Business Speak

Harry Brelsford and Peter Kujawa discussed the IT Nation Global Connect 2025 event, highlighting its success in venue, content, and food. Peter detailed the Service Leadership benchmarking reports, including the annual profitability report and the new compensation benchmarking report. He emphasized the importance of primary research and accurate data. Peter also outlined his expanded role, including running Service Leadership and managing IT Nation events. The conversation covered the event's focus on AI and practical applications, positive feedback on event changes, and ConnectWise's focus on platform delivery and AI integration. Peter concluded with plans for upcoming Evolve meetings in Portugal.

We’ve seen this movie before in the small and medium business (SMB) managed service provider (MSP) community: economic anxiety based on emotion. One example? The 2007-2009 Great Recession financial crisis. But here’s the deal, as you will see below, the data doesn’t lie and the short story above the pay line is that MSPs anticipate growth in 2026. We’re essentially a counter cyclical niche in the technology economic segment. Hopefully by the end of this report, rational behaviors will defy those 3am scary panic attacks. 

What’s Your Side Hustle?

Some of us are loud and proud about having a side hustle. Others are shy and don’t promote this hidden jewel. And finally there are those that are side hustle celibate among us LOL! 

In this goofy economy where opportunities are being reimagined every day for reasons ranging from A.I. to global economic protectionism, it’s prudent to revisit your business portfolio. Should you expand your market participation to incorporate a side-hustle or three?

Harry Brelsford, at Channel con in Nashville, interviews Carrie Erwin, National Sales Manager of ImageStar, a wholesale distributor of IT business hardware, including print consumables, scanning software, AV equipment, and computers. ImageStar, based in Middletown, Connecticut, with a warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee, has been in business for 35 years. Carrie discusses the impact of tariffs on pricing and the shift in the market towards diversification, particularly in the print industry, as businesses adapt to the end of Windows 10 and the rise of Windows 11. She also mentions Dynabook's new channel partner program for MSPs.

Harry Brelsford and Dave from Montreal discussed their experiences at Channel Con 2025 in Nashville. Harry shared his brother's background at McGill University and his own diverse tech portfolio. Dave, with a background in technology since 1995, now represents Defense X, a company focused on browser protection in cybersecurity. They highlighted the unique family-friendly atmosphere of the conference, contrasting it with more traditional tech events. Dave emphasized his role on the advisory board, working on documentation to help MSPs and participating in charitable activities like building guitars for aspiring musicians in Tennessee. Both agreed on the importance of community and giving back.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Eric Torres, an evangelist at PAX8, discussed his role in community engagement and upcoming events, including the Partner Conference Beyond in Denver with 3,000 attendees. PAX8 differentiates itself from traditional distribution models by focusing on cloud marketplace services and providing value-added training programs, which have led to significant EBITDA growth for MSPs. Torres emphasized that PAX8's cloud-based services are not directly impacted by tariffs, unlike traditional MSPs. He also praised the NerdioCon conference for its growth and impact in the industry.