Carolyn and Seth talk about the rise in interest around outcome-based pricing as companies come to grips with the new realities of technology budgets. As firms move further away from a tactical cost center mindset around technology, they are finding their investments growing and exploring shifts away from traditional models of subscriptions or costs per user. End user firms are pushing vendors and technology providers to consider outcome-based pricing, but there are serious complications around defining the exact contribution of technology to business outcomes and the liability of third parties dependent on end user behavior.

Carolyn and Seth welcome Marisol Angelini to the podcast to discuss digital transformation. Marisol is a former executive of Coca Cola who now advises boards of various companies, and she suggests that digital transformation is really business transformation, since the technology is changing the way businesses operates. She shares how digital initiatives thrive best with the support of upper management to learn from new activity, and the group talks through four components of digital transformation: cloud-based infrastructure, software-defined processes, data-driven decisions, and cybersecurity-aware operations.

Carolyn and Seth talk about the changes taking place in IT channel M&A activity. As the channel has grown, there are fewer purchases of micro-sized MSPs and more mega mergers. At the same time, the IT ecosystem has expanded to include a wider variety of business models, and there may be larger firms trying to diversify their portfolio by making strategic acquisitions. A standard MSP on the smaller side may not have the same exit opportunities that existed 10 years ago, but a strong grasp of financials and a balanced plan with several options can help business owners achieve personal goals around selling.

Carolyn and Seth welcome MJ Shoer, CompTIA's Chief Community Officer, to give a preview of this year's ChannelCon event. Held jointly with CompTIA's Partner Summit, the two events bring together all of CompTIA's audiences to discuss the latest trends in technology and workforce development. The theme for this year's ChannelCon is Build the Impossible, and attendees will have the chance to network and have business conversations considering topics such as AI and cybersecurity. ChannelCon and Partner Summit will be held August 1-3 at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

www.channelcon.com

https://connect.comptia.org/partnersummit/

Carolyn and Seth welcome Ken Sardoni, CompTIA's Senior Vice President of Learning Programs, to talk about the field of data. Companies have had digital data for a long time, but for most of that time only the largest companies had any sort of formal management. Recently, companies of all sizes are using cloud tools and new data structures to more effectively manage and analyze their data for competitive advantage. The group talks about the different data career options on two different pathways: manage and interpret.

Carolyn and Seth take a look at the supply and demand of tech workforce skills, using data from two of CompTIA's recent studies, State of the Tech Workforce and Workforce & Learning Trends. From the demand side, tech jobs are expected to continue outpacing the general growth of the labor market in the U.S., with data and cybersecurity leading the way. From the supply side, T-shaped skills are becoming increasingly important to employers, meaning that job seekers will need to concentrate on both technical depth in specialized areas along with technical breadth and durable skills.

State of the Tech Workforce: https://www.cyberstates.org/

Workforce & Learning Trends: https://www.comptia.org/content/research/workforce-and-learning-trends-2023/

Carolyn and Seth do a deep dive on the upcoming State of the Channel report from CompTIA research. While the overall technology ecosystem is growing and adding new firms with new services, there is still a segment of businesses performing traditional channel activities. These companies are still seeing strong profits, though part of that comes from cost-cutting measures taken over the past year. Both traditional firms and evolving organizations are focused more than ever before on customer experience, which could include education on technology trends for customers curious about new opportunities. Look for the full State of the Channel report on comptia.org in early May.

The Career Spotlight segment features Eduardo, a cybersecurity professional who highlights the high salary potential of technology careers.

Carolyn and Seth start a two-part series giving a preview of the upcoming State of the Channel report. In this episode, they welcome John Harden, senior product manager for SaaS at Auvik. John talks about the changing ecosystem of vendors and competitors in the IT channel, driven by the explosion of choice and the shift away from infrastructure and toward business solutions. Both customer experience and partner experience are becoming critical for solution providers as the focus of IT moves further away from a product-centric mindset.

In Career Spotlight, Ryan Anastasia talks about the need for technical specialists to also focus on business implications.

Carolyn and Seth talk with CompTIA Chief Innovation Officer Nate Garner about the latest trends in software development. There are far more companies performing software development than there were in the days of packaged software, and there are many challenges in building a efficient software practice. As businesses work on assembling the right skills and changing organizational behavior, they can leverage software for improved automation and customization.

The Career Spotlight segment focuses on Daniel, who is starting a tech career as an IT support specialist. Increasingly, IT support is becoming an entry point on a pathway to software development or DevOps.

Carolyn and Seth give a recap of CompTIA's Communities and Councils Forum that took place in Chicago this week. The event provided networking opportunities for CompTIA's members and also re-introduced the Cybersecurity Trustmark along with recognizing some of CompTIA's most engaged members with Spotlight Awards. The content at the event was driven by research, and Carolyn and Seth go through the four areas they outlined in CCF's kickoff session: channel, cybersecurity, workforce, and digital transformation.