ARTICLES BY BERNADETTE WILSON

• How Tigerpaw Helps Users Keep Payment Card Data Secure

  2/3/2016

  When Tigerpaw Software announced new features at its most recent partner conference, included among the news was that Tigerpaw would no longer store credit card data inside of the Tigerpaw database. CEO James Foxall explains why this move will help Tigerpaw’s IT solution partners keep data secure.   

• Solutions Providers: Consider What You Learned From The Past When You Set Your Course For 2016

  1/20/2016

  Looking back at 2015, there were a lot of changes — and challenges — in the IT channel. Consider the advice from these leaders at IT channel companies who offer advice on how to approach 2016, keeping in mind lessons learned last year in areas including channel consolidation, cybersecurity, and storage and data.

• Ransomware Prevention Kit Available For Donation To Support Women In IT

  1/15/2016

  Third Tier has released a new ransomware prevention kit intended to provide solutions providers with information and techniques that you need to build their own solutions for each client you serve. The kit takes the “onion layer” approach, providing about a dozen different ideas for protecting different aspects of your clients’ networks.

• Should You Offer Threat Intelligence Solutions As A Part Of An Overall Security Strategy?

  1/14/2016

  In the current risk climate, protecting your IT clients’ networks and data should involve much more than just antivirus. Including threat intelligence solutions as a part of a security strategy can be of benefit to your clients —  as well as to your solutions provider business.

• Is 2016 The Year The Channel Gets Into The “Data Business”?

  1/6/2016

  Regardless of technology or vertical, there was a common theme in predictions for 2016: data.  Your clients are faced with collecting, managing, analyzing, interpreting, protecting — and even figuring out ownership — of vast amounts of data, and they are going to turn to you for help.

• MSP Moves Medical Billing Company From 26 Servers To Cloud, Virtualization

  12/11/2015

  A managed services provider (MSP) works with a medical billing company to upgrade from servers to a private cloud and virtualization.  

• Per Device, Per User, User-Centric: How Successful MSPs Price Their Offerings

  11/24/2015

  Is it best to price your managed services offerings per device, per user — or using a different model? At Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference, powered by Business Solutions, members of the managed services provider (MSP) panel Greg Zolkos, CEO of Atlas Professional Services, Jason Etheridge, president and CEO of Logic Speak, and Tom Clancy, co-founder of Valiant Technology, told which pricing models their companies use and why.

• Arrayworks Launches Low-Code Business Management Platform

  11/18/2015

  Business management solutions company Arrayworks held its public unveiling today. Combining customer relationship management (CRM), business process management (BPM) and project management features, the platform provides solutions tailored to each organization’s brand and culture — without requiring a custom application. It can be deployed on premises or in the cloud with no limits on bandwidth and accessed from any device. 

• How Important Is RMM To A Managed Services Provider?

  11/17/2015

  Managed services provider (MSP) Logic Speak managed 1,250 endpoints — and that number almost doubled after the acquisition of another company. President and CEO Jason Etheridge said his company couldn’t accomplish this without remote monitoring and management (RMM). “It would be impossible to do our jobs efficiently — which is the key to managed services,” he explained.

• Channel Transitions: The Makings Of A Great MSP Product

  11/12/2015

  To successfully design managed services offerings, your products should reflect what makes you unique as a managed services provider (MSP) — your technical expertise, the capabilities you have that your competitors don’t, and vertical specializations. David Wilkeson, CEO of MSP Advisor, stressed the importance of differentiating your MSP during his keynote “Successful MSP Product Design” at Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference, powered by Business Solutions, on November 5 at the DoubleTree Orlando Airport.

• Podcast: Insights On The Managed Services Business Model

  11/10/2015

  To open the Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference, powered by Business Solutions, on November 5 at the DoubleTree Orlando Airport, Jim Roddy, president of Business Solutions, asked editor in chief Mike Monocello to share his insights on the managed services business model. Monocello, who has more than 12 years of channel experience, discussed trends, common mistakes he sees managed services providers (MSPs) make, and benefits of the as-a-Service business model.

• Why Football Can Remind Solutions Providers There Are IoT Opportunities Out There

  10/28/2015

  The Internet of Things (IoT) is offering opportunities for managed services providers (MSPs), VARs, and integrators to provide solutions and services. If you need to be convinced, see the real-time player stats that appear at the bottom of your screen during an NFL game.

• Skyhigh Networks Registry Eliminates CSP Comparison Guesswork

  10/21/2015

  Evaluating comparable solutions to find the best fit can be difficult and time consuming — and the cloud services are no exception. To help evaluate the options, Skyhigh Networks has instituted its CloudTrust Program. This program examines cloud services based on criteria developed in cooperation with the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).

• Employee Security Training Could Open Doors To Risk Assessment, Network Security Sales

  10/13/2015

  Selling network security solutions to SMBs can be a challenge. Owners of small to midsize businesses could believe they are too small to be a target of cyberattack or that their data would be of no interest to criminals so there is no need to protect their systems. Art Gross, CEO of Breach Secure Now!, which launched new, unlimited security training, says when SMBs are in denial about their cyberattack risk, it’s hard for them to understand the importance of policies and firewalls — but they do understand employee training.

• How To Answer Some Common Customer Objections To Managed Services

  10/12/2015

  Karl Palachuk, keynote speaker at Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference, powered by Business Solutions on Sept. 24 at the DoubleTree Chicago-Downers Grove, joined the panel discussion at the event and shared advice for overcoming some customer objections to managed services.