Smb Community Podcast By Karl W. Palachuk

Report from SMB Nation Fall 2012. Mike Bayless Near the end of this year’s SMB Nation, I caught up with Mike Bayless from America’s Tech Support in Sacramento. Mike says that networking with other MSP partners is the biggest benefit to attending. “The majority of what happens here for me is either at the exhibitor booths, or the vendor booths, or in the hallways and at parties.” Mike is very clear that the conversation has already moved past the “death of SBS” issue. Partners were talking about strategies for the future. Download the Interview with Mike Bayless here.

Report from SMB Nation Fall 2012. I was wandering past the Datto booth at SMB Nation and stopped to chat with Shannon Kohn, the Director of Marketing and Channel Relations. She invited me to watch them blow things up. We recorded a brief podcast. Download the Interview with Shannon Kohn here. Find out more about Datto at www.dattobackup.com. After that, they did in fact destroy a machine. Here’s Shannon’s report: The Datto team had a strong showing at the “Back to the Future” themed SMB Nation Fall event. As a Gold Sponsor, Datto was given a breakout session on Saturday that many attendees showed up for. The breakout, titled ‘Datto’s LIVE Disaster Demo’, was an interactive hardware destruction session that showcased their flagship business continuity solution, SIRIS. The Datto team put SIRIS to the test, performing both an instant local virtualization and an instant off-site virtualization in Datto’s cloud, right before the attendees eyes. To make it clear that this was not just an act, Datto let audience me

Report from SMB Nation Fall 2012. I had a good chat with Regina Ciardiello, Editor of SMB Nation magazine while I was in Las Vegas. Regina wrote the Daily Gazette “newsletter” for the event. In addition to the plug for next year’s SMB Nation conference, Regina gave us some information about SMB Nation staff member Jeremiah Ilges. Jeremiah suffers from aplastic anemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Jeremiah is scheduled for his bone marrow transplant in a couple of weeks. A “10/10” match donor has been found. Jeremiah’s family could use some financial assistance. So the folks at SMB Nation are encouraging everyone to contribute what they can at www.adoptourfamily.com. Download the Interview with Regina Ciardiello now.

Interview with Jon Sastre One of the best interviews I had at SMB Nation was with Jon Sastre, one of the IAMCP leaders at the state, national, and international levels. Jon is also a very successful managed service provider, value added reseller, and system integrator. Jon’s company is Conquest Technology Services of Southern Florida. They are the Microsoft Partner of the Year for Lync. Download the interview Jon Sastre now.  

One of the reasons I love working with my brother Manuel is that he is AMAZING at defining and implementing successful processes. Earlier this year he started a new coaching program geared specifically toward Managed Service Providers. Manuel was the President of my MSP (KPEnterprises) for three years. After that he took a position as the outsourced Chief Operating Officer for an MSP in Florida. He turned their operation around and brought them four quarters in a row of profitability – something they had not had before. Manuel has a great resource site at www.conceptualageconsulting.net. Check it out and review the programs he has available. Just FYI: My coaching program is full and I have a waiting list. Trust me. You will miss NOTHING if you engage with Manuel. He is the best team leader I have ever seen. He is also amazing at defining and implementing processes. After all – he had primary responsibility for the 270 page checklist in the Network Migration Workbook! Our mastery of ConnectWise, Autotask, Kas

Rob Patterson talked to me at SMB Nation about his very successful IT Pro group in New York City – the New York Small Business Server Group. He revealed to us the secrets of holding a meeting, plus the Pre-meeting meeting and the Post-meeting meeting. There’s no B.S. here: Rob is one of the great user group leaders out there. His success is possible because he has a large group of people who jump in and make things happen. The group has many unique features, including Michael Klein’s special presentation on news, trends, links, and more. He is a true resource who “does the reading so you don’t have to.” The New York group has a very strong community. Over 300 members with up to 100 at a meeting (200 when Microsoft has a big event). If you’re interested in contacting Rob, go to nysbs.net http://nysbs.net/ You can also sign up for their Yahoo Group from that site. Download the Interview with Rob Patterson Here.  

One of the fun things at this year’s SMB Nation event was the whole “Back to the Future” theme. In addition to the lovely Claudia Wells (see previous podcast), StorageCraft and Intel paid to bring the Time Machine to the conference hall. Since he was there all weekend, I grabbed the opportunity to talk to the current owner, Mark Shields. Download the interview with Mark Shields now. You can find Mark online at: www.TimeMachineRental.com or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/deloreanrental His web site has a photo gallery as well as a video gallery. Mark is an application Architect for a large corporation in Minneapolis, so this is a part-time gig for him. Not a bad side job. As Mark mentions in his interview, a portion of his rental fee goes to the The Michael J. Fox Foundation to fight Parkinson’s Disease. https://www.michaeljfox.org/ Over on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/karlpalachuk), I posted some close-up pictures of the car. Mark says there are about ten replicas in the US. One very interesting

I caught up with Jeff Middleton at SMB Nation over the weekend. We covered several topics, including: – Update on the SBS Migration / IT Pro Experts conference (the annual conference that is held from time to time) – SMB Community Roadshow, sponsored by Microsoft and HP – The future (and past) of Small Business Server – The new IT Pro Experts brand: www.itproexperts.com – SBS Migrations going forward – Microsoft’s participation in the SMB space Jeff is a Microsoft MVP and a long-standing leader in the small business and SBS community. In addition to helping people with the technical side of what they do, he is very active (and successful) at bringing vendors into our space to participate at a level that can help small IT consultants to make money. Download the Interview with Jeff Middleton here. You can review the SBS Migration catalog at www.sbsmigration.com. You can explore IT Pro Experts at www.itproexperts.com. And Jeff says you can always email him at “Jeff@ almost any domain I control.”

As I said on my Facebook page, two of my favorite people in the world have been honored as the SBSers of the year: Rayanne Buchianico and Bob Nitrio. This award is officially the Jim Locke Memorial Community Award and is sponsored by SMB Nation and the SMB Technology Network (SMBTN). Both of these folks happen to be user group leaders, so we talked a bit about that. But we also talked about community involvement and why they participate so heavily. Robert A. Nitrio is the CEO of Ranvest Associates, Orangevale CA. The is the president of the Sacramento SMB IT Pros. Rayanne Buchianico is the Owner of ABC Solutions, Tampa FL. She is the founder (and runs) the Tampa Bay SBS User Group. Both are very active in the “SBS Group Leads” Yahoo group.   We also covered some of the other events they participate in each year and why they find value in them. Please download the Interview with Rayanne and Bob here. Also check out SMBTN and SMB Nation. http://www.smbtn.org http://www.smbnation.com

I talked to Bob Godgart from ChannelEyes (www.channeleyes.com) about what’s new with their cool channel partner tools. The coolest new product – Channel Candy – is an app that allows vendors to create a branded partner app for smart phones. This will allow you to track the information and updates from your vendors. There will be some common controls from one vendor to another, but vendors will be able to customize as they see fit. If you’re like me, you are a “partner” with 6-12 vendors. But, if you’re like me, you might visit each site once or twice a year. Channel Candy will allow vendors to create information channels so you can decide which information your receive. And the vendors can send you to their portal when there’s a program they really want you to see it. Bob gives a lot more detail in the audio. Download the Interview with Bob Godgart here. You can join ChannelEyes and download the apps for free. Visit www.channeleyes.com. While you’re there, you will also find a channel with my Small Biz Though

Report from SMB Nation Fall 2012. I caught up with Jessica DeVita – one of my favorite people in the IT space. Jessica is an IT consultant, technical wiz, advocate for education in the IT community, Microsoft MVP and a really great person. Her web site is www.theubergeekgirl.com. Recently, Jessica was on the cover of ChannelPro magazine and had an article in there about Women in IT. We talked to her about that and the work she’s doing to educate women (and men) on IT as field. Check out the magazine at http://www.channelprosmb.com/archive/channelpro_smb_september_2012. Recently Jessica has been on several panels recently discussion IT as a career choice and on mentoring young women. She will be speaking on November 7th at Santa Monica College for a program called Cool Careers. As a side note, I asked Jessica how she came up with the name Uber Geek Girl. Download the Interview with Jessica DeVita here. This is not my first interview with Jessica. Check out the earlier podcasts at SMB Community Podcast.

Report from SMB Nation Fall 2012. Highly Reliable Systems Provides a New Approach to Backup Hardware Many people don’t like tape backups. But most hard drive-based backups have their own problems. I talked to  Darren McBride about the “Highly Reliable” systems and what makes them different. Their story is interesting and compelling. Until this conversation, I wasn’t sure about the exact need they filled. In addition to adding a level of security to the physical handling of backups, Highly Reliable Systems is providing tape replacements from extremely reasonable to 12 TB. Listen to the interview. You’ll see why it’s worth taking a look at this technology. Download the Interview Here Check out their web site at www.high-rely.com.

The theme of this year’s SMB Nation is “Back to the Future.” Basically, it’s wrapped around all the cool new things we have . . . and understanding them in light of the fact that SBS Server end of life is upon us. So Harry Brelsford and Chris Bangs over at SMB Nation got ahold of the guy who owns the DeLorean from the movie (Mark Shields). Yes: This guy still drives this car. Then they got ahold of Claudia Wells, who played Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer in the original movie. Claudia attended the first get together on the night of the Preday events. Turns out she’s a very nice, normal business owner with a great sense of humor. She owns a high end clothing story in Studio City, CA. She’s also got some new movies in the works. I caught up with her while taking shelter from the lightning storm. She agreed to a podcast. Download the Podcast Here Claudia’s store can be found at www.armaniwells.com http://www.armaniwells.com/ – High end clothing at discount prices. In addition she has a personal page at www.claudiaw

This article was originally posted June 23, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. SMB Community Podcast: Chatting with Jeannine Edwards and Erinn Davis Fifteen minutes of information and commentary. – – – – – I caught up with Jeannine Edwards (ConnectWise) and Erinn Davis (LabTech Software) and had a great discussion about what’s new, the community, IT Nation, and what they see for the SMB Community in the year ahead.   Download the podcast here. Jeannine is the Director of Community for ConnectWise, LabTech, and Quosal. Erinn is the Community Manager at LabTech Software. Their job is to nuture the complete communication cycle between the ConnectWise / LabTech / Quosal family of products and their clients. One of the best guidelines these folks have is: “If it can be monitored and managed,  it can be put in a contract.” (And of course it can then become recurring revenue.) In the end, it’s all about predictable costs for the client and predictable revenue for the consultant. Jeannine will be one of the keynot

This article was originally posted June 16, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Freeday Friday Report: Three Conferences in Eight Days This is a very different Freeday Friday podcast . . . and the last one we’ll produce. – – – – – My report on IT Pro Conference in New Orleans. “Trusted Identity” and what it means in the big picture. A few comments on delegation of trust and what that means to our clients. My recommendations based on the topics from this conference. I talk a bit about the kinds of white papers and “lunch and learn” seminars you might create on cloud computing, modern security concerns, BYOD, and mixed (Windows/Non-Windows) environments. Then I talk about the Autotask conference and their expansion into international markets. After that I went to TechEd North America and the “Birds of a Feather” sessions I moderated there. In addition to the community activities at TechEd, I report on a cool new laptop and a bit about Server 2012. My presentation on Relax Focus Succeed and work/life balance w

This article was originally posted June 15, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Thomas Dawkins Introduces Microsoft Technical Communities   While attending the Microsoft TechEd North America conference last week, I literally ran into Thomas Dawkins just wandering the floor. Thomas is a senior IT Pro Audience Marketing Manager at Microsoft. He is responsible for relationships with IT Pro Groups and User Groups. In this interview Thomas gave us some hints about the community involvement for the year ahead. Microsoft Technical Communities will officially be launched next fiscal year (next month). Services include helping user groups with speakers, funding, and training. It is also clear that Microsoft is engaging groups in many other markets besides the “small and medium” market we know so well. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear a very big hint about funding for groups and product launches. For more information, see the new site at www.technicalcommunities.com (content will be up once the program is officia

This article was originally posted June 15, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Len DiCostanzo Reports on Autotask Community Live 2012   June 2012 – Orlando, FL – A buncha people gathered in Orlando for the Autotask Community Live conference. This is, of course, a very product-specific conference. Many of the panels were run by users. The coolest thing about that is that 83% of the attendees were first-time attendees, so they were eager to find out how others are using the tool.   We had a great time learning about what’s new with Autotask and what’s planned for the year ahead. I interviewed Len DiCostanzo, Senior Vice President, Community and Business Development for Autotask. Obviously, Len was super-busy. So we were lucky to grab a few minutes. Len gave me some great information, including that 83% stat above. Over 90 sessions, more than 70 run by customers. You can tell from this interview that he is very jazzed about the entire event and enjoyed it like the rest of us. For more information on Autotask,

This article was originally posted June 15, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Mark Moreno Gives a Mid-Market Perspective on some SMB Events   One of my favorite people in the SMB/MSP space is Mark Moreno from C & M Support Services. I think I first met Mark at the IT Pro Conference in New Orleans five years ago. But I also see him at SMB Nation and several other events. In the last ten days I ran into Mark at two separate conferences: the 2012 IT Pro Conference and Autotask Community Live.   Both Mark and I flew straight from New Orleans (the IT Pro Conference – see this blog post) to Orlando. So no time off for good behavior. Um . . . I guess that’s appropriate. Anyway, we had a great time learning about challenges and opportunities in consulting today. It’s actually pretty nice to jump in with both feet and totally immerse yourself in the business side of your business for a week or so. Mark is known as “Christ’s IT Guy.” He specializes in helping large churches with their technology needs. He often

This article was originally posted June 15, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Six Podcast Reports from New Orleans IT Pro Conference   June 2012 – New Orleans – Jeff Middleton’s IT Pro Conference was a great success last week. Two days of panels and discussions on the theme “Trusted Identity: Faith in a Technology World” were very well received. About 150 attendees spent the time in a conversation that wound around through discussions of – Trusted Advisor roles  – Identity Theft  – Social Media Privacy Breaches  – Hosted Environments  – Government Oversight  – Unintended Electronic Disclosures  – Branding Realities in a Business or Technology without Trust  – Partnership and Service Provider Failures  – Identity Federation (Facebook, Gmail, Passport, service aggregators) – Social Media and more!   Naturally, I decided to catch up with some folks and get their impressions of the whole event. I started with Andy Goodman, a long-time community member and leader. Andy has been working for/with SBSMigration.co

This article was originally posted May 18, 2012 on Cloud Services Roundtable. Reports from the SMB 150 Banquet 2012   May 16th – Los Angeles – SMB Nation put on a nice banquet to celebrate the 2nd Annual SMB 150 Influencers. This was a great event. To be honest, this event started for me about lunchtime as I met with a series of great people that I don’t get to see very often.   Download the SMB 150 report now On Friday I asked Harry Brelsford from SMB Nationto give us a brief report on the event. That’s included here. In fact, Harry kicks off the podcast. While I was in Los Angeles, I interviewed a few folks. So those very short interviews are here as well. Interviewees include Denis Wilson, Terry VanWinkel, and Jerry Koutavas. I do have to say that I was really impressed that people came all the way from the eastern side of the U.S. But I was more impressed with people who came from Canada, Brazil, the UK, and Australia. I’m not sure how Harry does this, but he really knows how to put on a community even