MSPs need to get ahead of coming IT rebellion
A survey of 1,003 individuals, published this week by Eagle Hill Consulting, confirms what most managed service providers (MSPs) have long known in their hearts: more than three quarters (78 percent) respondents said technology makes their job harder. Most IT...
A conversation about ransomware in 2021
The year 2021 continues to see a surge in ransomware as the world’s cyber ecosystem begins to ease into a post-pandemic phase. The education and healthcare sectors remain particularly vulnerable to ransomware as hackers attempt to squeeze more out of...
Ask an MSP Expert: How can I meet evolving cloud security needs?
Q: Many of my SMB customers have adopted cloud solutions as a result of their shift to operating with a remote workforce. How can my MSP maintain strong cloud security while keeping pace with this shift? According to a recent...
Empowering clients with HIPAA-compliant WFH policies
For MSPs supporting the myriad businesses under HIPAA’s purview, the pandemic forcibly accelerated work-from-home policies that were, for many, already on the roadmap. Any forward-looking organization had anticipated future expansion of remote work practices. But the pandemic meant implementing such...
Sales & Marketing
3 sales questions your MSP should be asking prospects
In my work with MSP business owners, the one topic that seems to cause leaders more consternation than any other is sales meetings. I can understand why! Many MSP owners, like myself, started their businesses off the back of their...
Marketing CMMC compliance services as an MSP
In my 18 years as an IT support company executive, I’ve learned a lot about the client’s needs. I can rattle off solutions to common problems and give you a laundry list of ways to proactively move your business forward....
Sell or wallow: Which sales path will you choose?
You have heard me talk about the importance of MSPs adding new monthly recurring revenue (MRR) for more than a decade. Adding customers at the right price is key to becoming a World Class MSP. This strategy is more important...
Security
Making sure your vendors are secure
We’ve all heard about major breaches and the cascading impact they can have across a variety of services. As an MSP, these upstream breaches are clearly out of your control, but you can and should be questioning whether the services...
Q&A: Ethical hacking and pen testing to protect against phishing
Phishing continues to be one of the biggest threats to network security, which has led to “ethical hacking” being used to protect against it. If you’re wondering why methods like ethical hacking and pen testing are necessary to stop phishing,...
Tomorrow’s cybersecurity at today’s colleges
University students in 2021 have a worldview of cybersecurity that has been shaped by the pandemic and forged by immersion in technology from cradle to college. Smarter MSP recently caught up with Bilal Shebaro, an associate professor in the Department of...
Better Business
Why MSPs should get involved with community service
The last year taught marketers a lot. One lesson that really stands out is the importance of community service, and this is no different for managed service providers (MSPs). As an MSP, our clients are the businesses in our communities...
Calling all MSPs: Get Involved in Global MSP Day 2021!
Three years ago, Barracuda, a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, created the world’s first MSP Day, a movement designed to build an interactive, connected, and collaborative community of IT managed service providers. The founding purpose of MSP Day was...
Barracuda is a finalist for Best Customer Service in the 2021 SC Awards
We’re excited to share that Barracuda has been recognized as an Excellence Award finalist in the Best Customer Service category for the 2021 SC Awards. Finalists are recognized for outstanding leadership and providing superior security products to the cybersecurity industry. Winners...
Tech Insight
MSPs gain digital business transformation ground
A global annual survey of 1,350 business and IT executives conducted by Jigsaw Research on behalf of NTT Ltd. suggests that as organization invest more in software to drive digital business transformation initiatives, there has been a corresponding rise in...
Pioneers in Tech: Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler’s domain names
The use of .com, .edu, .org, etc., is so commonplace you might not have contemplated its origin story. But someone had to make sense of what became the internet—and that someone is Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler, who managed the internet’s host...
Tech Time Warp: Remembering Microsoft’s Z80 SoftCard
Microsoft’s recent success with the Surface doesn’t change the fact the tech giant is primarily known for software. After all, Windows and Microsoft Office are ubiquitous in corporate life. But don’t let these juggernauts erase memories of the Z80 SoftCard,...