Managed Services Journal Podcast

Over the past month, there’s been a nationwide scramble to get employees set up to work from home as remote workers. In this episode, we talk to ASCII Group member Zina Hassel, president of ZLH Enterprises, a technology management services provider and expert in Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS).

Hassel's company is a little different from a typical VAR or MSP; her company falls more on the consultant end of the spectrum. That said, any technology solution provider (TSP) can learn a lot from ZLH—especially if they don’t have expertise in UCaaS or providing Internet services. ZLH would be the kind of company with which you could consider partnering.

In this interview, Hassel shares timely advice and insights about the importance of business continuity planning and running through “if, then” scenarios to avoid being caught off guard during these unpredictable times. She also challenges TSPs to avoid the temptation of “going dark” until things get back to normal, reminding us that those who continued marketing during the 2008 recession fared much better afterward than those who didn’t.

Endpoint security was a challenge before COVID-19 and now it’s become even more so for two reasons:

We have more people working remotely than ever before, so it’s harder for IT pros to control the environment – devices being used to access corporate data, website behavior, etc.

Cybercriminals, not surprisingly, are trying to capitalize on this moment. Phishing emails have spiked by more than 600% since the end of February, according to Barracuda Networks. Additionally, the FBI recently reported a 4x increase in cybercrime during this pandemic.

To help protect yourself and your customers, XaaS Journal sat down with Jason Norton, product marketing manager at VIPRE Security. Norton shares how VIPRE’s partners are dealing with these challenges, including best practices they’re following and how VIPRE is supporting them.

Like other guests we’ve talked with during this pandemic, Norton's advice is a mixture of technology-focused best practices about staying safe and sane during these unusual times.

One tip that stands out is advising solution providers to sign up for alerts from CISA, an agency under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security that focuses on internet safety — at home, in the workplace and in the community. To sign up, visit CISA.gov and navigate to the “Join the Campaign” tab.

Another practical tip he mentions is the importance of keeping software updated — especially VPN software, which plays a vital role in enabling remote workers to connect to their business servers and applications. As we’ve seen with major exploits in the past, like the WannaCry ransomware attack a few years ago that infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, every computer had one thing in common: Their software patches were at least six months out of date. So, although the frequency of attacks is going up, cybercriminals still prefer low hanging fruit.

In this episode, we continue our series of discussions concerning the Coronavirus pandemic from the perspective of technology solution providers (TSPs). Specifically, we’ve been speaking with TSPs to hear first-hand accounts of how they’re addressing the needs of their customers and employees during these unprecedented times.

In our previous episode, we heard from Joshua Liberman, an MSP out of Albuquerque, NM who's been busy setting up his customers for remote work. We discussed the solutions he’s offering his customers and other ways he’s helping them. He also shared some great advice concerning managing his own business during these trying times. If you didn’t hear that episode, it’s definitely worth a listen.

Today, we’ve got another excellent guest in Jeremy Julian. Julian is the COO of Custom Business Solutions (CBS), based in California. CBS has been providing technology to the restaurant vertical for decades, acting as a reseller of traditional POS software and as developers of its own cloud-based suite of POS software under the NorthStar badge.

The restaurant industry is one of the most affected verticals by the Coronavirus pandemic. Some restaurants have been able to maintain basic levels of operation by offering takeout and delivery services. That’s where Julian's team has been busy helping its customers weather this storm.

This conversation is full of great anecdotes and data that anyone interested in the economy and business of technology will find valuable. Julian also discusses steps he and the CBS leadership team are taking to ensure CBS’ employees remain in a good place mentally and financially.

In today's episode, Jay and Mike discuss how MSPs are addressing the needs of their customers and employees during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Here are 5 pitfalls technology solution providers (TSPs) can avoid with their RMM-based service offering to ensure maximum success.

If you're still not sure the services business model is right for you, here are 8 compelling reasons to reconsider.

Introducing a new podcast dedicated to helping technology solution providers identify untapped sources of recurring revenue.