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Wait! What? It’s already the second half of 2023?!?! Not only is that true but the first half went very fast. So its time for my predictions before 2024 sneaks up on us (YIKES). These are in no particular order and I’d love your feedback (just hit reply to this newsletter).The categories are Economic Anxiety, Marketplaces, MSPs and AI, Events and Cybersecurity.

The pandemic delayed Pax8 conference has launched with a bang. For a first-time event, it has an impressive 1,100+ attendees and insightful keynotes plus breakout labs.

Let’s start with Jay McBain’s 6 Trends To Watch. A couple of highlights are:

Today customers have seven (7) partners that they work with compared to

Just over a week ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was placed in FDIC receivership and essentially failed. The long-time financial institution is best known for financing technology startups and providing banking services to Venture Capitalist (VCs). MSPs can take a deep breath and exhale their anxiety for now. Read on.

I recently attended the famed South-by-Southwest (SxSW) conference in Austin and one of the tracks I participated on was the startup track. SxSW is known as a startup conference amongst other offerings. And as SVB was failing in real-time during the conference, you can imagine it was the buzz, as seen in the pic of a Sunday afternoon venture capital panel.

Data breaches cost US organizations on average 4.35 million in 2022 which is a rise of 2.6% from 2021.    With most breaches involving human elements, organizations should be running to provide employees cyber security awareness training.  With ransomware on the rise and employees working from many locations’ security awareness should be top of mind.  

Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Rod Mathews, who was recently announced as Axcient’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mathews brings almost 30 years of technology industry experience to Axcient and is a seasoned IT industry veteran with a deep understanding of the data protection space and the Managed Service Provider community.  Mathews mentioned he was excited to join the Axcient team and build on their track record of growth.  Watch the full interview and learn about Axcient’s plans for the future. 

Watch Interview Here

Malware has evolved into a booming business for cybercrime organizations.  With the latest evolution of Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) which is a term use to describe the unlawful leasing of software and hardware for the purpose of conducting cyber -attacks.  Although,  MaSs typically targets low to medium vulnerabilities, ransomware is estimated to cost the world over $1bn yearly.

We never know for sure what lies ahead, however, one thing we know is that many do not plan for the future.  Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Danny and David Brown of Twins Talk It Up about how leaders, business owners, members of the C suite, all have legacies that they are building for the next generation. During this episode they talk about great legacies, bad legacies, and five simple exercises you could do to help build your legacy when you think about the next generation.

Covid-19 restrictions and their lingering after-effects have been creating disruption around the availability of goods for the past few years.  These effects have hit most industries across the world including IT.  While many industries have normalized significantly, indicators show that the IT industry may be affected long into 2023.

ChannelCon 2022 was a chance to reconnect and reinvigorate your business and your career through networking, and educational sessions. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Chip Reaves of Bigger Brains to discuss this three day event. 

In today’s ever changing landscape of cloud computing, cybersecurity threats, labor shortages and the emergence of new technologies  many MSP’s are examining what they want for their business, and how they are going to obtain being masters of so many diverse technologies.    Rather than try to master such a diverse portfolio of offerings in house, many MSPs are looking to mergers and acquisitions to expand their offerings, and join in joint ventures. 

Harry has spent over 20 years building SMB Nation and other ventures from the ground up.  From building marketing plans that deliver results to helping businesses grow he has vast experience in nearly any situation.   

No matter what you are looking for he can provide executive leadership on an Interim, Fractional,  or ad hock basis to solve your biggest challenges.  Interested in learning more?  Reach out to Harry at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In 2020, large numbers of workers, restricted from going to the office, began to take a hard look at their lives.  From commute times, to cost of living in big cities, and more,  many people flocked to “gateway communities” (small communities located close to national parks, ski resorts, and outdoor recreation).  Although many people are continuing to work from home,  many analyst are wondering if these Zoom towns will continue to succeed.