Brian Sherman Posts

One of the best ways to meet new channel partners and create beneficial business relationships has always been through the face-to-face connections at industry events. Regardless of your place in the IT channel ecosystem, connecting one-on-one with other industry contributors helps you better understand the issues others are facing and discuss ways to take advantage of the latest opportunities. In addition to these strategy sessions, events typically provide educational and/or training sessions ...

Whether you’re listening intently to the federal debt ceiling and budget discussions or not keeping up at all with the debate, what happens in Washington, D.C., over the next week could have a major impact on the channel. If no deal is reached by August 2nd (coincidentally, day two of CompTIA Breakaway, the other big event in the nation’s capital), experts say the federal government will be forced to default on some of its loans or at least reduce payments significantly to some companies or indi ...

After investing the time and energy to achieve your CompTIA certification goals, would you sit back and wait for new clients to knock on your door? Of course not! Most solution providers want to leverage their new skills and use this recognition to improve their revenue and industry standing— but what’s the best way to accomplish that objective?One proven method is to take an additional step and get your CompTIA Authorized Service Center (ASC) credential, which will not only validate your organi ...

Despite our transition to a credit and electronic payment-based economy, when determining the strength of your business, cash is still king. The effective management of money, particularly the amount of currency you have on hand at critical points in time, is essential to all organizations and their growth plans. Without the proper amount of cash available, it can get dicey when trying to meet your payroll and current expense obligations in a busy month when you have a significant increase in ma ...

Earlier this week, health insurer WellPoint, Inc. agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit in which the company was accused of failure to properly notify officials that a security breach occurred. According to the Indiana Attorney General’s office (which filed the suit), social security numbers, financial information and health records for as many as 32,051 people were potentially accessible through an unsecured website over a five month period starting in late 2009. As specified in India ...

Earlier this week, health insurer WellPoint, Inc. agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit in which the company was accused of failure to properly notify officials that a security breach occurred. According to the Indiana Attorney General's office (which filed the suit), social security numbers, financial information and health records for as many as 32,051 people were potentially accessible through an unsecured website over a five month period starting in late 2009. As specified in Indiana's ...

As we head into a long weekend and celebrate the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s a great time to reflect on what may be a pivotal point in the “cloud revolution”. The news coming out of Redmond this week wasn’t quite what many channel experts predicted, and has many VARs reevaluating the status of their vendor relationships—or at least the portfolio they wish to represent. Of course I’m referring to the much discussed announcement by Microsoft CEO Steve ...

IT spending by federal, state and local governments is expected to top $130 billion in 2011. That’s a significant pile of cash and has a number of VARs and MSPs wondering how they can get a piece of it. Other providers have watched from the sidelines, unsure if the government sector revenue is worth the perceived aggravation of red tape and other obstacles. Regardless of which situation describes your business, the opportunities presented by municipalities, as well as state and federal entities, ...

Every once in a while, I encounter an article in a science journal or see a television report on the latest developments in jet pack technology. Back in the mid-1970s I saw an early prototype of a single jet backpack in Popular Mechanics magazine, with the pilot going approximately the length of a football field before running out of fuel. It was not only cool, but seemed like something we’d all have access to with a little more development. With all of the advances in other technologies over th ...

Communication is a key element to business success and, when adding cloud services to your portfolio, there is no exception to the rule. A clear and concise discussion on the pros and cons of any new technology solution (or delivery method, in this case) is essential to setting the proper expectations. Without that conversation, your chances for building a successful cloud practice diminish significantly, leaving it up to your clients to decide if the initial and continued investment is worthwhi ...