Tubbservatory Round-Up – What is it?

Each week Richard throws a spotlight on five resources Managed Service Provider (MSPs) business owners should take note of in the IT industry. The Tubbservatory is a weekly video broadcast featuring useful articles, podcasts and events that bring value to IT business owners.

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6 – June 2022 is a collection of all of the Tubbservatory broadcasts made in the month of June. It’s edited together for you to watch at your convenience. The items are summarised below, with links to the resources mentioned in the video.

This month’s topics include: sales, cybersecurity and mental health.

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6 June 2022 Video

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6: June – Week 1

#1 What’s Next For Your Solo MSP?

If you’re running a one-person nimble MSP, then this article from SuperOps: What’s Next For Your Solo MSP? will be of great value for you to read.

Akshaya Devi lays out the options for when your MSP business gets too big for one person to manage.

From building your team to outsourcing your bookkeeping, it’s definitely a useful guide for those of you looking to take that next step up into a broader entrepreneurship.

#2 Mi Crow’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Training Pack

Mental health awareness is an area that needs raising in the Managed Service Provider space.

So it’s great to see that training provider Mi Crow have added a mental health and wellbeing pack to their extensive MSP training material.

The pack covers such topics as:

• The way to good mental health
• Promoting wellbeing in the workplace, and
• Key measures for a mentally healthy workplace

This is a great addition to Mi Crow’s impressive line-up of training materials.

#3 The Drop Top Workstation from Pith and Stem

With so many of us working from home, the DropTop from Pith & Stem make setting up a home office easier than ever.

The best thing about it is that it folds away into a nice, decorative wall-mounted box.

This is a great option for many of us with limited space in our homes.

#4 Multi-Factor Authentication: A Key to Cyber Risk Insurance

It’s recommended that all MSPs look into cybersecurity insurance.

So this article from Tassos Arampatzis is useful for helping MSPs to understand the importance of deploying the multi-factor authentication (MFA).

MFA is not just prerequisite for policy coverage, but also for lowering insurance premiums.

 #5 6 Lessons Learned from this Year’s Channel Partners Conference and Expo

Missed the Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Las Vegas in April this year? Then don’t worry, because James Steel of Linode has done a brilliant write-up with the six lessons he learned from the event.

It is a fascinating read, with some great insights for MSPs on subjects including:

• Zero Trust isn’t as complicated as it seems
• ‘Cooperatition’ is still alive and well

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6: June – Week 2

#1 A Third of Organisations Are To Outsource Their IT Amid Talent Shortages

Computer Weekly author Karl Flinders has written a very thought-provoking article on outsourcing.

He reveals that this time the shift to outsourcing is due to a shortage of available talent in IT.

The pandemic years have accelerated the pace of digital transformation. While the cloud has become an increasing important resource where workforces have become more remote.

According to Manish Khandelwal, IT Transformation Expert at PA Consulting; “The war for talent has reached unprecedented levels and will only intensify in the short term.”

#2 7 Tips to Convert Leads Into Customers

One area MSPs often struggle with is new sales.

This webinar from Zomentum helps with tackling that tricky part of getting those prospects over the line. How do you convert sales leads into customers?

Shannon Murphy, Chief Marketer at Zomentum, leads an insightful session with award-winning speaker and sales expert, Fiona Challis, and business growth expert and sales strategist Paul Lloyd.

There are some great takeaways here for anyone who struggles with attracting new business.

#3 Cyber Resilience Begins with People and Process, not Technology

The business of cybersecurity solutions is growing more complex by the day. However, before we leverage more complex technology we need to make sure our people are educated and our processes robust.

That’s the message that Greg Jones, Business Development Director EMEA for Datto, is telling us in the article he wrote for CompTIA.

As MSPs, we need to lead by example, in what he calls the Three Pillars of Cyber Resiliency.

This will enable us to better protect our customers and promote safer practices throughout the supply chain.

#4 What is SIEM? A Guide For MSPs

On the subject of security, Adi Pick from Atera has put together a guide explaining the benefits of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) for MSPs and their clients.

SIEM offers real-time security oversight and captures log data for compliance and auditing.

And it employs AI and behaviour anomaly detection to identify threats automatically according to the rules and policies you configure when you set it up.

#5 Channel Partners Europe – London 15th and 16th June

As part of London Tech Week, Channel Partners Europe came to Park Plaza Victoria Hotel on the 14^th and 15^th of June.

The event hosted more than 50 channel experts, leaders and innovators, who were there to share their channel insights and solutions.

If you missed the event, you can sign up to register your interest in 2023’s event here.

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6: June – Week 3

#1 Barracuda MSP’s 2022 “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business” Report

As part of the recent Global MSP Day, Barracuda released their 2022 “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business” report.

This year’s report demonstrates that there is still a huge appetite for managed services. With global service related MSP revenue by over a third in 2022 compared with 2021.

This report should be of interest to any MSP looking to keep an eye on upcoming trends.

#2 NerdApp Teams Up With Visa Europe to Deliver IT Support for Small Businesses

An interesting development in the managed service space. News that UK-based NerdApp has teamed up with credit card provider Visa to provide on-demand IT support for small businesses across Europe.

NerdApp CEO Kelvin Wetherill announced that Visa card holders would qualify for discounted remote and on-site support services.

#3 The MSPs Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure can be intimidating. So Pax8 have produced the MSPs Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Azure.

If you need help breaking down the complexities of Azure, then this download is for you.

There are also a plethora of resources here to help you gain the confidence to deploy Microsoft Azure as part of your MSP offering.

#4 Your Mind Doesn’t Do You A Lot of Favours

“Information aside, the brain does a pretty sloppy job of handling memories and experiences,” writes MSP expert Karl Palachuk.

If you’ve ever wondered why your mind is overactive and racing as an MSP, you should read Karl’s article for some brilliant theories and insights.

#5 An Off-Grid Starlink User Achieves ‘Infinite WiFi’ with 300 Watts of Solar Power

Now, how’s this for sustainable IT?

An off-grid Starlink user has achieved infinite Wi-Fi with 300 watts of solar power!

Chris Young of Interesting Engineering reports that Steve Birch who works in facilities management is powering SpaceX’s internet service completely off-grid at his home in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.

I guess this means there’s hope for anyone out there who suffers with poor broadband!

Tubbservatory Round-Up #6: June – Week 4

#1 Uptime Solutions Open New Offices in Tampa, Florida

Uptime Solutions have announced the opening of their new offices in the US – Tampa, Florida.

Uptime are now expanding their global support base with offices now in the UK, US and New Zealand.

This means more growth opportunities for MSPs.

#2 How to Win, Grow and Retain New Clients for Your MSP Business

Fiona Challis, MSP sales expert and founder of Next Gen Sales Training Ltd, has put together a useful guide for MSPs to help grow their business.

How to Win, Grow and Retain New Clients for Your MSP Business is a free download. It will help you to tackle the challenges of Sales and Marketing. Consistently ranked as one of the highest challenges MSPs face today.

#3 Behind The Geeks: Becoming a Productivity Powerhouse

As it was World Productivity Day this month, it seemed fitting to highlight the recent Behind the Geeks episode: Becoming a Productivity Powerhouse.

Topics covered in this episode included:

• The benefits of productivity
• How to stop procrastinating
• How to be more organised

And the Geeks shared their very own productivity hacks.

#4 Protecting Your SMB Clients from Today’s Cybersecurity Threats

Cloud services distributor Giacom and cybersecurity experts Acronis recently delivered a webinar about the type of cybersecurity threats that SMBs are facing today.

The webinar presented an overview of the recent threat landscape and gave a detailed breakdown of how a ransomware attack works.

Then they dived into a short demo of how Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud works.

Our recent blog post about this webinar, which includes a replay is available to watch here.

#5 Computing and CRN UK – Women in Tech Festival – 3rd and 9th November 2022

Computing and CRN have announced that the Women in Tech Festival will return to London in November 2022. Both as an in-person event on the 3rd November, with a digital event on the 9th.

The agenda is impressive with talks around the four pillars of diversity, innovation, community and empowerment.

The festival will offer inspiration in improving yourself professionally and personally, as well as helping others too.

Tickets are available now.

Links to the Resources Mentioned in this Round-Up

From Week 1

1. What’s Next For Your Solo MSP?
2. Mi Crow’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Training Pack
3. The DropTop Workstation from Pith & Stem
4. Multi-Factor Authentication: A Key to Cyber Risk Insurance
5. 6 Lessons Learned from this Years Channel Partner Conference & Expo

Mentioned in Week 2

1. A Third of Organisations Are to Outsource Their IT Amid Talent Shortages
2. 7 Tips to Convert Leads Into Customers
3. Cyber Resilience Begins With People and Process, Not Technology
4. What is SIEM? A Guide For MSPs
5. Channel Partners Europe – London 15th and 16th June

Week 3

1. Barracuda MSP’s 2022 “The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business” report
2. NerdApp Teams Up With Visa Europe to Deliver IT Support for Small Businesses
3. The MSPs Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Azure
4. Your Mind Doesn’t Do You a Lot of Favours
5. An Off-Grid Starlink User Achieves ‘Infinite WiFi’ with 300 Watts of Solar Power

Week 4

1. Uptime Solutions Opens New Offices in Tampa, Florida
2. How to Win, Grow and Retain New Clients for Your MSP Business
3. Behind The Geeks: Becoming a Productivity Powerhouse
4. Protecting Your SMB Clients from Today’s Cybersecurity Threats
5. Computing and CRN UK – Women in Tech Festival – 3rd and 9th November 2022

How You Can Help

Have you recently discovered a useful tool or resource that Richard might be interested in?

Then please let us know in the comments.

You Might Also be Interested in

• Webinar: Protecting Your SMB Clients from Today’s Cybersecurity Threats
• TubbTalk 112: Microsoft Stack & Why MSPs May Consider an Alt Service Desk
• CompTIA UK&I Community Meeting: Manchester April 2022

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