In Part 1 of this two part Channel Insider: Partner POV interview, host Katie Bavoso is joined by Nick Sikorski, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at EchoStor, as well as Mark Milano, Manager of IT Employee Experience and End User Computing at Eversource. Eversource is an energy company providing electricity, water, and natural gas to more than four million customers across New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The company is also a client partner of EchoStor, the IT services and solutions provider based in Hopkinton, MA. Milano explained that if Eversource tried to bring all the IT services provided by EchoStor in-house, their costs would skyrocket and so could energy rates. Sikorski says he's been working with Eversource for years and the knowledge of Eversource's data center and technology infrastructure, as well as how it impacts utility customers, is what makes the partnership so valuable. Milano and Sikorski explain the latest innovation EchoStor and Eversource are working on: drone surveillance and image analysis. Eversource has started using drones to survey damaged power lines in remote locations. EchoStor has helped the company manage it's storage capacity when pictures filled Eversource's Sharepoint to the brim by using automation to review images and analyze them for anomalies. Milano also explains how EchoStor has been a critical partner in the power company's strategic data center journey.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In Part 2 of this Channel Insider: Partner POV interview, Dawn Sizer, CEO of managed service provider and IT consulting business 3rd Element, discusses how the strength of trust has enabled her business to offer new services and driven vendors to give partners more reason to go to market with them. Sizer says many long-time clients are now asking for services outside of IT, including media and marketing as well as business consulting, because they would rather invest in trusted existing relationships than look elsewhere. As for vendors, Sizer names some of the IT companies she feels have brought more resources to their partner programs since the events of the pandemic showed how valuable managed service providers really are to client businesses. By adding training programs, business acumen courses, improved communication, and better go-to-market tools, Sizer says vendors like Lenovo, ThreatLocker, Axcient, INFIMA Security, and Blackpoint Cyber have really listened to what channel partners have been asking for. These investments, Sizer says, are empowering MSPs with better choices and giving them reasons to move on from other technology vendors with confidence. The CEO also offers her advice on how to begin your growth or maturity journey as a solution provider, and it starts with finding a community or mentor to support you. She says other similar businesses are not competition, but more "co-opetition," ready to collaborate and guide.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Lisa Pettograsso, Director, Channel Sales at Hack The Box sits down with host Katie Bavoso to discuss what solution providers need to grow their businesses in the highly competitive market of cybersecurity and upskilling, and explains what HTB is doing to accelerate that climb to the top for its partners. Pettograsso says not only can the gamified solutions from Hack The Box be sold independently or bolted on to other offerings, but the team at HTB works directly with partners to bring them deals and introduce them to new opportunities. In this episode of Partner POV, Pettograsso tells the story of how customer Verizon came to Hack The Box in need of a specific solution and the HTB team immediately connected the carrier company with channel partner SHI knowing the partnership would lead to the outcome Verizon was looking for with a quick turnaround time. Plus, the HTB sales leader breaks down the new global partner program from Hack The Box and what opportunities and benefits new partners can expect when they join.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Dawn Sizer, CEO of managed services provider 3rd Element Consulting, joined host Katie Bavoso in Part 1 of this latest episode of video and podcast series Channel Insider: Partner POV. Sizer describes her business's focus on providing IT and cybersecurity management for industries and businesses like law firms, government offices, and cannabis. While in many parts of the U.S., cannabis is just another B2B venture, but as Sizer explains, the inconsistency in the legality at the federal level can often create challenges. Sizer walks Katie through some of those challenges and how she navigates them. As a content creator herself, Sizer also explains her preferred approach to educating clients as well as other MSPs in the industry. Her biggest dislike? Using fear tactics to make clients buy cybersecurity solutions. And finally, is it really an episode if Katie and her guest don't talk about AI? Sizer explains the guardrails she's put around AI tools in her clients' businesses and why she's done this.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Josh Hohbein, Information Security Lead at managed services provider centrexIT, explains how he and the MSP prioritize and approach compliance with customers. Most clients think they either don't need a compliance framework, that it's too expensive, takes too much time to create, or don't understand it's not part of their existing cybersecurity stack. Hohbein says centrexIT has worked to make compliance easy to understand and easy to implement, while also teaching clients how it will greatly reduce downtime when they inevitably have a cybersecurity incident. He also calls out the vendors that are helping to make his compliance mission easier, including Compliance Scorecard and Fifthwall Solutions for cyber insurance. 
 

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Travis Woods, CEO of Fort Point IT and Vice President of IT at DVBE Technology Colombia, joins host Katie Bavoso to discuss the value of partnership - not just with vendors, but also with other managed service and solution providers. Woods says partnering with like minded colleagues in the industry allows him grow his revenue and be able to compete with large, often private equity funded MSPs that have the ability to grow through mass acquisitions and mergers. He explains why DBVE Technology Colombia was the right fit for him and what he's learning about the fast-growing Latin American market. The original business Woods leads, Fort Point IT, is both a PC and Mac service provider. The seasoned CEO reflects on the rise of Apple products in the corporate landscape and what it took for vendors to provide for the operating system and technology. Plus, what he wishes small to medium sized businesses would take more seriously when it comes to cybersecurity and why vendors should pay attention. Woods also explains why he loves working with tech vendors like Addigy and ESET.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Tim Brooks, Managing Director & Chief AI Advisor at World Wide Technology (WWT) joined host Katie Bavoso in this latest episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV to discuss how the global solution provider is one of a select few partners working with NVIDIA to bring the chip giant's new NIM Agent Blueprints to market. The NVIDIA NIM Agent Blueprints allow enterprise developers to build AI applications that use one or more agents in a fraction of the time it would take them to create these applications from scratch. Brooks explains what kinds of AI applications these blueprints can be used to make, including digital humans that people can talk to and interact with. WWT helped a client create a digital human using these blueprints, explains Brooks, which he said took just three weeks. Find out how WWT is helping drive innovation with these NVIDIA NIM Agent Blueprints and what other use cases they can currently be applied to.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In Part 2 of her interview on Channel Insider: Partner POV, Nancy Henriquez talks with host Katie Bavoso about what she learned while working for an IT vendor. After selling her second business, a managed service provider, Henriquez went to work for an IT vendor startup for the first time in her career. She says her biggest takeaway from that experience is the importance of training and educating the channel partners who sell and manage the solutions those vendors manufacture and create. With the shortage of talent in the IT industry, Henriquez says there's no better and more necessary time to invest in the education of IT solution providers. The experienced MSP also encourages newcomers in the managed services space to absolutely find a peer group and begin networking and finding mentors immediately. Henriquez cautions not to overthink one's choice of peer group, just pick one and get started. As she puts it, there's enough work and space for everyone in the managed services industry and engagement with the community will add value to an MSP business. Plus, in a world where cloud marketplaces are now top of mind for both solution providers and their customers, how many vendors should MSPs and VARs partner with, and why? And finally, what's next for Henriquez on her career journey? Find out!

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

With two decades of experience in IT as a business owner and managed service provider, Nancy Henriquez says the minute you start your business is also when you should be preparing it to sell. In this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, Henriquez shares her evolution from a break/fix business owner to a full blown MSP and what she's learned along the way. Henriquez tells host Katie Bavoso about the first time she heard the title "managed service provider" and how she used the MSPs listed as the industry's best as her blueprint for the MSP she would eventually build. When she was accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, that's when Henriquez says she was empowered with her first business education experience. What started as a path to survival for a young mom of two, became an impassioned career. However, after a challenging experience selling her first IT business, Henriquez says what helped her start up her MSP business was organizing it in a way that could be smoothly transitioned to another owner. Her number one piece of advice is to begin a business with the end in mind, even if you don't intend to sell it at any time soon. The experienced channel expert also shares the most important thing you should do during the transition of ownership.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In Part 2 on this Channel Insider: Partner POV interview featuring Paul Vedder Jr., the CXO of managed service provider VXIT talks about his new book "Vision & Execution: Empowering Personal Growth and IT Excellence." Vedder explains his reasoning for writing the book was to help business owners better understand managed services, as well as help others in his industry find success as providers of managed services and solutions through stories of his own personal growth journey. He says he was inspired to make changes in his own life after hearing someone else's personal story, and now hopes to pass on that sense of enlightenment and inspire others. When discussing technology vendors and industry conferences, Vedder explains where he gets the most value compared to where he struggles to be heard - including what he wishes ConnectWise would do and what N-able does well. What would he name his own conference? Anti-Con! Finally, Vedder explains what enduser customers should look for in a managed service provider. He also expresses that AI can be a useful tool, but it's "not coming to save us."

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday. 

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at [email protected]

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn. 

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso. 

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.