Brian Sherman Posts

It’s not always easy for solution providers to get the training they need, between logistics challenges and scheduling conflicts that need to be resolved in order to participate in remote locations. The time required for travel and class instruction can wreak havoc on a company’s operations, since their clients’ support needs are rarely constant. Even the largest VARs and MSPs run into scheduling conflicts when attempting to balance training needs with the normal work load and emergency issues.T ...

While the old adage claiming that people use only about 10 percent of their brain has been disputed by a number of neurologists, most of them admit that man still uses just a fraction of its true capacity. Few really tap into the potential intellectual power they have available.You don’t have to be the next Einstein or Da Vinci to see the parallel to managed services tools. A couple of the keynotes from this week’s Tigerpaw User Conference emphasized the need for solution providers to create gre ...

With the current buzz surrounding cloud, mobility computing and other transformative technologies, a key group of players within the IT channel seems to be taking a back seat. Despite the shift in technology business models and continued infringement from consumer electronics, distribution is still a crucial element of most solution providers’ businesses. And it will likely remain that way for quite some time, but its role is in a state of transition. Another sign of that transformation could be ...

CompTIA member Frank Raimondi recently was named World Wide Channel Alliance Manager for Intel, returning after several years of innovation with other channel organizations. His resume is long on experience, including his previous roles at Intel and serving as a vice president with SYNNEX, as well as CEO of NASBA (The Association of Channel Resellers).Raimondi also has been an active member in CompTIA during that time, helping forge a number of initiatives with the IT Services and Support Commun ...

With the premature passing of Steve Jobs, the tributes quickly filled the airways and social media sites. Many highlighted the technology that Apple introduced over the years, from the original Macintosh to the latest iPhone. But overall, many of the posts missed the real innovation that their founder brought to the world: a quality user experience.While Jobs and his partners were instrumental in introducing personal computers to the masses, the company eventually went in a much different direct ...

CompTIA member Linda Lynch is president and co-owner of the KI Technology Group, an East Lansing, Mich.-based technology consulting organization. She has been an advocate of the channel, a mentor to many in the IT community and was appointed to the CompTIA Board of Directors in January this year.As if Lynch wasn’t busy enough building and leading a successful technology consulting firm, she’s also been extremely active in her neighborhood. She serves on the board of Capital Area United Way, is a ...

The week is full of mobility news, from the latest iPhone launch date to the upcoming rollout of Amazon’s new tablet. But why is there so much fascination for solution providers and channel vendors? On the surface, the biggest opportunities seem to be in the sale of the consumer products, getting the latest devices and cool apps in the hands of millions of adoring fans.This basically breaks down into two camps, the Apple enthusiasts and the fans of everything else. That’s not a slam on the compa ...

CompTIA member Scott Barlow is vice president of sales and product management for Reflexion Networks Inc, a hosted email service vendor headquartered in Woburn, Mass. As a contributor and leader of several CompTIA Communities over the years, he brings a wealth of knowledge and extensive partner program experience to CompTIA's initiatives for advancing the IT industry. Barlow understands the solution provider business model and enthusiastically promotes programs he believes will benefit not only ...

Earlier this week, Facebook made one of the most costly mistakes a business can make—forgetting who its audience is. Whether the company was hoping to emulate the information stream of Google +, or just following their own unique direction, the changes they made to the popular social media site could prove to be a major misstep. With a streaming newsfeed and subscriber options that Facebook added in one fell swoop (with no notice ahead of time), it was a bit overwhelming for many of its members. ...

CompTIA member Andrew (Andy) Harper is CEO of Gaeltek LLC, a managed IT services provider organization based in Manassas Park, Va. Founded in 2004, the full-service IT consulting firm supports a large number of business clients in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and throughout the U.S. Andrew has been a contributor to several key industry projects over the years and is currently a member and proponent of the CompTIA MSP Partners Community.Andy has a rather unusual story to tell relating to ...