At the recent IT Nation Connect 2024 event – I spotted a rarity – a young MSP. Tye Fowler is a real go-getter from Tampa, FL and he proactively walked up to me after a keynote as he saw my legacy Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 golf shirt and thought I worked for Microsoft LOL. We bumped into each other a few times and I invited him to the ProofPoint reception that early evening before he hopped on a flight to Atlanta.
Let’s GOOOO!
Harry Brelsford, wrapping up his podcast cycle from the IT Nation 2024 event in Orlando, interviews Ty Fowler, an MSP partner from Tampa, Florida. Ty's company, SGD Communications, started in 2003 and specializes in low-voltage services and network infrastructure. This is Ty's first IT Nation Connect conference, having previously attended IT Nation Secure. He appreciated the creativity and the opportunity to meet people from around the globe. Harry plans to feature Ty in his podcast and emphasizes the importance of young talent like Ty in the aging IT industry. They discuss future ConnectWise events, and Harry wishes Ty safe travels to Atlanta.
Peter Kujawa, VP for Service Leadership at ConnectWise, discussed the latest data on MSPs and VARs, highlighting that organic revenue growth for MSPs has slowed to 10.8% from a peak of 25% post-COVID. Despite this, profitability has improved to 13% due to better gross margins. Kujawa emphasized the importance of MSPs not panicking and continuing to invest in sales and marketing. He also noted the influx of private equity into the MSP space, offering MSP owners more options for selling their businesses. Kujawa advised MSP owners to engage with multiple buyers and plan well in advance for a successful sale.
ConnectWise Service Leadership and Branding Decisions
In the final analysis, it’s about personal preferences and I look forward to your feedback as an SMB Nation member. When it comes to urban vs rural lifestyle and business models, both answers are right.
At a high-level – my AI-based Google research returned to following “ urban areas being more populated and having more amenities, while rural areas offer more privacy and lower costs of living:” True that!
Rural
My experience has been that many rural MSPs run lifestyle businesses. Nothing like going fishing on Fridays with (perhaps with a client).It tends to be more relaxing than urban living.
Dramatic improvements in remote work/support
Harry Brelsford and Dux Raymond Sy discussed the IT Nation Connect 2024 event, noting 4,500 on-site attendees and 205,000 online. Dux, Chief Brand Officer at AvePoint, highlighted AvePoint's role in data security, governance, and resiliency, emphasizing their 21-year history and 4,000 global partners. They discussed the importance of preparing for AI tools like Copilot by ensuring data hygiene and security. Dux noted that AvePoint's FedRAMP and GCC high certifications are crucial for federal market MSPs. They also touched on the challenges and opportunities in the SMB space, stressing the need for early adoption and recurring services.
In 2025 the MSP economy could go either way. So keep one eye open! Here is what I mean. I want to share my observations about how MSPs and the tech industry historically have been impacted by macro-economic activity and recessions.
Earlies
Like a weekend curbside yard sales overwhelmed with lookie loos before the 9AM start, some parts of the tech industry go into a recession early (by analogy). My experience has been that storage tends to go into recessions early. I saw this first hand with SanDisk in 2006+ before the 2008 financial market meltdown (“The Great Recession”) but it came out of the economic setback early. Chips can go either way
Well-known Managed Services Provider (MSP) sales and marketing guru Chris Wiser is a complex dude.
He has the swagger and bravado of a Texan. Chris lives in the Austin, TX area after relocating from the mid-west (Wisconsin) several years ago. Wiser is one focused intense guy with the altruistic goal of helping MSPs make money with tough love. And he doesn’t lack self-confidence. He is a trail blazer for sure.
He is also a duck. When you are a public figure, people are going to throw slings and arrows at ya. But like a duck in the rain,
Calling the NERD HERD!
Be There - the Holiday Party for the Rest of Us!
Our most popular mantra and message to IT Pros, Managed Services Providers (MSP), Geeks and Nerds is that you are NOT ALONE!
I’m not claiming to be Nostrdammus with his legendary forecasting capabilities in the 1500s. But the data doesn’t lie and I saw it with my own eyes. Let’s geek out on this.
Dropping Prices
Let’s start with the end-in-mind as author Stephen Covey said in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” So the end of the story is about the housing market: buy, sell or short.
GEEK WIN!!! I cut the cords today! Finally I sat down and reduced Spectrum down to Internet-only and then added YouTube TV. Total bill went from $280 to $140! Should done this a lot sooner...other thoughts.
Spectrum kept trying to throw in a new mobile phone (boo hiss - I don't need another phone)
For free - Spectrum added a goofy TV service called TV Stream with 90+ Tier 2 channels I either get with YouTube TV or don't care about...
In other cable provider/streaming news:
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Liongard at the IT Nation 2022 Conference. Liongard gives MSPs an operational advantage that delivers both higher profits and an exceptional customer experience. The Liongard software has been built by MSP veterans with the focus to eliminate error and reduce manual labor, in order to help MSP’s increase their bottom line. Through visibility management and 70+ integrations, Liongard retrieves data from every environment you manage, and brings you the data to fuel your workforce. Listen as Harry, Joe, and Matt discuss data management, and how to use it to increase your bottom line.
