the IT field to gain more real world experience and income. I love how MSP sounds but I feel like its way over my head. Should I get my certifications and help desk experience first? Or dive into a small MSP river and learn as I go?"

This felt like too big a question for just me, so I asked several other MSP owners who I respect for their take.

Answers from MSPs Dave DelVecchio, Amy Babinchak, Mark Essayian and Forrester's Jay McBain, plus final insights from Business of Tech Podcast host Dave Sobel.

Support the vendors who support the show:

👉 https://businessof.tech/sponsors/

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

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📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe

Looking for the links from today’s stories?

Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

🌐 https://www.businessof.tech

Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights:

💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech

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Four things to know today

• Zoom makes a platform move, and my big prediction

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/buoyed-by-video-success-zoom-explores-email-calendar-services

• Microsoft making its own silicon

https://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/microsoft-is-working-on-arm-based-chips-for-azure-surface-pcs-report?itc=refresh

• Verizon’s 5G … turn it off.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/22/22196060/verizon-5g-slower-than-lte-speed-test

AND

• SolarWinds roundup

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/city-atlanta-refuses-answer-whether-it-was-impacted-by-massive-computer-attack/F7JPGEQJKBAHVJKNBAUA35ASZY/

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2020/12/22/michigan-software-solarwinds-cyberattack-not-affected/4009712001/

https://www.intelligentcio.com/me/2020/12/23/qualys-offers-free-vulnerability-management-service-following-solarwinds-breach/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-21/solarwinds-adviser-warned-of-lax-security-years-before-hack

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-markets/americas/gao-audit-government-supply-chains/

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/solarwinds-campaign-focuses-attention-on-golden-saml-attack-vector/d/d-id/1339794

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/editorial/the-solarwinds-hack-and-the-danger-of-arrogance/

About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.

MSP Radio is supported by our partners:

ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Firetail · HaloPSA · LogMeIn · Mailprotector · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI

Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

Want the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story?

📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe

Looking for the links from today’s stories?

Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

🌐 https://www.businessof.tech

Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis

💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Four things to know today

•   Zoom makes a platform move, and my big prediction

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/buoyed-by-video-success-zoom-explores-email-calendar-services

• Microsoft making its own silicon

https://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/microsoft-is-working-on-arm-based-chips-for-azure-surface-pcs-report?itc=refresh

• Verizon’s 5G … turn it off.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/22/22196060/verizon-5g-slower-than-lte-speed-test

AND

• SolarWinds roundup

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/city-atlanta-refuses-answer-whether-it-was-impacted-by-massive-computer-attack/F7JPGEQJKBAHVJKNBAUA35ASZY/

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2020/12/22/michigan-software-solarwinds-cyberattack-not-affected/4009712001/

https://www.intelligentcio.com/me/2020/12/23/qualys-offers-free-vulnerability-management-service-following-solarwinds-breach/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-21/solarwinds-adviser-warned-of-lax-security-years-before-hack

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-markets/americas/gao-audit-government-supply-chains/

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/solarwinds-campaign-focuses-attention-on-golden-saml-attack-vector/d/d-id/1339794

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/editorial/the-solarwinds-hack-and-the-danger-of-arrogance/

. Four things to know today

• 5 steps to cloud adoption

https://www.ciodive.com/news/gartner-public-cloud-framework/592495/

• 3 levels of tiered IoT services

https://channelnomics.com/2020/12/21/verizon-business-intros-iot-managed-services/

• Two new laws to know about

https://www.engadget.com/tvpa-bans-isp-rental-fees-for-owned-modems-213955005.html

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/covid-19-relief-bill-change-future-game-livestreaming-u-s/

AND

• One SolarWinds roundup

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/12/calling-solarwinds-hack-act-of-war-just-makes-it-worse/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/vmware-latest-to-confirm-breach-in-solarwinds-hacking-campaign/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/solarwinds-victims-revealed-after-cracking-the-sunburst-malware-dga/

About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.

MSP Radio is supported by our partners:

ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Firetail · HaloPSA · LogMeIn · Mailprotector · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI

Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.

Get exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more.

👉 https://businessof.tech/plus

Want the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story?

📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe

Looking for the links from today’s stories?

Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at:

🌐 https://www.businessof.tech

Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis

💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079

YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio

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