Business Speak

The SMB IT community has morphed and changed over the years from starting as a groovy co-op to seeing incredible growth in the last few years.  With the growth in the community we are seeing a rise in mergers and acquisitions.  Despite the everchanging world with the pandemic, concerns of high interest rates, inflation, and limited resources, companies are looking to the future by digitizing, merging, and building strong marketing strategies. 

Building a community starts with a culture that is focused on strong relationships, that help build referrals.  Alignable is an online network community that focuses on just that.  It helps connect small business owners across North America to drive leads and prospects, generate referrals, land new business, build trusted relationships, and share great advice.  Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Beatrice Phillips of THE ALPHA GROUP INTERNATIONAL who received the Business Person of the Year award  in Orlando, to discuss the best kept secret to grow your business.     

During the pandemic PC sales posted their fastest growth in 20 years, as the world prepared for remote work and learning.  Although the PC sales spiked in Q1 2021, Q1 2022 global PC shipments is down according to Gartner.  announced that “it estimates that PC shipments decreased 7.3% on an annual basis to 77.5 million units.” 

Technology is moving  faster than ever before.  From robots responding to customers, AI anticipating orders before they are placed, and the ability to stream music, share cars, and have groceries delivered at the touch of a button is being driven by the latest technology innovations.  With technology transforming daily it has opened up opportunities for cybersecurity attackers to use new technology for their advantage meanwhile defenders are trying to keep up. 

The growing dependency on technology has resulted in a increasing number of cyber security threats.  As the cyber security landscape changes, it is becoming more important than ever for business owners to look at and understand cyber security, as well as their business risks, vulnerability and how it can affect their business should they be attacked. 

Building a successful company is about more than hiring the right talent.  While hiring is important, it is just as, if not more important to help employees grow into valuable contributors to the team.   Empowering employees is an important part of boosting the culture, morale, and employees value within the company. 

We are seeing a major shift in cyber insurance as  premiums have increased between 30% and 110%.  One school district even reported a 334% increase in their cybersecurity policy.  As more and more big names are breached or hit with nasty ransomware strains, many are realizing the consequences and financial stresses this can have on their company. 

After 14 years with Microsoft, Caroline Goles embarks on a new opportunity as Vice President of Digital Sales Strategy with Pax8.  With her vast experience in the worldwide channel, she is excited to join the Pax8 team to provide critical insights into the complexities of operating a global operations, as well as share her love and passion for the partner community. 

When was the last time you bought a product or received a service where you went wow, this is really cool?  In today’s ever changing world it have become harder and harder to wow your customers.  Wowing your customers goes beyond just caring for customers, it takes more than doing what you promised. This may seem simple and obvious, but in the hustle and bustle of daily work, it's often overlooked.   

With the pandemic hitting hard and fast and few businesses having a plan for a global crisis, many businesses learned valuable lessons during the historic moment.   With most employees leaving their office with no return day both owners, employees, and clients learned  valuable lessons that many things cam be done from remote locations. 

For the past two years the event industry has been faced with incredible challenges due to the ever changing times.  Although they have been through many challenges the event industry has moved forward forging a new future across all aspects of life and business. 

In the current economic state it is becoming harder and harder for small business to survive.  From labor shortages to supply chain restraints small businesses are facing huge challenges in there day to day operations.  As an Independent MSP you are bearing the responsibility not only to overcome these challenges, but also provide industry leading technology, hardware and software, support, cloud technologies, while staying on top of operations, financials and managing the bottom line.