Guest Contributors

1. Myth Buster: Data Fatigue Is Not Real! 2/14/2020

   The noise is real. Of that, we can agree. It started way back in history – whoops, wrong topic (shout out to all of you who know that lyric). Basic packet captures – the final arbiter of proof, started all this and has continued nonstop until this very day. Every security analyst worth his/her salt asks for the packet captures. Why do we have all this data? Do we need it all? With IOT today, my toaster can tell me how many toast points I have burned since 2019. Do we care? Should we care? To be honest, I’m not sure I want folks to know I struggle getting my toast just right :).

2. MSP Industry Trends To Watch For In 2020 1/29/2020

   Yes, it’s another one of these forward-looking new year posts. But we’re extremely confident ours will prove to be more accurate than the rest. In 2019 there were 3 notable trends that give indication of what can be expected in the coming year.

3. 12 Things To Cover In Your Managed Services Agreements 1/27/2020

   Have you ever opened up a product with ‘some assembly required’ that failed to include instructions (or included them, but only in a language you don’t understand)? So frustrating. Sadly, many clients feel the same way about their managed services agreements.

4. 5 Reasons Why Risk Assessments Should Be A Consistent Part Of Your Operational Strategy 1/17/2020

   As your business evolves, the factors that pose security risks are everchanging—which means your defense strategy can rapidly become outdated and ineffective. Risk assessments provide a snapshot of the internal and external factors that threaten your business—and your customers—at a given point in time. Since risk factors are volatile, managed service providers (MSPs) need to perform security risk assessments on a regular basis to stay on top of threats as they emerge or evolve.

5. The Math Behind Successful As-A-Service: Understanding And Calculating Churn 1/17/2020

   Sometimes referred to as attrition or turnover, churn is your number of customers at the beginning of a period minus your number of customers at the end. It calculates the overall difference but excludes any new sales over that period. Customer churn can include cancellations, non-renewals, or customers switching to another provider.

6. Optimize Your Tech Stack To Achieve Unprecedented Success In 2020 1/17/2020

   With 2020 on the horizon, it’s time to prepare in every way possible to set your business up for success in the coming year. And in today’s world, driving improvement at scale is all about leveraging the best technology available—whether that means refining, updating, or completely revamping your technology stack.

7. Enhancing Network Security Through Visibility 1/17/2020

   As a technology services provider (TSP), your customers have put their trust in you–the expert– when it comes to managing and securing their network. And considering the increasing rise of B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications as the critical driver in business, the network is integral in the day-to-day life of your customers’ businesses.

8. Foresight Is 2020: Predictions For The Coming Year 1/6/2020

   January brings with it new hope and new energy, but before you chart a course for the year, it’s always good to see which way the winds are blowing.

9. How To: Naming Conventions For Documentation 1/6/2020

   Consistent naming conventions are crucial to getting the most out of your documentation. With strong naming conventions, you’ll be able to find documents efficiently, avoid creating duplicate documents, and easily understand the contents of a document without having to click into it. It’s important to get naming conventions correct early on to avoid having to go back and update a bunch of documents later. Remember, naming conventions are all about utility; once the system is learned, anybody should be able to interpret the document name accurately.

10. How To Develop A Team That Can Self Serve 1/6/2020

    When your team is operating like a finely-tuned machine, with little intervention on your part, you’re positioned for growth. Your leadership team - from the CEO down to the senior techs - have more time to focus on growth activities when the rest of the team is running itself. But it’s easier to say than to do, so let’s go over a few pointers on how to get your team to a point where they self-serve.