ChannelPro Weekly Podcast

Ready to automate and accelerate as-a-service solutions? Well then, gentlemen (and ladies), you know what to do. So does Ingram Micro, as Matt and Rich discuss with co-host Seana Fippin, of MSP Red Box Business Solutions, who also chimes in on the new platform and RMM solution ConnectWise introduced this week, OpenText buying Zix, and how to hold effective virtual meetings at a hybrid workplace.

Want more? With private equity firms snapping up MSPs left and right, you will not want to miss the conversation Matt and Rich have with Abe Garver of M&A specialist FOCUS Investment Banking and Willis Cantey of MSP Cantey Tech Consulting about where the M&A landscape stands today and what that means for you. Start your engines indeed, channel pros.

Matt and Rich join Seana in dedicating this episode of ChannelPro Weekly to Seana's sister Chris, who's battling a serious illness. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you, Chris!

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-206-start-your-engines

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

ConnectWise Unveils New Platform and RMM Solution - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/connectwise-unveils-new-platform-and-rmm-solution

Ingram Micro Highlights Partner Tools and Process Modernization at ONE Conference - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/ingram-micro-highlights-partner-tools-and-process-modernization-one-conference

OpenText Buys Zix - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/opentext-buys-zix

How to Hold Successful Virtual Meetings - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/how-hold-successful-virtual-meetings

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

How much money are you making on wiffy these days? I mean, I assume you're in the wiffy market. It's huge! Take it from Matt, Rich, and this week's guest host, Paco Lebron, of MSP ProdigyTeks and the MSP Unplugged podcast. In addition to the world's burgeoning demand for wiffy, they discuss Atera's new AI-powered RMM automation functionality, the latest addition to WatchGuard's centralized cloud management interface, and some research data from MicroAge suggesting a lot of MSPs are doing a poor job of communicating with their clients.

Then your three hosts are joined by MJ Shoer of CompTIA to discuss the role ISAOs, like CompTIA's cybersecurity ISAO, play in leveling the playing field against threat actors. You'll thank your wiffy for letting you listen in!

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-205-lot-wiffy

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Atera Equips RMM Software with AI-Based Ticketing - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/atera-equips-rmm-software-ai-based-ticketing

WatchGuard Adds Wi-Fi Access Points to Cloud Management Portal - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/watchguard-adds-wi-fi-access-points-cloud-management-portal

Nearly Half of Customers Rate MSPs' State of Modernization as 'Meh' - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/nearly-half-customers-rate-msps-state-modernization-meh

MicroAge State of Managed Services Providers Report 2021 - https://microage.com/msp-survey-report/?utm_source=press+release&utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=MSP+report

CompTIA Security Co-op is Hitting its Stride - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/comptia-security-co-op-hitting-its-stride

CompTIA ISAO - https://connect.comptia.org/membership/comptia-isao

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

Feel free to tackle only simple challenges, channel pros. Just don't expect to make much at it. Take it from this week's guest host, podcaster and industry analyst Dave Sobel, it's the hard stuff that produces big money. Dave, Matt, and Rich have plenty to say about that topic, as well as the news from Acronis's CyberFit Summit, and Dave has a few thoughts to share about Kaseya's efforts to harden its software against future breaches too.

Then your three hosts are joined by interview guest Larry Walsh, of Channelnomics, for a can't-miss conversation about the meaning and importance of customer experience in managed services. It's a tough but essential thing for MSPs to master, but then you didn't expect this running an IT business stuff to be easy, did you?

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-204-hard-stuff-makes-money

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Dave's Business of Tech Podcast - https://www.businessof.tech/

MSP Radio - https://www.mspradio.com/

Consolidating Vendors and Integrating Solutions Pays Off Big in Cyber Protection, Per Acronis Research - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/consolidating-vendors-and-integrating-solutions-pays-big-cyber-protection-acronis-research

What's Now and Next from Acronis - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/slideshow/what-s-now-and-next-acronis

4 Thoughts on the Future of Technology and Security from Serguei Beloussov - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/slideshow/4-thoughts-future-technology-and-security-serguei-beloussov

Kaseya Investing Millions More on Product Security - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/kaseya-investing-millions-more-product-security

Dave's museum pick: Dragon's Lair Replicade - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/mgp

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

Everyone else is working from home these days. Why not The King? You know who's not working from home this week? Rich Freeman. He's in Las Vegas for Kaseya's ConnectIT conference and has plenty of news from Kaseya to share. He and Matt also discuss HP's big new collaboration and conferencing portfolio as well as the challenges and pleasures of running a tech business with your spouse.

Then comes the really good stuff: A discussion with managed services legend and consultant Gary Pica, live from the (somewhat noisy) Kaseya ConnectIT expo hall, about how the keys to prospering as an MSP have changed since the start of the pandemic. Thank you, Gary. Thank you very much.

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-203-elvis-home

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Kaseya on VSA Ransomware Attack: It's Embarrassing - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/kaseya-vsa-ransomware-attack-it-s-embarrassing

Kaseya Has Faster Patching, Cloud Management, and Cloud Security on its Roadmap for the Year Ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/kaseya-has-faster-patching-cloud-management-and-cloud-security-its-roadmap-year-ahead

HP Unveils Conferencing and Collaboration Portfolio for Hybrid Workforces - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/hp-unveils-conferencing-and-collaboration-portfolio-hybrid-workforces

Married to Your Business ... Partner - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/married-your-business-partner

Gary Pica's blog - https://www.trumethods.com/resources/blog

Matt's museum pick: Western Digital Black2 Dual Drive

Matt's tech pick: Samsung 870 EVO - https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/870evo/

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

Security takes multiple layers, even when the threat you're securing against is walking, dead, and hungry for brains. Take it from MSP and security pro Charles Henson, of Nashville Computer, who joins Matt and Rich this week to discuss Datto's SaaS Defense product, MSP360's flat-rate Amazon S3 backup storage, takeaways from the recent Bandwidth.com DDoS incident, and how to profit from helping businesses complete security questionnaires.

That's all followed by expert advice on brand building and lead generation from Jennifer Anaya, Ingram Micro's senior vice president of marketing. Warning: she'll make your brain bigger and therefore even more tempting to zombies.

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-202-zombie-stack

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Charles Henson's personal website - https://www.charleshenson.net/

Cyber Crime documentary - https://www.amazon.com/Cyber-Crime-10-Leading-Experts/dp/B07VF7FLC2/ref=sr_1_3

Datto Rolls Out Security Solution for Microsoft 365 - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/datto-rolls-out-security-solution-microsoft-365

MSP360 Rolls Out Flat-Rate Storage on AWS - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/msp360-rolls-out-flat-rate-storage-aws

Finding Opportunity in the Security Questionnaire - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/finding-opportunity-security-questionnaire

What Channel Pros Need to Know About the Bandwidth.com DDoS Attack - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/what-channel-pros-need-know-about-bandwidthcom-ddos-attack

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

If there's one thing channel pros serious about growth have in common, its killer penguin investigations. At least we think that's what they're all tracking on their dashboards. Maybe Ken Pecot, COO of The 20, can set us all straight on that. He certainly shared plenty of valuable insights on operational excellence with Matt, Rich, and guest host Will Foret, a member of The 20 and president of Spot Migration, who also discussed the new cloud/XDR integration from Sophos and the damaging DDoS strike on upstream VoIP carrier Bandwidth.com. There's nothing cute and penguin-like about that topic, we're afraid.

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-201-killer-penguin-investigation

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Sophos Links Cloud Optix and XDR Solution - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/sophos-links-cloud-optix-and-xdr-solution

What Channel Pros Need to Know About the Bandwidth.com DDoS Attack - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/what-channel-pros-need-know-about-bandwidthcom-ddos-attack

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

Crank up the party music, people! Hard as it is to believe, ChannelPro Weekly has turned 200. Episodes, that is, and with them to celebrate with Matt and Rich is guest host Zac Cramer, of managed service provider IT Assurance. Together, the three of them discuss the new ticketing system from NinjaRMM, HP's customer intelligence platform, and the decision at SaaS Alerts to sell a stake in the company to its MSP partners.

That's followed by a do-not-miss interview with penetration tester and white-hat hacker James Carroll, of Secure Network Technologies, about the creative (and frankly terrifying) ways that black hats compromise you and your customers.

Last but not least, stay tuned for a celebratory, anniversary-themed game of Five Questions in which former guest hosts ask the questions for a change, and Matt and Rich do the answering. It's high-volume fun!

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-200-turning-it-11

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

NinjaRMM Adds Ticketing Solution to RMM Software - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/ninjarmm-adds-ticketing-solution-rmm-software

HP Launches Collaborative Customer Intelligence Platform - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/hp-launches-collaborative-customer-intelligence-platform

SaaS Alerts Offers Stake in Company to MSP Partners - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/saas-alerts-offers-stake-company-msp-partners

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

SASE solutions are selling like hotcakes these days, but the reason why may surprise you. Let Matt, Rich, and guest host Angela Hogaboom, director of assessment services at managed security provider RSI, explain it to you, along with the story behind Datto shipping an Azure Continuity solution, Cytracom buying OmniNet, and Barracuda making three (count 'em) announcements in one busy day.

Then listen in as your hosts discuss Datto's latest Global State of the MSP research with Senior Vice President of Business Development Rob Rae, who as far as we know buys all his own stamps.

Subscribe to ChannelPro Weekly!

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-199-self-addressed-stamped-security

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Datto Ships Continuity Solution for Microsoft Azure - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/datto-ships-continuity-solution-microsoft-azure

Cytracom Acquires SASE Vendor OmniNet - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/cytracom-acquires-sase-vendor-omninet

Barracuda Announces New SASE, Incident Response, and Data Security Capabilities - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/barracuda-announces-new-sase-incident-response-and-data-security-capabilities

Datto Fifth Annual Global State of the MSP report - https://www.datto.com/c/state-of-the-msp-2021

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi

If you're not familiar with the Levono brand, don't worry. The same is true for pretty much everyone but this week's guest host Rayanne Buchianico, of ABC Solutions, the PSA Impact podcast, and M&A consultancy Sell My MSP. We're guessing you are familiar with Lenovo, though, and will therefore be interested to hear Rayanne, Matt, and Rich discuss that company's new as-a-service strategy and Windows 11 laptops, not to mention RMM/PSA newcomer SuperOps.ai, Zoom's surprisingly robust partner program, and the challenges of controlling Teams data sprawl.

Then comes a conversation with Karl Palachuk, executive director of the recently formed National Society of IT Service Providers, about managed services legislation and professional standards for MSPs. He doesn't endearingly mispronounce the names of any hardware makers like Rayanne's mom, but he's well worth listening to anyway.

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Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

• The National Society of IT Service Providers
• New Membership Group Aims to Influence Tech Industry Regulations
• Lenovo Makes Entire Portfolio Available as a Service Through TruScale Program
• Lenovo Unveils Windows 11 Laptops
• Startup SuperOps.ai to Add Mac and Linux Support to RMM/PSA Suite
• Zoom Is Calling
• Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead

Don't settle for the small fries, people. Real entrepreneurs, like this week's guest host, Sitima Fowler of Iconic IT, put in the work to enjoy a large fries lifestyle. You'll hear all about it on this week's show, too, along with what she, Matt, and Rich have to say about Ingram Micro's cloud revenue management tool, Pulseway's automated self-serve client portal, best practices for social media marketing, and building profitable cloud service bundles.

That's followed by a conversation with John Pagliuca, president and CEO of N-able, about what that company's recent spinoff from SolarWinds means for its partners, where it plans to invest going forward (hint: security is a big part of it), and how answering to investors (including big-time private equity firms) will influence it.

Warning: If you like french fries, you're going to be very hungry by the end of this episode.

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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582?mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFubmVscHJvd2Vla2x5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq-N3UvNHyAhVWPs0KHYdTDmkQ9sEGegQIARAF Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hWuOWbrIcwtrK6UJLSHvU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1d93194-a5f3-46d8-b625-abdc0ba032f1/ChannelPro-Weekly-Podcast More here: https://www.channelpronetwork.com/download/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast-episode-197-large-fries-mentality

Topics and Related Links Mentioned:

Sitima Fowler's Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/sitimafowler/

Ingram Micro Releases CloudBlue Rev Tool in North America - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/ingram-micro-releases-cloudblue-rev-tool-north-america

Pulseway Ships Self-Serve Customer Portal - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/pulseway-ships-self-serve-customer-portal

5 Ways to Reconnect with Your LinkedIn Audience - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/5-ways-reconnect-your-linkedin-audience

Cloud Bundles Mean Business - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/article/cloud-bundles-mean-business

N-able Completes Spinoff from SolarWinds - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/news/n-able-completes-spinoff-solarwinds

Rich's ICYMI plug and quickie preview of the week ahead - https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/icymi