Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
The repeat artists are at it again. Have we really lost our ability as a technology community to use our own voices? For some in the managed services community this is an immediate yes. Electing for the canned items that many use however for the highly successful, originality still wins in the end.
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
With each new tech innovation that hits the market, a new niche skill set is created that professionals in the IT channel must scramble to learn. Over the last few years, tablets, the cloud and mobile applications have fallen into this category. But there is another innovation that has hit the market and is changing enterprise IT hiring: big data.
Recently, icrunchdata released the results of what it calls the first ever index that tracks job statistics and job trends in "hyper growth niche" categories. According to the numbers, big data and analytics will lead the way, producing 4 million new jobs globally by 2015. Over the last three years, the company has seen a 63 percent jump in big data positions and there are currently 600,000 jobs in the market.
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
I’ve heard many MSP’s (managed service providers) reveal that they’re unsure as to whether or not they’re operating efficiently. Are they staffing their company adequately? Which clients are making them money and which are costing them? Why is it that their company is twice the size it was years ago, but they’re not making any more money?
Thanks to my good friend Michael Kraner at MSP CFO for sharing this information with me.
Many MSPs are good at helping their clients manage their systems, yet they’re unsure if they’re managing their own company as they should. What’s the answer? Metrics called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
The IT jobs market, like the rest of the economy, is in a state of flux. While the April jobs report from the Department of Labor was considered positive, in early May it was reported that there were 3.8 million open positions, despite 11 million people looking for work. With technology ever-evolving and the needs of the IT channel shifting just as quickly, IT Principals are having a difficult time landing the impactful talent they need to answer the day's challenges.
Karl Palachuk / Karl Palachuk
May 21, 2013
Hello.
Thank you for your support! Over the last seven years I have been grateful to have the support of so many people in the SMB Community.
Hundreds of you have contacted me and thanked me for my SOP Friday Series (www.sopfriday.com). I’m told that people are downloading them all, hyperlinking to them in their training materials, adding links to their SharePoint, etc.
Companies of all sizes are using these materials to improve their businesses.
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Williamsville, NY May 2013– Google Adwords offers IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) a wealth of new business opportunities, and for many, generates serious recurring revenues. However, for the many who have found success, others have spent thousands of dollars on Adwords with no results. These MSPs must learn how to use Google Adwords effectively.
Ulistic is offering affordable Google Adwords Training for MSPs just in time for the Q3 and Q4 push.
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
With the way that technology is becoming intertwined with daily business operations, the need for proper security protocols continues to grow. While it may seem like only a small handful of cyber criminals are able to really do damage with a computer, a recent heist of $45 million shows that is far from the case.
The incident happened in December 2012 but is just coming to light now. The global scheme saw a couple of hackers breach an Indian pre-paid credit card system. Once inside, they raised the withdrawal limits on five specific accounts and a second group used the cards to hit 2,904 ATMs across the globe and take out the cash in a matter of hours. MasterCard contacted the U.S. Secret Service after it noticed the 4,500 transactions that took place at the ATMs.
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Williamsville, NY May 2013–With more IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) entering the marketplace, established MSPs are facing slowing sales and growth; some are even going out of business. This is due to the fact that many don’t market themselves effectively, or at all.
In years past, MSPs could grow their business through word-of-mouth referrals. With an abundance of new MSPs selling services today, this is no longer the case. The competition is fierce. Today, marketing is the lifeline for MSPs.
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
With the skills gap a growing concern for all businesses, many companies have started turning toward VARs and MSPs as a way to answer technology challenges. However, the lack of quality IT professionals is affecting every industry, and IT solution providers are no different.
Recently, SearchITChannel released the results of a survey of IT solution providers. According to respondents, recruiting skilled professionals was among the top five challenges that companies are facing.
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Have you ever read something that just stopped you dead in your tracks? This one surely will: It’s an article entitled “How to Start a Consulting Business,” found on Entrepreneur.com. The following quote contained in the article has caused a lot of concern:
“A consultant’s job is to consult—nothing more, nothing less. It’s that simple. There’s no magic formula or secret that makes one consultant more successful than another one.”
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Guest Blogger – Carl Fransen, CTECH Consulting Group. This was an amazing article…I just had to share it. Carl really hits a homerun here. What are you providing – IT Support or IT Service?
Most all IT companies provide IT support services, but do they actually provide IT Service? These terms are often used interchangeably, but in reality they’re not the same at all.
IT support is just that; you call up and receive support for a particular problem. Some IT firms may have sophisticated monitoring systems; they may even provide 24/7- support and a one set fee per month. But are they really providing the IT Service you need?
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Download all the slides and information from our San Francisco Managed Services Workshop. Enter your email below and you will have a download to all slides emailed to you within 1 hour.
Online Form – SFO MSP Event Slides
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VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
The IT skills gap is a real concern that the IT channel is facing head-on. With technology evolving at a breakneck pace and playing a more substantial role in the business sector, more IT Principals are feeling the pressure of finding impactful talent.
According to the results of a CompTIA survey, more than 75 percent of businesses said technology is important or very important to their success, and the majority are planning increases to their IT budgets. On top of that, 40 percent are planning to increase the sizes of their IT staffs in 2013.
Karl Palachuk / Karl Palachuk
This is a time to be particularly careful about money. One of the best policies you can put in place is that ALL work – 100% of everything – must be paid in advance once a client gives notice. After all, once the relationship is over, there’s not as much motivation to pay in a timely manner. Collect a small block of prepaid labor and plan to rebate the unused portion when all the work is complete.
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
Guest blogger: Blake Schwank, Colorado Computer Support, CEO
Last week I met with a potential client. They were paying about half of the normal rate for IT services from a low cost provider in Colorado Springs – and complaining that a building in the network was offline for three weeks and a PC took over two weeks to get repaired. I also have a friend who has an MSP who charges top dollar for a higher level of service. We sometimes lament together about tech companies who charge half or less than the industry norm.
Karl Palachuk / Karl Palachuk
Thanks for the Interview, Regina.
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Posted by Regina Ciardiello on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 at http://www.smbnation.com/content/news/entry/intel-gives-the-axe-to-hybrid-cloud-appup-small-business-software-service
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
"One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch."
It's a popular phrase that refers to one person or thing that can ruin an entire group. At some point in our lives, we have all experienced a "bad apple." Within an office setting, one negative employee can bring down productivity and have a pervasive effect on the feelings of everyone around him or her. A new report shows that one wrong hire could be extremely costly.
According to a study by Harris Interactive and CareerBuilder, 27 percent of U.S. employers reported that a single bad hire can cost more than $50,000. On top of that, companies also reported a negative effect on productivity (36 percent), employee morale (32 percent) and client relations (18 percent), as well as fewer sales (10 percent).
Stuart R. Crawford / Stuart Crawford
It can be hard work for the average MSP sales professional to schedule meetings with prospects; you must get through the gauntlet of gatekeepers, voicemail and messages that are never returned. Once you’re able to finally schedule an appointment, it’s essential that you’re properly prepared or all your efforts will be wasted.
How Do You Properly Prepare for an Appointment?
The preparation process begins before you actually schedule the appointment; when you’re targeting your prospects, doing research and identifying market segments that are suited for your product and/or services. Once you’ve got a target prospect in mind, you should develop two groups of questions to ask them during the phone conversation.
VAR_Staffing / VAR Staffing
"Know thy enemy" is part of a famous quote from Sun Tzu in "The Art of War." The famous Chinese book has been used by military leaders and corporate executives alike to inspire battle tactics and competitive business strategies for hundreds of years. Now, the text, and that quote can be used to look at the IT channel and cyber security.
While companies need to be ready for attacks from the outside, they also need to make sure they understand the larger threat: their own employees. This does not mean that every worker is looking to steal business secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. In many cases, there is no malicious intent, but rather just employees trying to get a task done and going around security protocols to do it.
Karl Palachuk / Karl Palachuk
I think most people were expecting Windows 8 Service Pack One after a year. Then the “Blue” project was created to help people see that Microsoft was going to make feature changes to the next version of Windows 8. So instead of a service pack, it will be a (minor) version update.
