Uncle Marv's IT Business Podcast (Real Talk for IT Pros & MSPs)

In this episode of the IT Business Podcast, Marvin Bee interviews Michelle Accardi from Liongard and Scott Chasin, the Chief Technology Officer of PAX8, during the PAX8 Beyond 2023 conference.Marvin and Michell discuss the event, the impressive number of booth scans, and the quality conversations they had. They also talk about the swag at the event and Liongard's role as a leader in configuration change detection and response. Michelle explains how their product helps MSPs and enterprises manage and mitigate risks by detecting and responding to changes in their IT environments. Marvin expresses interest in exploring Liongard's booth and getting more information about their offerings.Website: https://www.liongard.com/Scott discusses his passion for technology and building products and teams. He shares his journey in cybersecurity and internet collaboration, leading up to his role at PAX8. They delve into the vision behind PAX8's marketplace and the complexity of creating a three-sided ecosystem for managed service providers, cloud vendors, and small businesses. Scott highlights the challenges and opportunities for each segment and emphasizes PAX8's goal of simplifying the complexity and delivering value to all constituents.Website: https://www.pax8.com=== The inaugural Pax8Beyond 2023 was held on June 11-13, 2023, at the Gaylord Rockies Hotel in Denver, Colorado and was attended by over 1000 IT service providers, vendors, and media worldwide.  The event content was curated specifically for partners, aimed at helping them grow their businesses, increase deep cybersecurity expertise, future-proof innovations, and dynamic efficiencies. SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

In this episode of the IT Business Podcast, Marvin Bee and Sean Lardo discuss the ConnectWise Pitch It program for 2023, which is a Shark Tank-style competition for innovative startup vendors. The finalists will compete for a grand prize of $70,000 at IT Nation Connect. They introduce Chris Dix, the founder and CEO of ChatStyle.ai, one of the contestants in the competition. ChatStyle.ai is an AI assistant that integrates messaging with ConnectWise and other tools, providing an omnichannel approach for businesses. It allows technicians to handle customer messages from various platforms like Teams, Slack, SMS, and more, while ensuring all information is integrated into the PSA system. The AI component helps technicians by providing helpful hints and guiding customers through relevant questions. The ultimate goal is to unify customer communication channels and streamline the ticketing process for MSPs.Website: https://chatstyle.ai/Time Stamped Highlights:01:00: Introduction to the ConnectWise Pitch It program for 2023.02:45: Overview of the competition structure and prize distribution04:22: Introduction of Chris Dix, founder and CEO of ChatStyle.ai06:05: Discussion on the integration of messaging channels with ConnectWise and other tools08:20: The benefits of using ChatStyle.ai for MSPs, including unified platform and ticket creation.10:12: How AI comes into play, assisting technicians with relevant information and guiding ticket processes12:26: ChatStyle.ai's journey, learnings from the channel, and maturing the tools.14:07: The importance of connecting with MSPs and reaching a wider audience.16:00: Integration with various MSP tools and accommodating different workflows.18:05: Closing remarks and well wishes for the competition.=== PitchIT is an annual accelerator program created by ConnectWise in 2018 to incubate growth in startup integration partners dedicated to the MSP space. The company is offering small companies the chance to take part in a 16-week program where participants receive a thorough business assessment, gain coaching from industry experts, earn placement on the ConnectWise marketplace, engage in co-marketing and more.The finalists are selected to present their solutions on the center stage at IT Nation Connect. The PitchIT 2023 program is officially underway, and 27 companies have been selected to participate in the program.Interested but still have questions? Email PitchIT@ConnectWise.com.Join the PitchIT  waitlist for next year: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

MSP Camp is a marketing company that specializes in creating marketing campaigns for MSP (Managed Service Provider) businesses. They offer ready-made campaigns every month, which include custom content, campaigns, sales sheets, and other digital assets that MSPs can purchase as members. MSP Camp creates motion graphic videos, infographics, and engaging social media posts that are tailored to the MSP market and the people they are selling to. MSP Camp's services are designed to help MSP owners and marketing coordinators market their businesses successfully.MSP Camp has a YouTube channel where they provide live demos of their services and highlight their company as an emerging vendor. It is important to note that there is also a Camp MSP, which is a summer camp in Minnesota and is unrelated to MSP Camp.Website: https://msp-camp.com/In this episode of the IT Business Podcast, Marvin Bee and Sean Lardo from ConnectWise discuss the upcoming PitchIT 2023 competition. PitchIT is a Shark Tank-style competition where ConnectWise looks for innovative vendors that can complement their ecosystem and support the mission of MSPs (Managed Service Providers). The competition features 26 vendors competing for the chance to win $70,000 and gain recognition in the industry. Marvin and Sean also introduce Tahir Hamid from MSP Camp, a marketing agency that specializes in comprehensive marketing campaigns for MSPs. Tahir explains the importance of infographics and motion graphics in marketing campaigns and emphasizes the need for consistent execution and having a dedicated marketing coordinator in an MSP. MSP Camp offers different packages for MSPs of all sizes and also provides the option of purchasing content from their camp store.Highlights:0:47 - Introduction to PitchIT 2023 competition4:42 - Introduction to Tahir Hamid from MSP Camp9:05 - Explaining comprehensive marketing campaigns and the role of infographics14:10 - The importance of consistent execution and having a dedicated marketing coordinator19:08 - Different packages offered by MSP Camp for MSPs of all sizes.22:25 - The camp store and the option to purchase content.=== PitchIT is an annual accelerator program created by ConnectWise in 2018 to incubate growth in startup integration partners dedicated to the MSP space. The company is offering small companies the chance to take part in a 16-week program where participants receive a thorough business assessment, gain coaching from industry experts, earn placement on the ConnectWise marketplace, engage in co-marketing and more.The finalists are selected to present their solutions on the center stage at IT Nation Connect. The PitchIT 2023 program is officially underway, and 27 companies have been selected to participate in the program.Interested but still have questions? Email PitchIT@ConnectWise.com.Join the PitchIT  waitlist for next year: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

ZenContract is a cloud-based IT contract and proposal management tool designed specifically for MSPs. It is an all-in-one contract compliance management tool that allows users to design, build, store and execute contracts. It is simple to use and is considered one of the best contract management and MSP software available.In this episode of the IT Business Podcast, Marvin Bee and Sean Lardo discuss the ConnectWise Pitch IT Program 2023. They provide an overview of the program, which is a Shark Tank-style competition for innovative vendors that complement the ConnectWise ecosystem and support the growth of Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The finalists have a chance to win prizes, present live on stage at IT Nation Connect, and gain brand awareness. They then introduce Greg Sharp from ZenContract, who talks about their solution for contract lifecycle management. ZenContract automates the process of creating, sending, executing, and managing contracts for MSPs, integrating with tools like ConnectWise and providing features such as proposal management, E-signatures, negotiation, and workflows. The conversation highlights the time-saving benefits and clarity that ZenContract brings to the contract management process.Website: www.zencontract.comTimestamped highlights:0:40: Introduction to the ConnectWise Pitch IT Program 20232:16: Overview of the competition and prizes4:10: Introduction of Greg Sharp from ZenContract5:05: Greg explains how ZenContract simplifies contract management for MSPs8:30: Discussion on the integration of ZenContract with ConnectWise and other tools10:40: Greg emphasizes that ZenContract is a contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution12:20: Details about the automation and workflows provided by ZenContract15:00: Comparison of ZenContract to document management on steroids16:12: Greg's background and the development of ZenContract within an MSP18:30: The improvements made to ZenContract over time and the team behind it=== PitchIT is an annual accelerator program created by ConnectWise in 2018 to incubate growth in startup integration partners dedicated to the MSP space. The company is offering small companies the chance to take part in a 16-week program where participants receive a thorough business assessment, gain coaching from industry experts, earn placement on the ConnectWise marketplace, engage in co-marketing and more.The finalists are selected to present their solutions on the center stage at IT Nation Connect. The PitchIT 2023 program is officially underway, and 27 companies have been selected to participate in the program.Interested but still have questions? Email PitchIT@ConnectWise.com.Join the PitchIT  waitlist for next year: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

Marvin Bee interviews Brittany Hodak, a keynote speaker and author, at the ASCII Edge event in Clearwater, FL. Brittany discusses the importance of customer experience in today's experience economy and how businesses can create super fans by focusing on intentional experience design. She shares examples from her own company and highlights the need to elevate customer experiences throughout their journey. Brittany also mentions her podcast, newsletter, and upcoming book, all centered around creating super fans. She offers her services to help businesses design and measure their customer experience strategies.Website: https://brittanyhodak.com/Get her book, Creating Superfans: https://amzn.to/46ohQDcTimestamped Bulleted Highlights:0:28: Introduction of Brittany Hodak as a keynote speaker at the ASCII Edge event.2:09: Brittany explains her background as a former founder of the Superfan Company and her transition to speaking and writing.4:27: The importance of customer experience in the current experience economy.6:33: Creating super fans by focusing on how the service makes customers feel.10:26: Overcomplicating customer experience and the need for intentional experience design.14:04: Brittany's offer of intentional experience design days to help businesses design and measure their customer experience strategies.15:37: Brittany's podcast, newsletter, and book, all titled "Creating Super Fans."17:17: Brittany's visit to Clearwater, FL, and her plans to explore the area with her family.19:02: Marvin Bee expresses gratitude to Brittany and expresses interest in having her back for a full podcast episode.=== The ASCII Edge conference was held in Tampa, Florida on June 21-22, 2023. The conference is designed for MSPs (Managed Service Providers) to come together, share best practices, and learn from one another's experiences. The event was held at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park. There were private peer meetings of ASCII members, networking opportunities, and time to meet with sponsors. The conference also had a focus on cybersecurity, with a private meeting about the Conceal secure browser extension.#asciiedge #podcast #itbusinesspodcast SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

In this episode of the IT Business Podcast, host Marvin Bee interviews Jackie Hanlon from Cyber Fox, an emerging vendor in the cybersecurity industry. Jackie explains that Cyber Fox offers password management and privilege access management solutions, including their password manager called Password Boss and their privilege access management tool called Auto Elevate. She also discusses the company's recent acquisition of Auto Elevate and their rebranding as Cyber Fox. Jackie shares insights into the company's name and logo selection process, their participation in industry events, and her personal journey in the tech industry.Highlights:02:04: Introduction to Jackie Hanlon from Cyber Fox at ASCII Edge event04:10: Explanation of Cyber Fox's password management and privilege access management solutions05:28: Background on the acquisition of Auto Elevate by Cyber Fox06:43: Discussion on the company name and the significance of the fox logo11:10: Conversation on swag and upcoming Cyber Fox merchandise13:22: Jackie's connection to the ConnectWise building and the company's presence in Tampa16:15: Jackie's journey in the tech industry, from college to IT recruiting to joining Cyber Fox20:14: Insights into the importance of drive, goal-setting, and self-education in sales23:02: Mention of the quiet quitting session and the challenges faced by MSPs25:10: Wrap-up and conclusion of the interview=== The ASCII Edge conference was held in Tampa, Florida on June 21-22, 2023. The conference is designed for MSPs (Managed Service Providers) to come together, share best practices, and learn from one another's experiences. The event was held at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park. There were private peer meetings of ASCII members, networking opportunities, and time to meet with sponsors. The conference also had a focus on cybersecurity, with a private meeting about the Conceal secure browser extension. SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

In this episode of Uncle Marv's IT Business Podcast, host Marvin Bee interviews Matt Horning from Blue Tree Technology, an MSP (Managed Service Provider) based in the Kansas City area. Matt discusses how his company focuses on finding clients that share their core values and prioritize security and technology. They believe that core values are subjective and there is no right or wrong one. Matt also talks about the journey of starting his business, merging with another MSP, and the importance of having a physical office space for legitimacy and knowledge sharing among employees.Website: https://bluetreetechnology.com/Marvin Bee is also joined by David Powell, the VP of Strategic Sales at Pax8. They discuss David's experience in the MSP (Managed Service Provider) space and his journey to joining Pax8. David shares his insights on the evolution of MSPs, the importance of transitioning from break-fix to recurring revenue, and the value of process orientation in scaling an MSP business. They also touch upon the topic of cybersecurity sales and how MSPs can have effective conversations with clients about risk and asset protection. The episode highlights the need for MSPs to assess their own cybersecurity practices, learn how to sell cybersecurity to existing clients, and explore strategies for acquiring new customers.Website: https://www.pax8.com=== The inaugural Pax8Beyond 2023 was held on June 11-13, 2023, at the Gaylord Rockies Hotel in Denver, Colorado and was attended by over 1000 IT service providers, vendors, and media worldwide.  The event content was curated specifically for partners, aimed at helping them grow their businesses, increase deep cybersecurity expertise, future-proof innovations, and dynamic efficiencies. SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

Eric Anthony is a technology expert and the founder of the All Things MSP Facebook page. He has owned his own break/fix and managed services companies and has spent time in the IT channel as a vendor. Eric is also a co-host of the All Things MSP Podcast with Justin Esgar, where they discuss the many facets of being an IT services provider today and have a little fun too.=== Uncle Marv reflects on his recent experience at the ASCII Edge event in Tampa. He begins by expressing his admiration for the keynote speaker, Brittany Hodak, who gave a compelling presentation on creating super fans. The discussion then shifts to the power of podcasting and its role in shaping the MSP (Managed Service Provider) community. The episode also touches on the All Things MSP Podcast, which recently celebrated its three-month anniversary. === ASCII Edge is a two-day conference for MSPs (Managed Service Providers) held in Tampa, Florida on June 21-22. The conference is an evolution of the company's flagship conferences, formerly called ASCII Success Summits, and focuses on business education through best practices, networking opportunities, and collaboration in an effort to provide a competitive edge for MSPs in attendance.Best SwagCyberFOX with a full assortment of swag. A quality T-Shirt and 15 oz ceramic coffee mug.  https://www.cyberfox.com/Honorable MentionsSpectrum: Pen with light. https://www.spectrum.com/Redstor: 65W USB Charger.  https://www.redstor.com/Vonahi Security: A Star Wars style light saber? https://www.vonahi.io/ SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

Welcome to another episode of the IT Business Podcast with Marvin Bee and Sean Lardo. In this summer series of the ConnectWise PitchIT program, they discuss the competition and its impact on vendors and the MSP community. They introduce Tim McNeil from Sales Maturity, who explains the concept of sales management as a service and how they help MSPs improve their sales and marketing efforts. Sales MatureIT offers an app that assesses an MSP's sales maturity level and provides a roadmap with supporting documents to help them reach their goals. Tim highlights the importance of sales coaching and the financial aspect of the program.Website: https://salesmaturit.com/Time Stamped Highlights:- 00:00:12 - Introduction to the podcast- 00:00:25 - Summer series of the channel pitcher program- 00:01:06 - Competition and its impact on vendors- 00:02:06 - Overview of the pitch it competition- 00:03:31 - Introduction of Tim McNeil from Sales MatureIT- 00:04:14 - Evolution of Sales Maturity from lead generation to sales management- 00:05:06 - Assessment and roadmap provided by Sales MatureIT- 00:06:29 - Financial aspect and goal setting- 00:07:35 - Sales consulting and coaching for MSPs- 00:08:10 - Working with MSPs individually and providing ongoing coaching=== PitchIT is an annual accelerator program created by ConnectWise in 2018 to incubate growth in startup integration partners dedicated to the MSP space. The company is offering small companies the chance to take part in a 16-week program where participants receive a thorough business assessment, gain coaching from industry experts, earn placement on the ConnectWise marketplace, engage in co-marketing and more.The finalists are selected to present their solutions on the center stage at IT Nation Connect. The PitchIT 2023 program is officially underway, and 27 companies have been selected to participate in the program.Interested but still have questions? Email PitchIT@ConnectWise.com.Join the PitchIT  waitlist for next year: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

In this episode of Uncle Marv's IT Business Podcast, Marvin Bee and his guest, Sean Lardo, discuss the Connectwise PitchIT program. They explain that the program is a competition where innovators complementary to Connectwise's ecosystem and mission of supporting MSPs compete to become finalists. The finalists have the opportunity to pitch their ideas at Connectwise's event, IT Nation. The first-place winner receives a grand prize of $70,000 and the chance to present their pitch in front of a large audience. Sean then introduces Dave from DefensX as the featured vendor for the episode. Dave explains that DefensX is a web browser isolation tool with credential and file protection, primarily acting as a DNS filtering product. It offers protection for endpoints while browsing the web and supports major browsers, including Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. The product allows organizations to implement a zero-trust approach and customize the level of protection based on user groups. Dave also mentions the remote browser isolation feature, which streams only the necessary website content to prevent the download of malicious code.Website: https://www.defensx.com/=== PitchIT is an annual accelerator program created by ConnectWise in 2018 to incubate growth in startup integration partners dedicated to the MSP space. The company is offering small companies the chance to take part in a 16-week program where participants receive a thorough business assessment, gain coaching from industry experts, earn placement on the ConnectWise marketplace, engage in co-marketing and more.The finalists are selected to present their solutions on the center stage at IT Nation Connect. The PitchIT 2023 program is officially underway, and 27 companies have been selected to participate in the program.Interested but still have questions? Email PitchIT@ConnectWise.com.Join the PitchIT  waitlist for next year: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/pitchit SHOW INFORMATION: Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/Host: Marvin BeeUncle Marv’s Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZBecome a monthly supporter: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast