Brian Sherman Posts

Among the top “buzz” words in the IT community are “cloud” and “SMB,” which is seen as no coincidence by those in the IT channel. These two terms are closely tied and both highlight key areas of opportunity for solution providers. Time has demonstrated how cloud benefits extend to businesses of every size, in every industry, but the model has been especially beneficial to small and mid-sized companies.SMB organizations often find themselves battling much larger competitors, businesses that typic ...

CompTIA member Lester Keizer is CEO of Xilocore, a Las Vegas-based business continuity and disaster recovery services company that works exclusively with the channel partner community.  A long-time advocate of CompTIA, he has contributed to a number of the association’s initiatives and groups over the years and serves as a member of  the current Board of Directors.Prior to leading the Xilocore team, Keizer was CEO of Ron Cook’s Connecting Point and oversaw the company’s transformation from a pro ...

This is the time of year when most companies are working full speed on their 2012 business plans, from setting sales and marketing objectives to estimating the upcoming operational and capital investment needs. December is also the holiday season for many, but the work never stops for solution providers and others in the IT industry. In addition to building budgets and plans for the New Year, the push is on to meet and exceed annual revenue goals before the end of the month. That’s on top of the ...

Thanksgiving serves as a great reminder of all the things we should be grateful for in our personal and professional lives, and it’s especially true in the IT field. Some of the world’s greatest minds contribute their knowledge and energy to our industry, creating the products and services that solution providers can combine with their own ingenuity to support a variety of business clients.The IT channel is a collaborative community, requiring a number of people, processes and passion to accompl ...

Managed services and the cloud are a reality that every solution provider has to deal with, whether offering them as part of their portfolio or competing against them in their markets. There is no way around it; the IT channel business model has shifted. This revelation isn’t news to solution providers, but several recent industry announcements serve to reinforce its premise, including the new cloud approach from CA. As noted in Channel Insider, the company built on physical software is making a ...

On this Veterans’ Day, we pause to remember the sacrifices and courage exhibited by the men and women who defended our country and continue to protect our freedom. The call to duty requires not only bravery, but commitment and moral obligation to their fellow soldiers and sailors. With that in mind, business ethics seemed more than appropriate for today’s topic—especially with this week’s headlines.Few things are as electrifying to the media and populace as charges of inappropriate conduct in th ...

We’ve come a long way since the early days of the channel, before the “value” was emphasized in VAR and when hardware was still a primary component of any sale. Just ten years ago, margin was one of the most important topics in any discussion with some resellers “shopping” partner programs for the best deals. The channel has undergone a significant transition over the past few years, requiring solution providers, vendors and distributors to put a new focus on the business education and training ...

At a recent industry conference, several solution providers expressed their concern that it was just too late for their companies to begin offering EMR and other healthcare-specific technologies. With so much buzz around the topic over the last two years (since the stimulus package was passed by Congress), they were convinced that the opportunities in this market had simply passed them by. But other solution providers in the room stressed that the supply of specialized services has, in no way, r ...

CompTIA member Greg VanDeWalker is the senior vice president of strategic relationships at GreatAmerica Leasing Corp., responsible for managing the company’s extensive network of OEM and national partners. He also directs the organization’s managed print services (MPS) initiative, providing education and support for solution providers looking to implement print management strategies.VanDeWalker’s passion and focus around this thriving segment of the IT channel is inspirational and he chairs the ...

Just a few short years ago, protecting a client’s data was like building a moat around a castle. A circle of security kept all the systems locked down tight, with few things accessible outside a company’s intranet. To most, that may seem to be an extremely conservative (and naïve) approach from years past, but some organizations still follow that principle for guarding their infrastructure.Of course, that strategy is a difficult one to defend in 2011. The onslaught of smart phones, tablets, netb ...