Clive Longbottom

All posts by Clive Longbottom

Clive Longbottom is a UK-based independent commentator on the impact of technology on organizations and was a co-founder and service director at Quocirca. He has also been an ITC industry analyst for more than 20 years.

ai sell
Using AI to cross-sell and upsell

Using AI to cross-sell and upsell

Increasing revenue, particularly with a good margin, is a major focus for any business. Many managed service providers (MSPs) find themselves in a situation where they have gotten off the ground and survived mainly through gaining passing trade with strong...

/ March 20, 2024
AI
Knowing your AI from your GenAI

Knowing your AI from your GenAI

For better or worse, artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic right now. However, two main forms of AI are being written and spoken about, and it’s essential to understand the difference between them. Note that you may find extra...

/ February 14, 2024 / 1 Comment
security
Focus on cybersecurity to uplevel your MSP business

Focus on cybersecurity to uplevel your MSP business

What matters most to an organization? The security of the devices that its platform operates on, or the data and information that is held on and moved across that platform? If you think they are both important, think again. A...

/ February 1, 2024
Focus on self-service to elevate your MSP business

Focus on self-service to elevate your MSP business

A modern MSP needs to have several customer-facing employees on their team in today’s business landscape. This may include a sales team that can articulate your business’s value proposition, customer service staff to resolve issues, technicians for customer onboarding, and...

/ December 12, 2023
Optimizing resources to take your MSP business to the next level

Optimizing resources to take your MSP business to the next level

As an MSP, it is imperative to maximize profits while minimizing costs. However, cutting corners to lower capital and operating expenses can be disastrous: platforms can suffer from lower availability and stability levels, which can lead to unsatisfied customers. The...

/ November 29, 2023
Becoming a smarter MSP with AI-powered automation

Becoming a smarter MSP with AI-powered automation

The problem with being a ‘smarter’ MSP is that it may often require investment. For those who don’t have a rainy day fund set aside, it would mean dipping into the revenue to stay competitive and maintain margin, which can...

/ November 9, 2023
Pushing the ‘M’ in MSP

Pushing the ‘M’ in MSP

At times, it is easy to forget what the actuality of being an MSP is. The provision of one or more services as described in the contract is apparent – and this should be conducted in a way that makes...

/ August 31, 2023
What happened to the disruptive start-ups?

What happened to the disruptive start-ups?

As we go through the different generations of technology, various bandwagons have come and gone. Companies starting up with ‘e’ added at the beginning of their name and ‘.com’ added at the end, to name a few, are hard to...

/ August 16, 2023
Will AI be the next big thing?

Will AI be the next big thing?

As many a marketing or salesperson will attest, trying to flog the same old, same old becomes troublesome after a while. Something is needed to excite the market – and luckily, technology is an area where there is always something...

/ August 3, 2023
guide to services pricing
The MSP’s guide to services pricing

The MSP’s guide to services pricing

For managed service providers (MSPs), it’s obvious that pricing is important. Prospects will generally only pay the going market rate, typically driven by your competition’s offering. As such, you must be careful in how you price your service offerings. For...

/ June 22, 2023