SMB Community Podcast

Topic 1: Cloud Neutrality

You've heard of Net Neutrality. This is pretty much the same thing, with the premise that access to the cloud suffers the same potential problems.

Dave's favorite quote: “It would be as though Ford, GM, and Toyota had built the Interstate Highway System using private dollars and then charged tolls to other car makers to use it.”

Ryan wonders whether the cloud has become a utility. And Karl's not sure there's actually a problem here.

Related link:
https://www.wired.com/story/we-need-to-talk-about-cloud-neutrality/

Topic 2: The List of Evil Tech Companies

A while back we looked at the most trusted brands. (Remember? The postal service came out on top.) This time we're looking at companies accused of "evil" actions, large and small.

Our two biggest observations are: 1) We could come up with more (better) examples than some of these; and 2) Some of these are just businesses pursuing their own interest.

Where do you cross the line into evil? And do you need to have evil intent to be evil, or can it be an unintended consequence?

Related link:
https://slate.com/technology/2020/01/evil-list-tech-companies-dangerous-amazon-facebook-google-palantir.html

Topic 3: Why Isn't the Adoption of New Technology Faster?

Background: Seth Robinson’s guest spot on Business of Tech: Why new technologies are not being adopted more rapidly.

Related questions include how much of the push-back is from entrenched incumbents vs. technicians who are simply not trained on the new technologies.

The never-ending lesson is to keep grabbing onto the future. That's where all the opportunity is.

Related links:
https://www.mspradio.com/podcast/mon-feb-17-2020-seth-robinson-on-emerging-technology/

https://stratechery.com/2020/the-end-of-the-beginning/

Volley is available here: https://www.blubrry.com/volley/

:-)

Had a great talk with C.J. Ezell who launched his newest business, CrossBay Digital Marketing in January. His offerings include web design/hosting, reviews, and local SEO. We also talk about working specific verticals and developing a niche.

C.J. launched his first company in 1998. Twenty-two years later, he is still starting new ventures and inspiring others to do the same. He is a frequent speaker at business building events throughout North America and has a proven track record of success in the technology services and healthcare industries. His current businesses include PointClear Networks a 2018 MSP501 Winner, The Red5Agency, and CrossBay Digital Marketing, a digital media company focused on helping small businesses grow by increasing their online presence and through the use of social media management and advertising.

Links:

Web: https://www.crossbaydigital.com Web: www.red5agency.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjezell/

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Topic 1: Performance Artists Games Google Maps

We start out a bit light hearted here - but it also shows the fragility of our systems.

A performance artist in Berlin demonstrated the fragility of the Google Maps system we all rely on by dragging 99 cell phones to fake a Google Maps traffic jam. Our spin is that this is funny but also has some lessons for all of us on big data and how pretty much anything can be gamed.

Relevant Link:

https://www.wired.com/story/99-phones-fake-google-maps-traffic-jam/

Topic 2: CompTIA Lobbying - But Are They Representing Their Members?

Listener Keith alerted us to this one. Legislation working its way through the Washington State legislature addresses the "Right to Repair." That is: Do you have the right to fix electronics even if the manufacturer would rather have you throw them away?

We tend to stay away from politics here, but this is an interesting case.

Among those giving testimony was Anna Powell, Directory of State Government at CompTIA, speaking on behalf of the large manufacturers but claiming to speak on behalf of CompTIA. We discuss whether this is appropriate, given the position of many CompTIA members who make a living fixing these devices.

We hope this will open a discussion within CompTIA about how they represent their membership. Note: All three hosts here are CompTIA members. We also note that we have not been involved in the lobbying efforts of CompTIA in the past.

Please give us your feedback!

Relevant Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/right-repair-whose-side-comptia-keith-schoolcraft/

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5799&Chamber=Senate&Year=2019

Topic 3: 3D Print buildings

. . . and then we lighten up a bit.

The race is on to 3D print larger and larger buildings. A new record has recently been set. More records are set to fall - mostly in the Middle East.

Benefits include getting construction going in places where the delivery of materials is difficult. Another benefit is that 3D printed buildings can be of designs that would be impossible with standard building techniques. In this example, a 6,900 square foot building was created with three employees.

We discuss the technology here, the opportunities we see, and the future of 3D printing as a service. We think Dave's beginning to agree with Ryan and Karl here.

https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/construction-completed-on-largest-3d-printed-building-in-the-world/

:-)

I was very pleased to catch up with Amy Babinchak - One of the new hosts for this podcast - and talk about employee training.

This podcast grew out of a series of private emails we exchanged, which grew from an unrelated topic.

Here Amy spells out how she helps employees gain knowledge on new technologies while helping to create consistent processes across all technicians. She also talks about the regular meetings they have in-house, which improve training and build culture at the same time.

As a side benefit, Amy gives lots of advice along the way that demonstrate how she has built a very successful IT service business with no office and almost zero overhead.

Links:

Check out my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThirdTier – This is my ransomware and security group. Private and on-topic always.

Subscribe to the blog: https://www.thirdtier.net/ Use the Helpdesk. We only do work for other IT pros.

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One way or another, politicians are getting into our business . . .

Just two topics this week as we spend extra time on one very big subject. A slightly different format for us, but we can't cover the first topic in ten minutes.

. . . and I think we'll return to this one again and again.

Topic 1: MSP sued over Ransomware - to the tune of $1.7 Million!

But even more importantly, our entire industry got a wake-up call as the politicians started paying attention to onslaught of ransomware attacks. We think this is big news for the industry!

https://www.channelfutures.com/security/customer-loses-1-7-million-in-phishing-scam-sues-msp

https://statescoop.com/louisiana-secretary-state-kyle-ardoin-blasts-managed-service-providers-lax-cybersecurity/

Topic 2: U.K. Allows Huawei to Build Parts of 5G Network

Does this matter? We think it does - and it affects our business as the 5G networks get rolled out. More and more we are being sucked into a world we don't control. But you can't unplug, can you?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-allows-huawei-to-build-parts-of-5g-network-11580213316

:-)

Topic 1: Record store closings in 2019 - and Amazon is buying up old malls.

Both of these trends have been going on for a couple of years. Malls are consolidating, so there are fewer of them, but the ones that survive appear to be doing well. So maybe the nature of retail is changing.

At the same time, Amazon is climbing off the screen and back into the real world.

Related Links:
https://www.golocalprov.com/business/record-retail-store-closings-in-2019-could-exceed-12000-mall-armageddon-cou

https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/05/25/amazon-turns-shopping-malls-into-warehouses-changing-americas-community-landscape/#16e7dafb65f4

Topic 2: Amazon proposes hand scan payment.

Karl thinks that this will work for a short period of time. So it's a temporary solution, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't endorse it. Dave is not so sure it's worth embracing. Ryan sees both sides.

What do you think? And how might you integrate something like this into your clients' systems?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cash-plastic-or-hand-amazon-envisions-paying-with-a-wave-11579352401

Topic 3: Two “good” stories about Artificial Intelligence

First, A group of Canadian scientists used AI to identify the spreading Corona Virus before anyone else, and they reported it to other scientists to verify that they were seeing what they think they were seeings.

Second, You can now design your own cars (like Hot Wheels) and actually have them built. This is the democratization of some very high-end engineering.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-epidemiologist-wuhan-public-health-warnings/

https://www.digitalengineering247.com/article/build-a-car-from-the-bedroom/design

Or course we're very hopeful about the future!

:-)

Topic 1: The Most trusted brand is the USPS!

First, go check out the link:

https://morningconsult.com/most-trusted-brands/

Trust is an interesting piece of brand value. It's very interesting to see who is trusted, who is not on the list at all, and how this varies by age.

The actual question is, which brands do you trust to do the right thing. We assume no one is shocked that Facebook is not on the list.

Also consider which companies you feel that you have a long-standing trust relationship with.

Topic 2: Tech training vs. traditional higher education

A recent article makes the argument that technical skills training does not replace a classic higher education. One of the key reasons is that tech skills age must faster.

The good news is: This is not and "OR" discussion. You can get a 2- or 4-year degree AND take tech training as your career progresses. Education is very broken, but fixing it is critically important.

https://hbr.org/2019/10/why-skills-training-cant-replace-higher-education

Topic 3: IT, OT, and opportuni-T

Once again Ryan beats the drum for digital twins. Here's a link to his recent blog post on the CompTIA web site:

https://www.comptia.org/blog/it-and-ot-and-utilizing-digital-twin-technology

The big question is, what are some technologies that we're not paying enough attention to? Ryan's nominee is the digital twin.

And in a bigger picture, are we going to be in the same business when we move from monitoring hundreds of devices to monitoring thousands of devices? And a related question is, how do we move from offering technical fixes to offering bigger picture consulting services?

:-)

I always like to catch up with Chip Reaves from Bigger Brains. Here we're talking about Online Training as a Service.

Chip is a 30-year IT channel veteran who has built five MSP or related businesses and sold four. He's best known as the founder and CEO of Computer Troubleshooters USA, the world's largest IT services franchise network.

In 2012 Chip created the channel's first end-user training platform for MSPs - Bigger Brains.

Chip gives us some strategies for offering training as part of your managed service bundle. It's extremely affordable. In fact, over at the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community, we have set up a way for you to get this training FREE inside your company, get a discount, and even get more than one NFR license.

Check it out now and use the code Karlsentme to get 10% off any Bigger Brains subscription. But even without that discount, you can make huge profits with this service - and educate clients on some products and features then didn't know about.

When you bring value, clients love you!

Client facing site: www.GetBiggerBrains.com

MSP Facing site: https://biggermsp.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biggerbrains

:-)

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Topic 1: Misc. Threats for 2020

What are the effects of a future in which half the world uses an “Internet” with information curated by the Chinese government and half the world uses an Internet with information 90% curated by American companies?

From a slightly different perspective this is not China and the U.S. so much as authoritarian and democratic. And the "free" part of the Internet is becoming divided between U.S. companies and European companies.

Luckily for us, Ryan has lots of hands-on experience in China and other less-than-democratic countries. He considers looking through the lenses of "information" and "transaction." And what about "propaganda" in all of these subdivisions.

. . . Or maybe there's a B2B Internet, a B2C Internet, and a C2C Internet?

Link:
https://www.eurasiagroup.net/issues/top-risks-2020

Topic 2: Is the MSP market “Saturated”?

What does that even mean? Is it possible?

Premise: Lots of opportunity and growth lead to opportunities for managed service providers. But we often hear people say that the market is saturated, and no one challenges that assertion.

We do. We think there's no support for the concept that the IT services market is saturated at any level.

Related Link:
https://www.channelpartnerinsight.com/channel-partner-insight/feature/3085036/us-state-survey-how-north-carolinas-financial-sector-boom-has-shaken-up-the-msp-space

Topic 3: Satya Nadella is worried that what we're doing won't last much longer.

We're obviously in the middle of a massive technology boom. But it does not appear to be improving the entire global economy as one would expect.

We quickly get into a discussion of the complexity of the economy. Lots of things are getting better, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying. There's clearly lots of innovation, but that doesn't guarantee specific economic benefits.

Authors:
Hans Rosling - Factfulness
Robert Gordon - Rise and Fall of American Growth

Related Links:

• https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-economic-growth-worries-2020-1
• https://winbuzzer.com/2020/01/14/microsofts-ceo-is-worried-that-tech-isnt-growing-the-economy-enough-xcxwbn/
• https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/clayton-christensen-capitalist-dilemma.html

:-)

We are loving the two way conversations! Fill out the form at https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com to give us your feedback.

Topic 1: Is the age of hardware over - or are we just beginning?

We used to count computers in thousands or millions. Now we count cameras and IOT devices in billions.

Ryan mentioned this quote recently: "Hardware eventually fails. Software eventually works." - Michael Hartung

Link for Daniel Burris: https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Foresight-How-Invisible-Impossible/dp/0061922293
(Book = Flash Foresight)

One of Burris’ rules for predicting the future is that “the physical” will disappear in favor of the virtual. At the same time, everything is always connected. Hardware seems to be everywhere, not going away. But specific devices are now disposable.

Where do you make your money? As always, there's hardware, software, and services. What's the mix that makes your business work?

Topic 2: How do we differentiate “MSPs” when there are so many kinds of MSPs?

The term "MSP" has become so generalized that it seems to be a generic term for anyone who provides any technician services. What’s the difference between someone like Accenture, versus TeamLogic (franchise), versus someone getting to National Scope (All Covered), versus someone local?

Is everyone an MSP and we just have to sort it out? How does size and reach matter?

As we hark back to Episode One, we continue to work on what MSP might mean going ahead. And what alternatives should we be using? Technology service provider? Solution provider.

What do YOU want your company to be called?

Topic 3: Unique Session - Quick interview of Dave Sobel by Karl Palachuk

Dave's latest venture is MSP Radio - see https://www.mspradio.com - and his first podcast offering is The Business of Tech. BOT is a daily (five days per week) five minute podcast. Each podcast covers three quick topics - all related to members of the technology channel.

Dave has a long history in our community. He has been an IT service provider and a vendor in the channel. So he has an interesting filter to help us all find the value in this and answer the question, "Why do we care?"

Check out his new podcast and let him know what you think.