Karen Greer, CEO of Secure Content Technologies, joins hosted Katie Bavoso in the latest episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV to discuss everything from starting out as a VAR (value added reseller) and transitioning to a hybrid solution provider, to her company's focus on cybersecurity offerings, to her journey to becoming a female CEO in a still male dominated industry, and so much more. Greer began adding managed services to her company's portfolio of offerings about five years ago as the market showed a clear need for co-managed and outsourced IT services. She explains it was extremely important to her to let her engineers dictate the how, when, and what managed services and professional services Secure Content Technologies should offer, and she's constantly educating herself on what her clients need and the best solutions to provide them. She is particularly a huge advocate for managed detection and response (MDR) solutions and dedicated partner of cybersecurity vendor Sophos, a company she says is extremely channel focused. Greer says that while she is often the only woman in a room at certain conferences and sessions, she does not feel that the tech industry is not creating opportunities for more women to become leaders. She strongly encourages anyone looking to grow their careers in the channel and in the general technology industry to find a mentor.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Art Amador, Chief Operating Officer of QuantumStreet AI, knows how time consuming being a wealth manager is for billion dollar accounts- he did it for nearly a decade at Fidelity. Amador tells Channel Insider: Partner POV host Katie Bavoso that he would go into the office two hours early to research international markets, stocks, securities, and financial forecasts to best advise his clients on how to invest and spend their money. Most of this research came from Google, so the work was labor intensive in that he was searching for all the information he needed one search prompt at a time. This only became more difficult as global data exploded. Amador and two of his classmates at UC Berkeley banded together and created startup QuantumStreet AI, an IBM FinTech partner. The company leaders attribute IBM for not only powering their platform, but for helping them launch their business through valuable brand association programs. QuantumStreet AI aggregates research, data, and news reports from across the internet to provide investment bankers, asset managers, and wealth mangers the critical information they need in a succinct manner.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In Part 2 of this Channel Insider: Partner POV interview with Henry Timm, CEO of Phantom Technology Solutions, Timm explains why he feels personally obligated to be on so many advisory boards and peer groups - from CompTIA, to ThreatLocker, to SuperOps, many and more. As if joining them wasn't enough, Timm and several other channel partner and vendor leaders cofounded the peer group The Tech Degenerates in order to help new and growing managed service providers learn how to navigate partner programs, build go-to-market strategies, adopt security frameworks, navigate customer challenges, explore billing models, understand IT industry events, and just about everything else related to the IT channel. Timm explains he wants others to learn from not only his successes, but his mistakes as well. He believes educational resources should be democratized in the service and solution provider community. Timm actually calls his mindset "selfish," but says if the MSP community is strong as a whole, everyone's business wins.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Henry Timm, CEO of Phantom Technology Solutions, joins host Katie Bavoso in Part 1 of this two part episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV. Just before this interview, Timm and his clients in Indiana endured windstorms that caused power blackouts across the state. The long time tech CEO explains why having a disaster recovery plan is necessary and will help small to midsized businesses get back up and running quickly. It's the kind of mindset Timm says he would want from a managed service provider if he were a client. Timm also dives into how compliance and security goes hand in hand with education and explains how he incentivizes his staff to stay up to date on training, especially when it comes to AI. Many client businesses want to throw AI applications at anything, but the biggest challenge facing Phantom Technology Solutions is keeping clients, especially those in regulated industries, secure and up to date about how they can and cannot use artificial intelligence. Timm encourages business owners to utilize training resources and security frameworks from U.S. agencies like CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and the DoD (Department Of Defense) to stay up to date on the latest security and compliance mandates, and help them determine what they should look for in a managed service provider before allowing it to co-manage their business's IT. In a world where Timm says the barrier to entry is low for anyone who wants to call their business a managed service provider, and CMMC compliance (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) regulators are limited, he invites stricter legislation to ensure competitors in his field know exactly what they're getting into when going into business. Timm also explores the subject of consolidation in the industry where MSPs are being bought up by private equity companies and creating a distance between "mega" shops and smaller boutique or startup MSPs. Where one lacks the numbers to serve customers in bulk, the other lacks in-depth knowledge needed to best serve customers. Is that sustainable? Can both exist successfully? Find out!

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Before he was injured, Richard McKinnon thought he would spend his entire career in the United States Navy. Now, however, he finds fulfillment in helping local, state, and even international government entities automate their technology processes while helping them solve their over-provisioning issues and avoid wasting budget. McKinnon says many of his clients bought too much of the wrong technology during the pandemic and now they feel stuck. That's where he comes in to help get their tech environments back on track. As the CEO of DVBE Technology Group, McKinnon also reflects on how focusing on the humans behind the titles and client companies has helped him maintain relationships and allowed him to open up to trusting and delegating to others. He explains which vendors have helped him accelerate his business, but also encourages them to think of the bigger picture when considering creating solutions for client needs.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Founder and CEO of ISV, PerVista, Vennard Wright, believes technology should be used to make the world a better place. In this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, Wright explains how PerVista, a physical security solution that uses AI and computer vision to detect firearms and the risk of gun violence, was born in 2023. After a highly publicized safety incident happened in his local area of Prince George's County, Maryland, a state official approached Wright about how technology could be used to prevent a similar incident in the future. Wright explains who his customers are, the international reach of PerVista, and how AWS is a critical vendor partner to his business. Additionally, Wright delves into his company's culture of "conscious capitalism" and how training and investing in greener technology talent helps him keep costs low, shrinks the IT talent shortage, and keeps IT professionals in his local county.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In Part 2 of this Channel Insider: Partner POV interview with Michael Pompey, Chief Information and Transformation Officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, the IT expert dives into how the nonprofit is looking for implement some of the latest technology, like AI, to help protect and encourage its scouts. Pompey discusses how channel solution providers have helped him bring ideas to life, and which vendors have done right by him.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

When you think about the Girl Scouts organization, you likely don't think about the massive enterprise that it truly is. In Part 1 of this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, host Katie Bavoso sits down with Michael Pompey, Chief Information and Transformation Officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. Get to know the intricate information technology needs that span nine counties of operation, from office buildings to remote camps. You'll learn how annual cookie sales impact the total yearly budget in just six weeks. Plus, find out how channel providers help Pompey keep everything running smoothly and securely.

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.