In 10 minutes daily, The Business of Tech delivers the latest IT services and MSP-focused news and commentary. Curated to stories that matter with commentary answering ‘Why Do We Care?’, channel veteran Dave Sobel brings you up to speed and provides resources to go deeper. With insights and analysis, this focused podcast focuses on the knowledge you need to be effective, profitable, and relevant.
The podcast is hosted by Dave Sobel, a leading expert in the delivery of technology services with broad experience in both technology and business. He owned and operated an IT Solution Provider and MSP for over a decade, both acquiring other organizations and eventually being acquired. This firm was a winner of multiple awards, including Kaseya’s Cutting Edge and ConnectWise’s Best New Idea, as well as being a finalist for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner of the Year in the Small Business Specialist category. After his MSP experience, he worked for multiple vendors at such companies as Level Platforms, GFI, LogicNow, and Solarwinds, leading community, event, marketing, and product strategies, as well as several M&A activities.
He was named a CRN Channel Chief multiple times, to the CRN UK A-List, as a Channel Futures Circle of Excellence winner, to Channel Pro’s 20/20 Visionaries, and has been an MSPmentor 250 member for multiple years Dave has been recognized as one of the top virtualization experts globally as a Microsoft MVP for Virtualization. and author of “Virtualization: Defined. A Primer for the SMB Consultant.” Dave has served on the executive council for Managed Services and Emerging Technologies, the Vendor Advisory Council, as founding Chair for the Mobility Community for CompTIA.
News and commentary delivered daily from experience.
Vendor channel consolidation continues to shape decision-making for MSPs, as the industry evaluates tradeoffs between integrated security stacks and maintaining best-of-breed toolsets. The episode’s discussion centers on the role...
Margin pressure, driven by a widening profitability gap among MSPs, is the primary structural shift highlighted in this discussion. According to Dave Cava, industry data shows that over half...
The episode outlines a structural shift in managed services and IT operations: the automation and unbundling of junior technical work due to the integration of automated tools and AI-driven...
The dominant structural shift outlined is an accelerating concentration of market power and operational control within a handful of large technology companies and platforms, exacerbated by aggressive vendor channel...
The core structural shift analyzed is the consolidation of service provider-only peer communities into trade associations representing the entire technology channel, including vendors, distributors, and service providers. This shift...
The episode reveals a structural transfer of forecasting and adoption risk from AI vendors to managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service organizations. Five companies—CyberFOX, Intezer, Sophos, Flamingo, and...
Barracuda’s recent unification of its reseller, MSP, and services programs into a single partner success structure highlights a continuing trend toward channel consolidation and streamlined partner management among technology...
The episode highlights the ongoing consolidation of the MSP sector, driven by acquisition-focused entities like Evergreen Services Group. This structural mechanism centers on long-term acquisition strategies and the operational...
The episode reveals a structural shift toward eligibility thresholds and silent disqualification in the managed services sector, driven primarily by large vendors and regulatory buyers. Companies now establish non-negotiable numerical thresholds—such as cloud revenue minimums or cryptography certifications—as criteria that MSPs must meet to maintain channel access or bid eligibility. Key organizations shaping these dynamics include Microsoft, which has reduced its global distributor base by two-thirds, and regulatory buyers who increasingly rely on FIPS 140-3 cryptography validation as a procurement gate.
MSP Radio is the destination for news and commentary on the IT Solution Provider world.
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