Tubbservatory Round-Up – Tools and Resources for Your MSP

Every week, Richard highlights five essential resources that Managed Service Provider (MSP) business owners should pay attention to in the IT industry. The Tubbservatory is a weekly video broadcast that presents valuable articles, podcasts, and events curated specifically for IT business owners. Tubbservatory Round-Up #19 – July 2023 is a compilation of all the Tubbservatory episodes aired throughout July.

And, it’s all edited together for you to watch at your convenience. The items are summarised below, with links to the resources mentioned in the video at the end of this article.

This month’s topics include: Tool Stack, Security, Data Portability, PSA Integrations, AI, gadgets and much more!

Tubbservatory: The July 2023 Round-Up Video

Tubbservatory Round-Up #19: July – Week 1

#1 What’s in your MSP toolbox?

What’s in your MSP toolbox?

With so many services and so many tools available to Msps, where do you start and what do you choose to add to your tool stack?

That’s the question that SuperOps.ai addresses in their latest eBook, in this extensive guide on MSP (managed service provider) tools.

Whether you’re just starting out in Managed Services, or need a reminder on the options, this is a great resource to check out.

#2  The MSP’s guide to services pricing

How should you price your MSP services? The MSP’s guide to services pricing is an excellent article for Clive Longbottom for SmarterMSP.

Longbottom suggests three top tips:-

• Creating a competitive service package at the base level
• You can place more customers into shared platforms
• Make security your differentiator

Check out the article for the full guide.

#3 Profusion and Pinsent Masons LLP launch ‘The Good Data Guide’

Talking of guides, data consultancy Profusion and Pinsent Masons LLP recently launched ‘The Good Data Guide’.

‘The Good Data Guide’ provides a data ethics framework and comes as research reveals 83% of business leaders feel morally uncomfortable about how their company uses data, reports Penny Horwood of Computing Magazine.

#4 Private Equity Doesn’t Have to Ruin Our Industry

Private Equity Doesn’t Have to Ruin Our Industry, writes MSP Legend Karl Palachuk in his latest article.

Data Portability is something Palachuk suggests could be the solution to aggressive PE investment — giving MSPs the opportunity to easily move between providers.

I applaud this suggestion and would suggest MSPs check out Palachuk’s article for the full details.

#5 Build the Impossible

And finally, I’ll be headed to Las Vegas between August 1st-3rd 23 for the annual CompTIA ChannelCon event.

I’ll be a panellist on the session “Triumph Over Adversity: Inspiring Stories of Overcoming Life’s Challenges”, and if you’re attending ChannelCon — I want to hear from you!

Leave a comment below so we can say hello in Las Vegas.

Tubbservatory Round-Up #19: July – Week 2

#1 Emerging Threats and Cybersecurity Trends for Summer 2023

What are the emerging threats and cybersecurity trends for Summer 2023?

That’s what cybersecurity expert, Alex Dangel of Barracuda MSP outlines in this video.

Data gathered from Barracuda’s XDR platform and 24/7 Security Operations Center illustrates 1-in-5 cyberthreats detected between June and the end of September 2022 were classified as higher risk, compared to just 1-in-80 in January.

Check out this video for Dangel’s advice on how you can strengthen your security offering while lightening your load

#2 Introducing DataShur Pro-C

Talking of Cybersecurity, how many stories have we heard of people losing important data on USB sticks?

Well, a gadget that caught my eye is the new iStorage DataShur Pro-C.

This is a PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted, USB Type-C flash drive — and without entering the correct PIN, the drive doesn’t work.

Backed by centralised management features and hardware encryption, this USB flash drive could prove a hit with MSPs.

#3 Sell More, Do Less By Danny Boyle

Most MSPs struggle with sales, so this new book from will be of interest to you.

Sell More, Do Less: An MSP & IT Specialist’s Guide to Better Sales Calls by Danny Boyle is a guide filled with proven strategies and tips to build stronger relationships with your customers, communicate more effectively, and differentiate yourself from the competition.

I was honoured to write the foreword for this new book, and I highly recommend it.

#4 Customer Experience — A Differentiator for MSPs in an Overcrowded Market

A Podcast that caught my ear is Justin Esgar of Virtua Computers talking about delighting client’s on the SuperOps.ai SuperPod.

Customer experience is a differentiator for MSPs in an overcrowded market, says Esgar.

This is an episode to listen to!

#5 I’m Done with Twitter

And finally, with Twitter in turmoil since Elon Musk’s acquisition, this past week Meta released their Twitter-like platform, Threads.

People are leaving Twitter in droves, including MSP Legend Karl Palachuk, who explains his reasons in this article.

It’ll be interesting to see what impact Facebook’s new social media platform has on the marketplace.

Tubbservatory Round-Up #19: July – Week 3

#1 CompTIA’s New Cybersecurity Trustmark and ISAO | Acronis CyberFit Summit

That man James Steel is back with his latest video on the Akamai Linode YouTube channel.

In this video, James looks at Akamai’s New Dev Community, WordPress Load Testing, The Great Cloud Reset and More.

Steel has been on fire with his videos of late, so I’d highly recommend watching and subscribing for progressive MSP goodness!

#2 20 Habits Good Leaders Will Want To Stop

Whether we recognise it or not our behaviours change constantly, often in a very subtle way over a period of time.

However, sometimes negative behaviours can become embedded without us realising it, becoming bad habits which can be difficult to shift.

Tribero have shared 20 Habits Good Leaders Will Want To Stop as both an infographic and video, and I’d encourage all MSPs to check out their insights.

#3 Nordic Business Forum

And talking of leadership, Damien Harrison of Bondgate IT recommended the Nordic Business Forum YouTube channel to me as a source of great leadership advice.

These videos are bite-sized, typically 10 mins or so in length, and feature some amazing speakers sharing wisdom that will help every IT business.

Thanks for the recommendation, Damien!

#4 Episode 191: This Simple Trick Increases Sales for MSPs

A Podcast that caught my ear was episode 191 of Paul Green’s MSP Marketing Podcast.

Paul discusses a simple trick that increases sales for MSPs, plus speaks with Craig Andrews, Founder and Principal Ally at allies4me on how relationship-building and creating mutual trust early in the sales cycle can improve your conversions and increase sales.

This is an episode worth seeking out!

#5 The Tech Tribe Local Meetups

And finally, if you’ve not attended a Tech Tribe Local Meetup, then you’re missing out!

Here in the UK, there are Tech Tribe groups meeting all over the country, and there are groups popping up in Europe, the USA, Canada, South Africa and further afield.

Meetings are open to anyone from the Managed Services industry, including vendors, and attendance is free thanks to sponsorship from Pax8 — so what are you waiting for?

Tubbservatory Round-Up #19: July – Week 4

#1 Pax8 Launch Briefing

Pax8 have made quite the impact since launching their cloud marketplace in Europe, and have quickly become the leading modern distributor for MSPs.

But if you’re not already a Pax8 partner, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about!

The Pax8 Virtual Launch Briefing takes on 24th August between 3-4.30pm. The briefing is an event for MSPs to see what Pax8 is all about without any commitment.

Registration is now open.

#2 Announcing SecurityRadar – Data-Driven Security Insights for Proactive and Personalized Customer Sales Engagement

With cybersecurity being front of mind for every MSP, a video that caught my eye is the new workshop on the top M365 security needs from SkyKick.

SkyKick have recently launched their SecurityRadar. Data-driven security insights for proactive and personalized client sales engagement.

Lee Ramse and Michael Leison of SkyKick offer tips and tricks in this workshop on M365 security needs that are crucial to your client’s.

This video is now available on demand.

#3 22 Types of Content You Should Create to Reach Your Audience [Infographic]

Talking of client engagement, an infographic that caught my eye is the 22 Types of Content You Should Create to Reach Your Audience from Giraffe Social Media via Social Media Today.

It covers the four stages of a buyers journey, including:

• Awareness
• Consideration
• Decision
• Retention

#4 The Complete White Label IT Support Solution for MSPs

One of the most common questions I’m asked by MSPs is around outsourcing their Network Operations Centre (NOC), Helpdesk, or Security Operations Centre (SOC).

If you’re considering outsourcing, then I highly recommend taking a look at Uptime Solutions.

Uptime are based in the UK, with a presence in New Zealand and North America, giving them global coverage.
Uptime have built an incredible reputation for superb onboarding and ongoing support, so are definitely one to watch.

#5 Build The Impossible

And finally, the huge CompTIA ChannelCon event takes place in Las Vegas on 1st-3rd August.

I’ll be in attendance and doing a panel session at the event, and thanks to our friends at Akamai/Linode, we’ll also be hosting an MSP dinner alongside MSP Legends Karl Palachuk and Erick Simpson!

If you’re in Vegas and would like to join us, leave a comment below and we’ll send you details.

Links to the Resources Mentioned in this Round-Up

From Week 1

1. What’s in your MSP toolbox?
2. The MSP’s guide to services pricing
3. Profusion and Pinsent Masons LLP launch ‘The Good Data Guide’
4. Private Equity Doesn’t Have to Ruin Our Industry
5. Building the Impossible

Mentioned in Week 2

1. Emerging Threats and Cybersecurity Trends for Summer 2023
2. Introducing DataShur Pro-C
3. Recommended Books for MSPs
4. Customer experience — a differentiator for MSPs in an overcrowded market
5. I’m Done with Twitter

Week 3

1. CompTIA’s New Cybersecurity Trustmark and ISAO | Acronis CyberFit Summit
2. 20 Habits Good Leaders Will Want To Stop
3. Nordic Business Forum
4. Episode 191: This simple trick increases sales for MSPs
5. The Tech Tribe Local Meetups

And Week 4

1. Pax8 Launch Briefing
2. Announcing SecurityRadar – Data-driven security insights for proactive and personalized customer sales engagement
3. 22 Types of Content You Should Create to Reach Your Audience [Infographic]
4. The Complete White Label IT Support Solution for MSPs
5. Build The Impossible

How You Can Help

That concludes the Tubbservatory Round-Up #19!

Have you stumbled upon an extraordinary tool or resource that you think would catch our eye?

Feel free to share it with us in the comment section below. Your input is highly valued and greatly appreciated!

You Might Also be Interested in

• Tubbservatory Round-Up #7 – July 2022
• TubbTalk 135: How to Turn Employees into a Company’s Biggest Cybersecurity Asset
• Is a Co-Managed IT Model the Opportunity Your MSP Has Been Looking For?

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