Artificial intelligence (AI) offers the promise of bringing infinite automation at and beyond a level humanity is capable of at present. It also brings forth the promise of the singularity where all technical growth and development collapses into the automation cycle of advanced artificial intelligence. There isn’t an argument on whether this will happen or not (if we can avoid destroying ourselves until then), just a matter of when. The issue is that the “AI” of today isn’t really all that intelligent, but most people think it is.
Most modern AI is glorified machine learning (ML) at best. Even the most advanced lacks any comprehension or understanding of what it is doing. You have a black box; you plug data into it, and you get out some (hopefully) correct results. That isn’t to say ML isn’t impressive and can’t deliver results; you just need to know what you have and what you’ll get from the process.
There are some overblown claims in ML and AI, but if you understand what AI can do, and more importantly what it can’t, you can temper your expectations to fit reality. I’m going to refer to these various technologies as AI for the sake of convenience unless the distinction is pertinent.
The Promise Of AI
It feels like there’s some kind of AI or ML solution strapped into everything and anything. Security and networking solutions throw in AI. Analytic solutions bolt on ML. This isn’t a coincidence either; we’ve reached an awkward spot in the development of technology. We’re past the era of heuristics and human-generated algorithms in many fields.
There’s been an arms race in technology. Hackers use more and more novel techniques to exploit software and people at levels where even the slightest human slip-up can snowball into catastrophe. Modern viruses have become polymorphic messes of novel exploits that defy analysis outside of dedicated technical research. Humans can’t keep up. They need something at least fractionally intelligent for all the minutia — something that doesn’t get tired and doesn’t make mistakes.
This is where the promise of AI comes in. All of the various AI solutions claim to do this and more; they’ve unlocked the magic solution to every problem, and their solution does things better than any of the old-guard solutions. You just need to buy in, and all your problems will disappear like magic.
Limitations Of AI
Unfortunately, that’s all sales talk. The facts are buried in the fantasy, but it’s up to you to figure out what’s what. Even the simplest machine learning can bring something to the table, but you’re going to disappointed if you’re expecting a steak and you get a bowl of chips instead. Current-generation AI solutions are limited in many ways.
There isn’t an AI solution that has any degree of sentience or understanding of what it’s doing. You get your magic black box, which approximates a human by some measurement, but even the most advanced AI doesn’t understand the data, the results, what it’s doing or why it’s doing something. The AI can’t understand any part of the process, so bad data gets bad results. Another flip side to this, if the principle the process was created around was flawed, the entire process will be flawed as well. A person can use their better judgment to know whether something makes sense or not — a machine can’t (yet).
You need to know the right questions to ask to determine whether a product can or will fit your needs. What theoretical principles are behind the implementation? How does it collect or work with training data? Is the process adjusted regularly, or is it static? Are the real-world statistics in line with the theoretical statistics? What do you need to maintain? You need to pull at the thread until you unravel the whole thing to something you can understand. Otherwise, what exactly are you buying? There’s going to be a limit, and it’s up to you to figure out what it is.
Putting These Factors In Perspective
AI offers the promise of boundless improvement to virtually any process when done right, but that hinges on it being done right. What are you trying to solve, and how does the solution target that? You need the right solution for the right problem, or else you’re just wasting time. A good programmer won’t necessarily make a good technician.
If you’re introducing your findings to your company, you need to temper their expectations. A solution doesn’t have to be bad to not be the right choice, but many people treat it as a zero-sum game. This reductionist approach makes sense when you don’t understand all of the factors: Either it works, or it doesn’t.
You’re fighting an outside salesperson familiar with the product, what it can do and all of the smooth talking to sell your superiors on how sleek it is. If you don’t understand it and no one else at your organization does, who can make sense of the claims enough to make the right choice? To top this off, if you don’t understand it enough to relay the information, who will trust your interpretation of the solution for better or worse? It may be worthless, but you can’t just say that; you need to explain and show why it doesn’t fit.
The future is going to be lined with developments in AI, but that doesn’t mean every product that adds AI will be the right choice every time. What are you trying to do, and what does the solution do? Pull the fact out of the fantasy and see what you can actually expect. It’s not magic, but as Clarke’s Third Law states, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Do you want to fall for magic snake oil or see it for what it is and unlock the true potential behind a given technology?
Meet Brian & Mary of Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications is currently located in Roanoke VA. We were started in 2004. We started this company originally just to make an extra $1200 a month in cash.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been a member of The 20 since April of 2020.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We partnered with The 20 to drive down the cost of our tool sets, partner with other resources that had knowledge that we didn’t and save money.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Understanding scale and letting go.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Our favorite part of being a member of The 20 is the 24 hour help desk as part of our sales strategy.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Letting go.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our biggest business challenge is documentation.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Operations and Sales/Marketing
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Decide what you want to become and never lose focus on your goals!
What book are you currently reading?
Favorite blogs/podcasts
UpperRoom, Chris Voss, Darren Hardy, Less Brown
Interested in becoming a member like Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications? Click here for more information!
Crystal McFerran of The 20 Featured on CRN’s 2021 Women of the Channel List
Full Press Release
Plano, Texas, May 10th, 2021 — The 20 MSP, a leading business development group for managed service providers (MSPs), today announced that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Crystal McFerran, Chief Marketing Officer, to the highly respected Women of the Channel list for 2021. This annual list recognizes the unique strengths, vision and achievements of female leaders in the IT channel. The 2021 Women of the Channel list acknowledges women from all over the IT channel, including vendors, distributors and solution providers.
The women honored on this year’s list pushed forward with comprehensive business plans, marketing initiatives and other innovative ideas to support their partners and customers, helping them through the uncertainty brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. CRN celebrates these exceptional women for their leadership, dedication and channel advocacy.
McFerran has been critical in her leadership of The 20’s strategic planning, demand generation activities, and go-to-market execution for managed service provider members. She is an accomplished marketing professional with over 16 years of experience in B2B marketing, demand generation, marketing communications, lead nurturing, content strategy and multichannel marketing for the IT industry.
“CRN’s 2021 Women of the Channel list acknowledges accomplished, influential women whose dedication, hard work, and leadership accelerate channel growth,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “We are proud to honor them for their many accomplishments and look forward to their continued contributions to the IT channel.”
“I am extremely proud to be part of this list and to be recognized alongside many talented, hardworking, incredible women,” McFerran said. “I want to thank CRN for this honor and look forward to representing the women in the channel.”
The 2021 Women of the Channel list will be featured in CRN Magazine on May 10th and online at www.CRN.com/WOTC.
About The 20 MSP
The 20 is an exclusive business development group for Managed Service Providers (MSP) aimed at dominating and revolutionizing the IT industry with its standardized all-in-one approach. The 20’s robust RMM, PSA, and documentation platform ensures superior service for its MSPs’ clients utilizing their completely US-based Help Desk and Network Operations Center. Extending beyond world-class tools and processes, The 20 touts a proven sales model, a community of industry-leaders, and ultimate scalability.
For more information, visit https://www.the20.com.
Follow The 20: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com
Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
© 2021. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
Meet Matt Jones of Freedom Tech!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Freedom Tech was established in 2011 in Rural Harnett County, NC – but is now headquartered in Raleigh with additional locations in Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Lillington, & Southern Pines, NC.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been a member of the 20 for about 4 months.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Without customer service, you have nothing. Yes, we answer our phones live, but if our reception team couldn’t get an available tech at that moment, customers often felt they needed to make more calls or send more messages, usually to me. I’ve lost clients in the past solely because I couldn’t be in 3 places at once. We want our customers to have the ability to reach a technician any time they pick up the phone.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Full Confidence to scale, knowing our customers will be under-promised, and over supported with the team on the help desk always ready to help. Now it doesn’t matter if the client as 1 computer, or 1,000 – I don’t have to worry, know we’ll take care of them, and I don’t have to find additional staff to do it.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Our excitement & anticipation for the future. We’re now part of a team & collective that isn’t just hoping to help & grow the industry, but we’re doing it! A lot of IT Company’s are sitting around wishing, but The 20 is taking massive action to ensure we get where we want and need to be. Not later, NOW!. And the best part, there’s room for more on the journey.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
You have to be willing to take massive action. Period. Wether it’s lead gen, sales, or scaling. You have to take action this very second.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Honestly, lead gen is our weakest link currently. I can sell, I can fix – our lead gen pipeline is the area we’re working on more now.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales. – The Core: Lead Gen + Sales + Scale.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Stop letting your pride, your family, your head trash, or whatever else keep you stuck. I promise you, if you’re looking for a team that isn’t stuck, The 20 is it.
What book are you currently reading?
Scaling Up by Verne Harnish & Leadership Strategy & Tactics by Jocko Willink
Favorite blogs/podcasts
MSP Success Magazine, Jocko Willink Podcast, Law of Attraction Coaching
Interested in becoming a member like Freedom Tech? Click here for more information!
Meet J.B. Frierson, Senior Account Manager
Today we turn the spotlight on J.B. Frierson. J.B. quickly became a tremendous asset to the entire team at The 20. Read below to find out more about J.B.
What do you do here at The 20?
I am an account manager.
Describe The 20 in three words…
Scalable. Innovative. Brilliant.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an engineer.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
It’s a tremendous opportunity and challenge to partner with our clients to help them grow their business and achieve their goals.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Learning sales allowing me to grow my clients here at The 20.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work and dedication.
What do you like most about The 20?
The culture.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
Spend time with family. I like to workout, read, and write.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
Cabo San lucas
What’s your top life hack?
Plan my weeks on Sunday
Interested in working with J.B. at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
Meet Eric Emerson of E-Squared IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
E-Squared IT is located in Clinton, New Jersey and has been open since 2015. Things really started taking off in 2018 right around the time we joined The 20.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been with The 20 since around May 2018.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
I came from small / medium sized MSPs before going independent and lacked the knowledge necessary to grow our MSP to that next level. Outside of some mastermind groups / reddit focused discussion groups there was zero companies that had what I was looking for.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Biggest change for us was our revenue. In 2020 alone in a down economy, we’ve more than tripled our monthly recurring revenue. It has been a serious game changer.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The biggest benefit is the collaboration with other like-minded MSPs. We tried to start a local mastermind group of local MSPs here in Jersey and were essentially told to go kick rocks. No one wants to share their “secret sauce” with the competition. Now with the20 we can share ideas of what works and what doesn’t work without having to worry about potentially losing local business.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
100% you have to treat your clients like they could leave at any moment. Treat your clients like they are your only client, and spend time learning about who they are as people along with the tech stuff. The soft skills are becoming just as important, if not more important than the tech knowledge
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our biggest challenge this year was delivering on our QBR / customer service promise during a pandemic. It became extremely hard to connect with our customers when its chaos in the outside world.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Our biggest areas of focus will be continuing the sales and marketing push we did for 2020, but doing so in a controlled way that doesn’t degrade overall service delivery. This year was A LOT, all at once.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Marketing and sales matter more than you could possibly imagine. Carve out a budget for Google Adwords / Linkedin and push every dollar you can to those platforms.
What book are you currently reading?
The last book I finished was Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson!
Favorite blogs / podcasts
I cant seem to find any MSP / tech related blogs that aren’t overly vendor heavy, so im going to have to offer up the king of fake business himself Mr Tim Dillon on the Tim Dillon show. He’s a national treasure and must be protected at all costs.
Interested in becoming a member like E-Squared IT? Click here for more information!
Technology moves at a breakneck pace. New standards pop up, old technologies lose support, novel threats are revealed, and the wheel just turns and turns. Nothing has really changed with the pattern, but it feels like it’s moving faster than ever before.
Things are changing at the same individual rate, but there are more things changing to account for. You used to only need to worry about the basics like networking, servers, and workstations (or similar), now you need to fight the choice between software suites, hosting types, security suites, advanced networking capabilities, etc. The choices have gotten endless for each one, and very rarely is there a clear-cut case of objectively better once you hit a certain minimum. Salespeople have no qualms embellishing claims and the spec sheets may not always be apples to apples for comparisons among similar suites.
Technology comparisons can get downright onerous if you don’t know how to find the right resources to make sense of claims and features. Billing gets even crazier unless you have the market to pull special treatment. It’s the difference between a flat $0.50 an endpoint per month, and a billing scheme with unclear tiers, fixed and/or variable fees, or even variable price per month. When looking at technology we look at what they promise, what they can show, and how it fits the model for our clients.
What Does It Promise?
What features does an offering have and what claims do they make? The adage of “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” usually holds true here. But, sometimes you get pricing by buying in early, as a way to expand business, or even as part of a partnership. Striking one of these deals can make your offering that much more amazing if you know how to negotiate a new promise out of the sales team. Pricing may not be the first thing you figure out, but it is one of the biggest deal breakers for a promise.
What have you been promised it can do? This can even be spec sheets and “raw data”. How well does it actually work out? If you can’t easily weigh the individual promise, how well have they held up their previous promises? Don’t look too far if the company has been through substantial change unless you want to be extremely cautious. If the entire C-suite and management was completely changed out and it’s been a few years with the new management, you may want to just look at the promises in that period. Don’t look too far if their track record is bad either.
AI excites me but also scares the bejesus out of me. Promises get a lot vaguer with Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI and ML are computing black boxes. You have an input and (ideally) an output that fits what you want, but you have no real insight into how the process works. The people making it can understand what they’ve put in, but the actual process is still a mystery.
You have to know how to make sense of their promises and claims for them to mean anything. How many promises are vague and loaded with empty marketing speak and how many can actually be quantified? Buzzwords are fine if they actually mean something contextually, but they’re less than useless otherwise. How many of the promises make sense? Now, how can you turn their promises into something verifiable?
What Has It Shown?
Where does it stand in comparison to its competition? What rates is this measured from and who sponsored the research? What have they shown they can do consistently well? Are there features which stand out which you can actually benefit from? Look at what they have shown they can do for you.
Even if something is possible to do, it doesn’t mean it’s practical. That cheap consumer router may say it works great for a business and someone used it for a day when their expensive equipment went down, but does that mean it’s shown anything useful if you’re buying for business? I’ve been in that spot, and they usually work for a day or two at a larger place before having to be continuously rebooted. There’s a reason a commercial or enterprise router costs more and works better in a commercial setting; it’s made to do so. You have to know how to apply the same filters for promises or else you get sold on a different bill of goods.
Benchmark the results you get. What can they show you they can actually do and how can you measure the data? A product might work great in a virtualized environment, but how does it work on real life hardware? You have to put the promises you can actually show into the context of how it fits you and your business needs. If you know what to look for, you might get in on something exceptional which is just marketed poorly, or avoid the inverse.
How Does It Fit?
A great product targeted at a different market may not be a great (or even good) fit. Your business continues to change (just like the businesses we support). What do you need and who is the product targeting? If you’re a Managed Service Provider (MSP), you’ll probably have multiple clients in multiple industries. How do you find the common denominator that can get you better pricing while satisfying all of their needs?
A product is going to have an associated cost. I keep coming back to cost, but cost is one of the most important factors for a product being a good fit or not. It doesn’t just matter what a client needs, it also matters what they can afford and are willing to spend. While a single service isn’t going to break the bank, 10 of them will. Technology continues to expand and more and more things become necessary to just run a business. You have to focus on the bigger picture which combines risk, need, desire, and support.
You have to take into account compliance, security, accessibility, maintainability, scalability, etc. and all of it costs money. While it’s not ideal, some businesses just don’t have the money to solve certain problems the best way possible. Other times, a certain technology may not have something financially accessible or practical which fits what the client is willing to do. You have to pick something which makes your life easier in some way as the IT professional as well, but sometimes that comes at a cost too, and that cost can be a deal-breaker.
Measure each factor and compare it to what you or the client need. If something really simplifies their business, it can be worth the extra cost, but you have to be able to show them. Clients will hold you accountable for your decisions to push a product, so you have to do your due diligence. Make sure it can deliver on its promises and can back up its claims. This helps you determine whether it’s the right fit, or if you need to go a different direction. Not every choice will be a home run, but if you focus on the right factors, you make informed decisions instead of blind gambles.
We use our ability to negotiate and our expertise to keep with and stay ahead of market trends. You may not always want to be the first early adopter, but you don’t want to be late to the party either. Where is the market going and how do you get ahead without getting lost?
Interested in finding out more about The 20? Click here.
Meet Chris Kimbell of WOLFGUARD IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
In 2010, my family moved from Texas to my wife’s hometown of Bozeman, Montana. I was unable to find a career in my field, so I decided to create my own career and started the company from the basement of my in-laws home. WOLFGUARD IT has since grown considerably and now has clients over Montana, Wyoming, Texas and even Ireland and China. We push toward continued growth and this year we even made the MSP 501 list for 2020!
How long have you been a member of The 20?
3 years
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We were having difficulty with scaling and needed a unique sales model that works. Some groups had their “golden goose” but didn’t help you get there. I needed a group that would help you get from point a to the end goal.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
We dove in with the The 20 model. This changed every aspect of our business. It was a lot of work, but has paid off big time. We now have scalability, a better business model and a great sales model that easily makes sense.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Number one would be the knowledge that The 20 provides as well as the resources and other members.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work and the right business model.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Marketing and brand awareness.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Marketing, marketing and marketing. We have been in business for 10-years now and we haven’t worked on our band awareness until now. More people need to know our brand and what we do.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
It is extremely difficult to scale your business while staying profitable. But that is only part of the fight. Work with a group that can handle your marketing and sales models too. All of these items make a big difference in your overall success.
What book are you currently reading?
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Neowin fills by nerdy tech update needs.
Interested in becoming a member like WOLFGUARD IT? Click here for more information!
Meet Vishal Rambaran, Tier 1 Support Desk Technician
Today we turn the spotlight on Vishal Rambaran. Vishal quickly became a tremendous asset to the entire team at The 20. Read below to find out more about Vishal!
What do you do here at The 20?
Level 1 Support Desk
Describe The 20 in three words…
Close-Knit, Supportive, Friendly
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I do not think I had anything in mind but I do remember saying astronaut a lot turned out to be scared of heights.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Nothing is ever the same it is a constant changing environment.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
To be honest coming here at this time as it breaking out of my day to day and experiencing something new.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Be coachable take criticism and run with it.
What do you like most about The 20?
The community everyone is willing to assist to what ever level they can.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
I enjoy building computers and am currently working on my first water cooled rig, other than that currently just playing games. As well as learning the violin and I’m not good at all.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
Next vacation no plans on the book but will most likely back home in Pennsylvania, if not Singapore.
What’s your top life hack?
Mistakes happen, so learn from them.
Interested in working with Vishal at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
Meet Peter Tessitore of Netlogic Computer Consulting!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
We are in Nashua, NH and have an office in Hanover, MA. Netlogic Computer Consulting was established in 2005 by Craig Packard and myself. We have been doing traditional IT Support for businesses in New England since then. Thanks to the 20 group, we became a Million dollar MSP in 2018. The last couple of years, we morphed into the Netlogic My365 (cloud services) “the Modern Workplace, Any device, anywhere, any time” and brought our services to the 20 at the Vision Conference in 2019. A lot of 20 members are having great success with this platform especially since Covid-19 hit.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We are an original member of the 20 since it’s inception.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Tim’s concepts of standardizing and Help Desk. Pricing Concepts also.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Biggest change was the switch to the Microsoft 365 platform which opened up all kinds of opportunities for us.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The Staff and Members are Awesome! Great concepts and we are all still working to improve on them.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Marketing and a great Pipeline! An MSP’s service has to be top notch also.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Expenses as we grow fast. Calculated risk on hiring to keep SLA’s and production of the staff.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Growing our My365 program to more 20 Members. We will have a virtual booth at 2020 Vision conference.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Hang tough through the rollercoaster of growth. As a peer group (The20), you have all the help and resources you need to scale up quickly to grow your business. DON’T try and do it all yourself. Reach out for advice and help and “Plan your work and work your Plan”
What book are you currently reading?
Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
Favorite blogs / podcasts
My favorite reading has to be the Microsoft 365 official blog. Staying up to date on Microsoft 365 releases and new ideas is a challenge with technology moving so quickly. This blog is great at highlighting updates as well as success stories that we can emulate.
Interested in becoming a member like Netlogic Computer Consulting? Click here for more information!
