Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Episode 01: Succeeding in AI and Managed Security
Published 2 years, 6 months ago
Description
In the very episode of a brand-new podcast, your hosts Erick Simpson and Rich Freeman explore the $158.6 billion channel opportunity in AI and how MSPs can leverage AI in their own businesses while minimizing risk. Then they speak with SonicWall global channel chief Michelle Ragusa-McBain about the top three strategies for succeeding in managed security. And finally, one last thing: the record-shattering $32,000 sale of some apparently very tasty Spanish bleu cheese.
Discussed in this episode:
Generative AI will be a US$158.6 billion opportunity for the channel ecosystem by 2028
Spanish cheese breaks world record in $32,000 auction
Machine Generated Transcription
MSP Chat Podcast 01 Michelle Ragisa McBain [00:00:00] And 3, 2, 1. Blast off, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Welcome to the inaugural episode of MSP Chat, your weekly visit with two talking heads talking with you about the strategies, success tips, and services you need as an MSP to grow the business And stay ahead of the competition. My name is Rich Freeman. I am the Chief Content Officer of Channel Mastered, your host, uh, for this, uh, program, and the company that's responsible for this fine program. I am joined by your co-host, also from Channel Mastered. He is my friend, my colleague, and [00:01:00] our Chief Strategist at, uh, Channel Mastered. His name is Eric Simpson. Eric, welcome to the show. Welcome to the show yourself, Rich. We are back, baby. I just, I'm so excited. To be able to put on this great podcast with you, my colleague, friend, business partner, uh, it's just exciting to be back and to deliver the content that we feel our audience is interested in. Throw a few tips out there, have a little bit of a humor and have some really great interviews with some amazing guests. So I can't wait to get into today's inaugural episode with you, Rich. Totally agree, folks. You're gonna learn a few things, have a little fun along the way if we're doing our job right. So, thanks for tuning in. Let's jump straight in, Eric, to our story of the week. Um, and guess what? Surprise, surprise, people. It has to do with AI. Um, [00:02:00] specifically some very interesting, uh, and rather sizable projections for the size of the generative AI market for service providers. We'll get to that in a second. Uh, hat tip to our mutual friend, Eric Dave Sobel, of the Business of Tech podcast. He pointed me to some research I otherwise don't think I would have seen. It's from Constant Contact, and they recently went out to a whole bunch of small businesses and asked them, are you using AI, generative AI, are you getting results? Um, of the businesses, the small businesses that are using AI, 91 percent of them say it has made their business more successful. Of the entire sample, all the businesses, including the ones not yet using AI, over a quarter, um, expect AI and automation to save them at least 5, 000. Over the first 12 months that they're using it, but, and here's the key thing, 74 percent of the surveyed small businesses are interested in using AI or automation in their business. 55 percent um, say their, their [00:03:00] interest has grown in the last 6 months, not a terribly big surprise there, but 46 percent say they have only a beginner's understanding about the benefits of these technologies. Eric, that screams... Services opportunity, obviously. They need someone like, say, an MSP to help them understand what this AI stuff is about and how they can put it to work. And how big an opportunity is there if you go ahead and be that IT provider? Well, here's some data from this week from Canalys. The, uh, analyst organiza
Discussed in this episode:
Generative AI will be a US$158.6 billion opportunity for the channel ecosystem by 2028
Spanish cheese breaks world record in $32,000 auction
Machine Generated Transcription
MSP Chat Podcast 01 Michelle Ragisa McBain [00:00:00] And 3, 2, 1. Blast off, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Welcome to the inaugural episode of MSP Chat, your weekly visit with two talking heads talking with you about the strategies, success tips, and services you need as an MSP to grow the business And stay ahead of the competition. My name is Rich Freeman. I am the Chief Content Officer of Channel Mastered, your host, uh, for this, uh, program, and the company that's responsible for this fine program. I am joined by your co-host, also from Channel Mastered. He is my friend, my colleague, and [00:01:00] our Chief Strategist at, uh, Channel Mastered. His name is Eric Simpson. Eric, welcome to the show. Welcome to the show yourself, Rich. We are back, baby. I just, I'm so excited. To be able to put on this great podcast with you, my colleague, friend, business partner, uh, it's just exciting to be back and to deliver the content that we feel our audience is interested in. Throw a few tips out there, have a little bit of a humor and have some really great interviews with some amazing guests. So I can't wait to get into today's inaugural episode with you, Rich. Totally agree, folks. You're gonna learn a few things, have a little fun along the way if we're doing our job right. So, thanks for tuning in. Let's jump straight in, Eric, to our story of the week. Um, and guess what? Surprise, surprise, people. It has to do with AI. Um, [00:02:00] specifically some very interesting, uh, and rather sizable projections for the size of the generative AI market for service providers. We'll get to that in a second. Uh, hat tip to our mutual friend, Eric Dave Sobel, of the Business of Tech podcast. He pointed me to some research I otherwise don't think I would have seen. It's from Constant Contact, and they recently went out to a whole bunch of small businesses and asked them, are you using AI, generative AI, are you getting results? Um, of the businesses, the small businesses that are using AI, 91 percent of them say it has made their business more successful. Of the entire sample, all the businesses, including the ones not yet using AI, over a quarter, um, expect AI and automation to save them at least 5, 000. Over the first 12 months that they're using it, but, and here's the key thing, 74 percent of the surveyed small businesses are interested in using AI or automation in their business. 55 percent um, say their, their [00:03:00] interest has grown in the last 6 months, not a terribly big surprise there, but 46 percent say they have only a beginner's understanding about the benefits of these technologies. Eric, that screams... Services opportunity, obviously. They need someone like, say, an MSP to help them understand what this AI stuff is about and how they can put it to work. And how big an opportunity is there if you go ahead and be that IT provider? Well, here's some data from this week from Canalys. The, uh, analyst organiza