Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

By Doug Green

“Focus on the biggest business problem first, then ask where AI can actually improve the outcome.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Ahmed Mahmood of Ocean Solutions discusses how MSPs can use AI more strategically by starting with business problems rather than technology.

Ocean Solutions is a Washington, D.C.-area MSP serving highly regulated industries, including government contractors, nonprofits, financial services and healthcare.

Mahmood says the company works heavily around compliance requirements such as CMMC, PCI, GDPR, SOC 2 and HIPAA.

That experience shapes his view of AI.

He says many business leaders are still approaching AI as a new technology they feel obligated to adopt rather than as a tool for improving a specific business outcome.

His recommendation is to start with the problem creating the most pain.

That might mean revenue leakage, slow processes, high costs, frustrated customers or inefficient internal workflows.

Then break that problem into smaller pieces and determine where AI can help.

“Learn and walk your way up one problem at a time,” Mahmood says.

For MSPs, that approach also changes the customer conversation.

Mahmood says AI is increasingly bringing MSPs into discussions with CEOs, CFOs, COOs and boards rather than limiting them to conversations with IT staff.

That means technical expertise alone is not enough.

MSPs need to understand how customers make money, where they lose business, how they acquire customers, how they operate and what challenges are affecting growth.

Mahmood suggests using AI itself to help build that understanding.

An MSP can take its ideal customer profile, combine it with the right prompts and use AI to learn more about the economics, workflows and challenges within a customer’s industry.

That allows the MSP to enter the conversation speaking the language of the business rather than only the language of technology.

“If you’re sitting there purely technical, you’re going to become less relevant,” Mahmood says.

Ocean Solutions also operates an AI Academy offering bootcamps and training around AI and related technologies.

Visit OceanSLS.com to learn more.

By Doug Green

“Customers may be asking for AI, but MSPs also need to ask whether the network is ready for it.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Nicole Kerns of Verizon Business discusses how AI adoption, SD-WAN and multi-carrier connectivity are creating new opportunities for MSPs.

Kerns says many businesses are moving quickly to adopt AI without fully considering what those applications may do to network performance, bandwidth requirements and security.

That gives MSPs an opening to broaden the conversation.

Instead of simply helping a customer deploy an AI application, the MSP can assess whether the underlying network is prepared to support increased upload and download traffic, new security requirements and mission-critical applications.

Kerns says SD-WAN can play an increasingly important role.

Traditional failover may protect a business when a primary circuit goes down, but it may still create interruptions for services such as VoIP.

With SD-WAN, MSPs can manage traffic dynamically across multiple connections and prioritize the applications that matter most.

“Make sure your mission-critical traffic gets through first,” Kerns says.

She also points to multi-carrier connectivity as an important part of that strategy.

Combining landline and cellular connections can give businesses additional resilience when a wired connection fails or when available bandwidth is insufficient.

For MSPs, that can create an upsell opportunity.

A customer asking about AI may actually need a broader conversation about connectivity, traffic management, segmentation, security and redundancy.

Kerns also stresses that businesses should approach AI at an enterprise level, with security teams involved and employees educated about what information should and should not be shared with AI platforms.

Verizon Business works with channel partners through its resale programs, including connectivity, IoT and fixed wireless access offerings.

Visit Verizon Business to learn more about its partner and connectivity programs.

By Doug Green

“We tighten the connection between digital assets and the business operations that depend on them.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, James Lewis of SurroundNet introduces a newly launched platform designed to help MSPs and their customers better understand, manage and respond to the health of mission-critical digital assets.

SurroundNet is positioned as a Layer 1 solution that helps organizations connect technical network conditions with the business operations those systems support.

Lewis says many organizations still have a disconnect between digital infrastructure and the people relying on it every day.

That disconnect becomes especially visible during an outage.

A technical team may understand what has failed, but end users and business leaders may not know how the outage affects specific services, customers or operational priorities.

SurroundNet is designed to bridge that gap.

Rather than replacing existing network expertise, the platform helps make that expertise more accessible across the organization and gives users a clearer understanding of which assets are critical and how those assets affect business operations.

For MSPs, Lewis says that can improve communication and response during service disruptions.

The MSP and the customer can work from the same platform, helping both sides understand the condition of the affected service, its importance to the organization and whether it has truly returned to a healthy state.

That can be particularly valuable in environments where outages have immediate consequences, including healthcare and other mission-critical operations.

Lewis says the objective is to reduce the delay between a problem occurring, the customer understanding its impact and the MSP becoming fully engaged in the response.

SurroundNet is launching with plans to serve organizations across the United States and Canada.

For MSPs, Lewis sees the platform as another way to move beyond simply managing technology and become more closely connected to the operational outcomes customers depend on.

Visit SurroundNet.ai to learn more.

By Doug Green

“You need to master AI from two perspectives: how to use it, and how to make money from it.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Rick Beckers of The Channel Crew discusses the company’s new channel consultancy model and how it is helping MSPs and technology vendors grow with a combination of strategy, marketing, software and AI.

The Channel Crew brings together experienced channel strategists, software platforms and digital marketing capabilities to help vendors enter and scale within the indirect channel.

Beckers says the organization’s subject matter experts collectively represent hundreds of years of channel experience, covering areas such as CRM, PRM, marketing automation, marketplaces, M&A and business strategy.

For MSPs, the challenge is often straightforward: they are technically strong, but growth can take a back seat to the demands of running the business.

“MSPs are busy putting out fires,” Beckers says. “They weren’t necessarily trained in sales and marketing.”

The Channel Crew is designed to help fill that gap with lead generation, sales strategy, marketing execution and tools intended to help MSPs convert more business.

Beckers brings direct experience to that conversation. He has owned an MSP for more than 35 years and has watched the model evolve from break-fix to managed services and now toward AI-enabled consulting.

He believes MSPs should be looking at AI in two ways.

First, many of the tools they already use are being transformed by AI, meaning providers should reassess systems such as CRM, marketing platforms and other core business applications.

Second, MSPs need to determine how they can monetize AI.

The Channel Crew is developing a training program designed to help MSPs become AI consultants, starting with practical customer conversations and building toward a broader AI services practice.

Beckers says the goal is to help MSPs move beyond simply using AI internally and begin creating revenue around it.

The company also works with partners in areas including private equity, M&A and legal services, giving MSPs access to expertise as they grow, build equity and potentially prepare for acquisition or sale.

Visit TheChannelCrew.com to learn more.

By Doug Green

“Sales comes down to two things: be first to the customer and follow up.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Avinash Gujje, CEO and founder of Zuuz, discusses how the company is using AI to uncover sales opportunities that may be sitting unnoticed in email, calls and other customer communications.

Gujje came to the idea from his own experience running a value-added reseller, distribution and MSP business.

He says sales teams routinely lose opportunities not because customers say no, but because follow-up gets delayed, renewal conversations are missed or leads never make it into the CRM.

Zuuz is designed to address that problem.

The platform connects with a salesperson’s mailbox, identifies potential sales opportunities and compares them with what is already recorded in the CRM. It can also work with call recordings, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and other customer communication channels.

The goal is to find conversations that should have turned into pipeline but did not.

Gujje says Zuuz is launching what it calls the Zuuz Challenge, looking back across roughly 90 days of communications and comparing identified opportunities against the customer’s existing CRM.

“If Zuuz finds 60 opportunities and only 30 are in your CRM, those other 30 are what we’ve recovered,” Gujje says.

The company is pre-launch and is using MSP Summit to introduce the platform to the channel. Gujje says early testing with approximately 30 customers has identified a significant amount of potential pipeline, particularly among IT services companies, VARs and distributors where individual opportunities can be substantial.

For MSPs, Gujje sees two opportunities.

They can use Zuuz internally to improve their own sales follow-up, while also offering the platform to customers as they evolve toward what he describes as managed intelligence providers.

Deployment is designed to be straightforward. Zuuz is offered as SaaS, with an on-premises option for customers with stricter security or data governance requirements.

Gujje’s larger message is that AI should help salespeople perform better rather than simply replace them.

“Use AI to improve your sales,” he says. “Use AI to become a better salesperson.”

Visit Zuuz.ai to learn more.

By Doug Green

“The most important thing in a services business is the people.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Jonathan Bohrer, Global President of Abacus, discusses the changing MSP mergers and acquisitions market, what makes an acquisition work and why culture remains as important as financial performance.

Abacus is an MSP focused on highly regulated industries, particularly financial services and healthcare. Its services span core IT and infrastructure, cybersecurity, penetration testing, incident response, vulnerability assessment and AI enablement and governance.

Bohrer brings an unusual perspective to M&A.

He was an early employee at Abacus when the company was much smaller, has experienced selling a business himself and is now on the other side of the table acquiring MSPs.

Abacus has completed 15 acquisitions over roughly 15 years and has grown to nearly 1,000 employees.

For Bohrer, successful acquisitions start with culture.

“When I’m sitting down with a seller and the first thing they ask is, ‘What happens to my people?’ that tells me something,” he says. “If the second question is about the customers, I know we probably have something good.”

Abacus follows a full post-merger integration model.

Rather than maintaining a collection of separate MSP brands, acquired companies become part of one Abacus organization. Bohrer says that gives employees greater access to opportunities across the business while allowing the company to share best practices more effectively.

He argues that good financial performance and strong culture are also closely connected.

Employee engagement affects customer experience. Customer experience affects retention. And retention ultimately shows up in the same financial metrics buyers examine during an acquisition.

Bohrer is also optimistic about AI.

Rather than viewing it as a threat to MSPs, he sees it as another technology shift that can help providers deliver better customer outcomes with greater speed and efficiency.

“AI is an opportunity,” Bohrer says. “It allows us to do what we already do better, faster and more accurately.”

His message to MSP owners considering an eventual sale is that valuation may start with numbers, but the quality of the business still comes down to its people, customers and culture.

Visit AbacusTechnology.com to learn more.

By Doug Green

“2027 is already here.”

MSPs are entering a period of greater accountability, where technical expertise alone may no longer be enough. In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Charlene Ignacio of Fornix explains why compliance, cybersecurity insurance, breach planning and stronger business processes are becoming essential parts of the MSP model.

Fornix works with MSPs, MSSPs and channel vendors to help build stronger relationships and identify new growth opportunities.

At MSP Summit, the company is also hosting its MSP Village, bringing together vendors and service providers in one shared space designed to encourage direct conversations between the channel and the companies supporting it.

Ignacio says the MSP lifecycle has changed dramatically.

Many MSP owners began as what she calls “accidental entrepreneurs” — technologists who left corporate jobs, started businesses and then had to learn sales, marketing, finance, operations and compliance along the way.

That model is becoming more difficult to sustain.

“Being a business owner and being a technician have to get aligned,” Ignacio says.

Compliance requirements, cybersecurity insurance, breach response planning and customer expectations are all increasing the level of accountability placed on MSPs.

Ignacio argues that MSPs can no longer rely on informal processes or assume customers will overlook gaps in governance.

“The Wild Wild West is going away,” she says.

As security incidents increase and customers become more aware of risk, MSPs are increasingly expected to demonstrate that they have documented processes, appropriate controls and a clear plan for what happens when either the MSP or its customer experiences a breach.

That creates both pressure and opportunity.

MSPs that invest in the business side of their operations — including compliance, vendor selection, documentation and risk management — can position themselves as more mature and trusted providers.

Ignacio will expand on those themes during her MSP Summit session on the MSP lifecycle, bringing MSPs and vendors together to discuss what partners should be preparing for as they move into 2027.

Visit Fornix to learn more about its channel programs and MSP community initiatives.

By Doug Green

“Don’t keep all of your data in one location.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit in Orlando, Nazar Freeny, CEO of Amanah Tech, discusses the growing demand for Canadian data center capacity, data sovereignty and alternatives to putting every workload into the public cloud.

Amanah Tech is a Toronto-based IT and data center services provider operating from 151 Front Street West, one of Canada’s most important connectivity and data center locations.

The company provides colocation and dedicated server services for businesses, MSPs and service providers supporting AI and other data-intensive applications.

Freeny says AI is helping drive renewed attention toward physical infrastructure.

Autonomous systems, AI applications and other emerging technologies generate enormous amounts of data, creating new requirements around storage, compute, connectivity and proximity.

For U.S.-based MSPs serving Canadian customers, data location is also becoming a bigger consideration.

Freeny says many Canadian organizations increasingly want their information hosted inside Canada, creating an opportunity for MSPs to establish a Canadian infrastructure presence without having to build their own facilities.

That fits into a broader shift he sees away from automatically putting every workload into a hyperscale public cloud.

Public cloud remains important, but Freeny says customers are increasingly looking at cost, control, security and the ability to determine exactly where their data resides.

That can lead toward hybrid environments combining cloud services with dedicated infrastructure or colocation.

With colocation, customers bring their own hardware while Amanah Tech supplies secure space, power and connectivity. With dedicated servers, Amanah Tech provides the equipment and infrastructure for the customer.

For MSPs, Freeny says geographic diversification can also become part of the infrastructure strategy.

Rather than depending entirely on a single country, provider or cloud environment, partners can give customers additional choices around where workloads and data are located.

His message to MSPs is straightforward: diversify.

“Politics change. Business dynamics change,” Freeny says. “Always try to diversify your presence and your opportunities.”

Visit Amanah.com to learn more.

By Doug Green

“The benefits we receive from Snom are benefits we can pass directly through to our MSP partners.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit in Orlando, Uriel Martinez of GreenLink Networks discusses the company’s new partnership with Snom and how the expanded hardware portfolio can create new options for MSPs serving retail, healthcare and hybrid-work customers.

GreenLink Networks is a channel-focused VoIP provider that has served MSPs since 2014. The company also provides SIP trunking for partners using platforms such as 3CX.

Martinez says GreenLink has historically remained hardware agnostic, but the company saw an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with Snom because of its product range, support and partner benefits.

One key advantage is Snom’s three-year warranty on devices, which GreenLink can extend to its MSP partners and their customers.

The company is particularly interested in Snom’s M-Series DECT portfolio.

Martinez says the ability to deploy both cordless handsets and DECT desk phones from the same base station can be especially valuable in environments where running new network cabling is expensive or impractical.

That can include medical offices, retail locations and older buildings where brick or block construction can make cabling projects difficult.

GreenLink is also testing a broader selection of Snom SIP endpoints, including desk phones and headsets.

Headsets are becoming increasingly important as customers move between offices, home environments and mobile applications.

Martinez says a high-quality communications platform still depends on the quality of the endpoint.

“You can have great service, but if the customer is using a poor headset, the experience is still going to be poor,” he says.

For MSPs, the larger GreenLink value proposition remains its channel-only approach.

Martinez says the company was originally created by an MSP and understands the challenges smaller providers can face when dealing with large carriers.

Whether the partner is a small MSP or a larger organization operating across multiple locations, GreenLink’s goal is to provide the same level of attention and support.

GreenLink and Snom are jointly exhibiting at MSP Summit as they introduce the partnership to the channel.

Visit GreenLinkNetworks.com to learn more.

By Doug Green

“We help keep the bad guys out all day, every day, 24/7.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at MSP Summit, Josh Bergen of CallTek is joined by Jason S., “The Beekeeper,” for a lighthearted conversation about a serious subject: helping MSPs protect customers, support users and keep critical systems running.

CallTek provides white-label IT support for MSPs, with teams in Kenya and the Philippines supporting customers in the U.S. The company offers Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 technical support, along with NOC and SOC capabilities.

The “Beekeeper” theme is a tongue-in-cheek reference to dealing with cyber criminals when everything else fails.

The real work, Bergen says, is about making sure things never reach that point.

CallTek works behind the scenes for MSPs, using many of the cybersecurity, endpoint and monitoring tools already familiar to the channel. That can include EDR, SIEM, antivirus, web filtering and other technologies selected by the MSP.

“We don’t resell the software,” Bergen says. “We help operate and support it.”

That model allows MSPs to expand their technical capabilities without having to build every layer of support internally.

CallTek says it currently works with roughly 100 MSP customers in the U.S. and has a significant presence in hospitality, including support for hotel Wi-Fi environments.

The company also works in verticals including nursing homes, multifamily housing, senior living and healthcare.

Those environments raise the stakes considerably.

Keeping a hotel network running is important, but in healthcare and senior living, Bergen notes that technology can also connect to systems supporting patient monitoring and other critical functions.

For MSPs, the value proposition is straightforward: add operational depth, extend support coverage and strengthen security without losing the customer-facing relationship.

And if all else fails?

That is where “Tier 6 support” and the Beekeeper joke come in.

Visit CallTekInc.com to learn more.