AI expectations vs reality: What MSPs need to know
While artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly on its way to becoming transformative in the marketplace, many expectations surrounding it are, at best, exaggerated. AI-washing is now big business. Many vendors are simply rebranding their existing portfolios with AI messaging to...
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Simple steps for cyber safety in 2025
October 1 marked the beginning of Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CAM), an annual initiative dedicated to raising awareness about cybersecurity and promoting safe online practices. Each October, governments, public sector agencies and private sector partners join forces, organizing events and media...
Tech Time Warp: Two decades of Cybersecurity Awareness Month—but there’s still work to do
If you’re reading this blog, you probably observe cybersecurity awareness year-round, not just during the annual observance of Cybersecurity Awareness Month each October. But, as a managed service provider (MSP), you also likely appreciate any opportunity to draw attention to...
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: VMware zero-day vulnerability exploited
Threat actors have actively exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Broadcom VMware Tools and VMware Aria Operations (CVE-2025-41244) in the wild. The China-linked group UNC5174 (aka Uteus/Uetus) has exploited the flaw for privilege escalation in VMware-targeted attacks. Continue reading this edition...
Sales & Marketing
Ask an MSP Expert: Position your MSP to win buyers
Let’s face it: the managed service provider (MSP) space is more competitive than ever. Buyers are more informed, expectations are higher, and the old ways of selling just don’t cut it anymore. If you’re still leading with technical specs and...
MSPs: Never start with technology when selling your managed services
As someone who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on sales coaching while growing my own business into one of the fastest-growing marketing companies for managed service providers (MSPs), it’s fair to say that I’ve paid my dues as...
Ask an MSP Expert: How AI can help you personalize outreach and repurpose content
Artificial intelligence (AI) excels at spotting patterns and automating workflows, but what about the messy, one-off challenges that arise in real sales conversations? This is where skepticism can creep in. However, with the right approach, AI can still serve as...
Security
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: Critical vulnerability in Dell UnityVSA
Cybersecurity researchers at WatchTowr have disclosed a critical vulnerability in Dell UnityVSA (and related Unity platforms) tracked as CVE-2025-36604. The flaw allows an attacker with no authentication to issue arbitrary OS commands on vulnerable appliances by abusing the login redirection...
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: RediShell allows RCE in Redis
Redis has disclosed CVE-2025-49844, a critical remote code execution vulnerability known as RediShell, with a CVSS score of 10.0. The flaw has existed for over 13 years and could allow attackers to run arbitrary commands on vulnerable systems. Thousands of...
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: Critical Oracle EBS flaw
Oracle released an emergency update for its E-Business Suite to address the critical vulnerability CVE-2025-61882 ( with a CVSS of 9.8) because it was actively being exploited by threat actors, particularly the Cl0p ransomware group, in a recent wave of...
Better Business
Rise of AI drives increased demand for data management expertise
A pair of surveys suggest that when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) the biggest winners just might be managed service providers (MSPs) that have much needed data management expertise. The first survey of over 830 senior data and analytics...
Global politics meets IT staffing: The H-1B visa crossroads
H-1B visas that enable IT professionals from overseas to work in the U.S. have always been a controversial issue. However, with the current administration’s decision to impose $100,000 annual fees for each successful applicant, the issue may soon simply fade...
Lindsay Faria: One of CRN’s 100 People You Don’t Know But Should
Last week, Lindsay Faria, who leads managed service provider (MSP) Marketing for Barracuda in the Americas, was recognized as one of CRN’s 100 People You Don’t Know But Should for 2025. This annual list shines a light on the committed...
Tech Insight
Pioneers in Tech: Honoring John Atanasoff, inventor of the digital computer
Born Oct. 4, 1903, John Vincent Atanasoff is not just the inventor of the electronic digital computer—he’s the legally proclaimed inventor of the digital computer. On March 19, 1972, in the case Honeywell v. Sperry Rand, a judge ruled that...
Tech Time Warp: Debugging a technology origin story
We’ve all been there: Our computer crashes, and we say there are “gremlins inside,” that the machine “geeked out,” or that it must have been “a bug.” And, often, simply rebooting solves the problem. But where the term “computer bug”...
Tech Time Warp: Meet ERMA, the machine that automated check processing
When did you last write a check? In July 2024, Target became the latest retailer to stop accepting checks, citing “extremely low volumes” of customers paying by check. Use of checks — already declining before the COVID-19 pandemic — took...
