Business Speak

Harry Brelsford and William Kapes discuss their experiences at a conference held at the NASA Space Center. William's company, Integra Tech, is part of the Lyra ecosystem, which includes over 120 companies under the Evergreen Services Group. They focus on professional services organizations, particularly in industries like accounting, legal, and medical. Integra Tech has offices in Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Eau Claire, and supports clients both remotely and geographically. William praises the Thread AI event for its useful service desk tools and rapid product updates. He appreciates the smaller, interactive conference format over larger, less engaging events.

Category Creator to Category Killer 

By Harry Brelsford 

While the macro-economy is full of nervous Nellie fretting the future, the next technology epoch winers are quickly emerging. If you ever played woulda shoulda coulda (I wish I had bought MFT shares ten years ago in the $50s / today its just of $500) then read on cause this is a guide to teaming with a up-and-coming ISV in our space. It’s radical disruptive approach to a new category is turning heads and an opportunity to MSPs to do more with less, not excess  

Meet Thread

It’s already perfected AI Service Desk for MSPs and along the way created a new category as its launch pad – and it did it on the back of pirates (more on that in a hot minute).  It’s approach is to scale making your technicians more energetic and efficient when it comes to managing customer service tickets. The pillars Thread is leveraging are well established: Inbox, Agents, Automation and Chat. That’s not necessarily news but I’ll share the secret sauce with you in a sec.

I’m reading “Far From Home” that my Alaskan childhood/lifelong friend “Coolie” (aka Charles Wohlforth) co-authored with Senator Lisa Murkowski. As the really old Life cereal TV ad said “...he likes it (yay kids won’t get thatl). 

I’m starting Chapter 5. Here are some highlights from the last few chapters for your consideration. 

Meet Nic Ferraro from PIA (Thread AI Unleased Conference)

Harry Brelsford and Nick Ferraro discuss the growth and impact of Pia, an Intelligent Automation Company for MSPs, which originated from the Virtual IT Group in Australia. Pia's AI-led automation platform, developed in-house over seven years, was released in 2022 and has since attracted over 400 partners, with 80% now based in the US and North America. They highlight the benefits of smaller shows for networking and will be at upcoming events like

At Channel Con 2025, Harry Brelsford interviews Dan Wensley, the new CEO of the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA), formerly CompTIA. Wensley highlights the success of the new GTIA brand, 200 days into the transition, and discusses the organization's growth and support for the tech industry. Despite being based in Canada, Wensley emphasizes GTIA's global reach and remote operations. He shares his experience with rebranding, citing Level Platforms and Warranty Master as examples. The roadmap for GTIA includes investments in people, resources, community, and advancement, with plans to expand Channel Con to EMEA and enhance community engagement.

Ryan Ettridge, co-founder and CEO of CyberCert, discussed the company's cybersecurity certification for small businesses, which is unique outside the UK and Singapore. CyberCert fills a gap for SMBs lacking standardized cybersecurity measures, offering certifications starting at $95. The program relies on MSPs to guide SMBs through the certification process. Ettridge highlighted CyberCert ‘success in Australia and New Zealand, with 300 partners and over 3,000 certified businesses. The company recently launched in the US through a partnership with Pax8, aiming to activate many MSPs and partners. Ettridge emphasized the importance of scalable training methods for MSPs.