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Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2024 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hello Karl, -
One of my favorite quotes is from my friend George Sierchio: Run it like you're going to sell it. Why? Well, as it happens, the long list of things that increase the overall value of your company are also the things you need to run your company most efficiently and profitably. This might not be absolutely true 100% of the time, but it's a great "90%" rule.
There's a similar truth that's true within your service department:
Run it like you're going to migrate it!
I was reading through some posts on Reddit, and it occurs to me that many people run their operations as if nothing will ever change. That mentality is absurd in technology. Even back in the year 2000, we never set up the first server a client bought as if it was also the last server they would ever buy.
Today, we have a very odd trend in our industry: People are forgetting the simple rules of success. Many technicians in the business today have little or no experience of updating servers every 3-4 years. So they act as if "the" server is the only server they'll ever have. This is because most new installations are born in the cloud.
I did not respond to these folks on Reddit because the post would basically amount to, "Here's what you should have done three years ago." That would not have gone over well, and Redditers eat people alive. But this IS good advice for your junior technicians!
What do I mean? Well, let's look at the absolute basics.
One: Separate the operating system. Your OS should be on a separate drive. I mean a separate physical drive from your data. In my opinion, that drive should be a mirrored drive, but I wouldn't argue with a three-drive RAID 5 array. The main goal is that you can upgrade the OS without regard to the separate storage array. And you can move the data to the cloud, backup anywhere, etc. without worrying about separating the OS in the future.
Two: Treat all services independently. For a 200 page checklist based on this concept, see The Network Migration Workbook. In the era of cloud services, you can move email/exchange without regard to storage or OS. You can move SQL storage without regard to backup or storage. You can move the backup without regard to the web site, DNS filters, or other services you're using for anything!
Because of one and two ...
Three: Migration NEVER needs to require downtime. Taking a client system offline for a day or two, or a weekend, or overnight is never, ever, ever required. Downtime in 2024 is 99.99% preventable. I only say that because I'm sure somebody can come up with some massive exception to the rule. But in my heart, I know it's 100% - especially if you're running Linux or Windows . . . which you are.
How do you create zero downtime? Well, that takes knowledge and strategy. You have to know the technology you work with. This is not something you Google. When someone says it can't be done, you need to hear, "It can't be done by the average technician." And you should not be the average technician.
If you haven't read The Greatest Secret in The World by Og Mandino, today is a great day to do so. (Spoiler:) The greatest secret is, you only have to be a tiny bit better than everyone else to be at the absolute top of your game.
In other words, set your mind to it you can do it!!!
In my opinion, if you want to stand tall in this business, you should simply accept that downtime is a thing of the past. And find people who want to figure out how to make that happen.
If you want to talk to someone about this, send me an email.
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NSITSP Members - Register now for the GREAT webinar on January 31st.
Ultimately, customer service comes down to client interaction. Join Lisa Schorr for some great tips on improving your business today.
Oh ...
And if you're not a member, today is a GREAT day to join for only $150/year. Check out all the details at
https://nsitsp.org/event/bad-customer-interactions-hit-your-bottom-line/
If you join today, you also get access to all of our previous webinar recordings. We really are doing some good, "different" stuff.
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Misc. Notes
On the personal side . . .
Regular readers will know that I'm a new grandpa and embracing it. My daughter will start veterinary tech school in a few months, and I'll be the designated baby sitter! SO I've taken up some new hobbies. Well, mostly old hobbies I let fall by the wayside.
One new/old hobby is woodworking. I've decided to make some bird feeders, bird houses, and squirrel feeders. Unfortunately, my rheumatoid arthritis reared its ugly head. I mostly completed my first project . . . but after eight hours of work, my hands cramped so badly that I had to quit. So next weekend I'll go at it again and limit myself to four hours.
In the meantime, I have some painting to do.
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Over on my blog - https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com - I've updated the blog roll of my favorite blogs to read for the SMB IT industry. Notable additions are the Stubstacks by Rich Freeman and Howard Cohen, and the daily feed from Dave Sobel's Business of Tech.
Some people are enamored with light reading, 2-minute videos, and podcasts. But blogs are a great way to do a bit of a deeper dive. If you're new to blogs, check them out and see what you like.
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ASCII Note: I am signed up for the ASCII event in Southern California. Would love to see you there. If you are an ASCII member - which you should be - they will pick up one hotel night for members who travel more than fifty miles.
Note that the ASCII room rate is higher than what you can get by going direct to Hilton.com. And if you are a AAA member - which you should be - the rate is even better.
More juicy good information at https://ascii.com/events.
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Thanks for reading. Have a great week.
:-)
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Join me live at . . .
- ASCII Edge - Feb. 28-29, 2024 in Costa Mesa, CA
- Channel Partners Conference - March 10-13 in Las Vegas, NV
- SMB IT Professionals - Oct. 25-26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia
- ChannelPro SMB Forum - Nov. 12-13, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA
Links below in the events calendar - or at WhereInTheWorldIsKarl.com.
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One of our most popular classes ever!
Managing Your Service Board
- Setup, Core SOPs, and Daily Procedures
Taught by Karl W. Palachuk
Author, Speaker, Blogger
- Five Tuesdays
- Feb 13 - Mar 12
Register Now - Only $399*
This course covers the most important pieces of making your PSA (Professional Services Administration) service board work effectively. Your PSA is the brain center of your entire operation.
Most Managed Service Providers don't use their PSA systems efficiently. In fact, most of them only use 10-20% of the capabilities of their PSA. This costs you money because you have the tool to run everything in your business more effectively. But if you don't put the right information into the tool, then you can't get the reports you need to improve your business.
This course covers the daily operation of a managed service business - or any IT shop with a service board and a one or more technicians who execute the service. It assumes you have a service board or PSA (Professional Services Administration) and a service manager.
Whether you sell “break fix” or flat fee services, a service board will take your company to the next level – if you use it right. In addition to covering setup and core standard operating procedures, we'll get into the "nitty gritty" of running a service board and managing the service department.
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Only $399
Which PSA?
I used ConnectWise for four years in my business. Then I switched to Autotask and used that for five years. Eventually, I moved to LogicNow and used that for more than five years.
On top of all that, I've worked closely with coaching client who have used all of these products. This course is intended to apply to all PSAs. I will point out areas where differences are most obvious.
You will learn
- How tickets should flow into, through, and off of the service board
- How to set up the core components of a service board
- Priorities
- Statuses
- Workflows
- Time Estimates
- The most important processes and procedures for making the board work effectively once it's set up
- Introducing new processes to you employees
- Getting clients to understand the new processes
- Time tracking the right way
- The most important reports you need to run
- Every Day
- Every Week
- Every Month
- When it's time for client renewals
- Avoiding the biggest pitfalls with service board management
- Building an Action Plan that works
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Only $399
Top Take-aways:
- Understand How the Components of Service Work Together
- Managing all the Time in Your Service Business
- Defining the Perfect Service Ticket
- The Most Important Reports You Need to Run
- Building Excellent Customer Service
PLUS lots more.
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Unit 1 Core Components / Building Blocks of a Great Service Board
Unit 2 Core Processes & Procedures for Success / Time Tracking the Right Way
Unit 3 Implementation and Daily Processes
Unit 4 A Day in the Life of the Service Desk / Policies that Drive Profitability
Unit 5 Build and Maintain a Well-Oiled Machine / Getting the Details Right
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Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of the very popular "SOP Friday" posts at https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Service Manager or Operations Manager.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Manager
- Technician
This class will be recorded. Each unit is generally posted within 24 hours of the live class. These recorded units will become the On-Demand class and you’ll have lifetime access to it.
Register Now - Only $399*
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print | |
Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos | |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
.
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Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Join us every Thursday
9 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
All members welcome.
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Chip Reaves Joins Us for the February 1st Roundtable
Bigger Brains is all about training - for you and for your clients. In "AI Year Two" we expect some major changes throughout our industry. One way to deal with that is training! We'll talk to Chip about this and more.
Way back when, Chip helped found Computer Troubleshooters and is still a franchise owner. So he has deep experience in managed services from different angles.
Join us for a great discussion about buying - and selling - training in 2024. I've been honored to work with Chip and Bigger Brains for many years. I promise with will be a great discussion.
Members learn more here and join us Thursday February 1st:
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/member_content/chips-reaves-join-us-for-the-february-roundtable/
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Our first Community Breakout last week went well. You are welcome to join us on February 15th for the next one.
Our breakouts are a special hybrid of
- Content
- Member engagement, and
- Peer group.
Our first Breakout is: The 2024 Year of Intention. We held classes in November and December based on the new book.
ALL Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members are welcome to attend for free. The earlier classes are not required.
See details and member access here.
If you have questions, send me an email. karlp@smallbizthoughts.com
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Here's the last Community News video: | |
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My neighbor made this tin man robot. Now she's inundated with request for more.
I'm just jealous.
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
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February 2024
ConnectWise Automation Nation
Feb. 5-8
Tampa, FL
More Info: https://info.connectwise.com/events/automation-nation-2024-announcement
Cisco Live
Feb. 5-9
Amsterdam, Netherlands
More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/emea.html
Microsoft Envision AI Tour
Feb. 7
Sydney, Australia
More Info: https://envision.microsoft.com/en-US/sydney
SMB TechFest
February 8-9
Irvine, CA
More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/showdates.asp
World AI Cannes Festival
Feb. 8-10
Cannes, France
More Info: https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/events/advancing-ai.html
MSP Expo
February 13-15, 2024
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: http://www.mspexpo.com/
NerdioCon
Feb. 12-16
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
More Info: https://nerdiocon.com/
MSP Expo
Feb. 13-15
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: https://www.mspexpo.com/east/
TDWI Transform
Feb. 19-23
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://tdwi.org/events/conferences/las-vegas/home.aspx
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
Feb. 26-27
Phoenix, AR
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/cio-us-west
Mobile World Congress
Feb. 26-29
Barcelona, Spain
More Info: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/
ChannelPro LIVE
Feb. 28-29
Chicago, IL
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
ASCII Edge 2024
February 28 & 29
Costa Mesa, CA
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
Join me Live!
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March
XChange Orlando
March 3-5
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
VSLive!
March 3-8
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://vslive.com/events/las-vegas-2024/home.aspx
Cloud Expo Europe
March 6-7
London, England
More Info: https://www.cloudexpoeurope.com/
Right of Boom
March 6-8
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.rightofboom.com/event/22f53824-56a7-4e87-9dc4-c25d1d93baf7/summary
MSP Summit
March 11-12
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://channelpartnersconference.com/msp-summit
XChange UK
March 6-7
UK
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
Channel Partners Conference & MSP Summit
March 11-14
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.channelfutures.com/channel-events
Join me live!
Gartner Data & Analytics Summit
March 11-13
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/data-analytics-us
Microsoft Envision AI Tour
March 12
Paris, France
More Info: https://envision.microsoft.com/en-US/paris
NVIDIA GTC
March 17-21
San Jose, CA
More Info: https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/
Datacenter Dynamics Converged
March 18-19
New York City, NY
More Info: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/dcd-connect-live/connect-nyc/2024/
CloudFest
March 18-21
Rust, Germany
More Info: https://www.cloudfest.com/
Midsize Enterprise Summit IT Security 2024
March 18-19, 2024
Indianapolis, IN
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon
March 19-23
Paris, France
More Info: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe/
ASCII Edge 2024
March 20 & 21
Houston, TX
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
Days of Knowledge
March 21-22
Birmingham, England
More Info: https://www.directionsforpartners.com/conferences-and-events/days-of-knowledge/uk-2024
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
March 25-26
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/cio-us-east
Microsoft Fabric Community Conference
March 26-28
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://fabricconf.com/#!/
MSP Rescue from SMB Nation
Date TBD
Los Alamitos, CA
More Info: https://msprescue.pro/
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April 2024
Fortinet Accelerate
April 1-5
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.fortinetaccelerate.com/home/3861565
Intel Vision
April 8-9
Phoenix, AZ
More Info: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/events/on-event-series/vision.html
Google Cloud Next
April 9-11
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://cloud.withgoogle.com/next
North American Cloud & Collaboration Summit
April 9-11
Dallas, TX
More Info: https://www.collabsummit.org/
ChannelPro LIVE
Apr. 10-11, 2024
Orlando, FL
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Days of Knowledge
April 12-13
Odense, Denmark
More Info: https://www.directionsforpartners.com/conferences-and-events/days-of-knowledge/nordic-2024
Directions
April 14-17
San Diego, CA
More Info: https://directionsna.com/
Black Hat Asia
April 16-19
Singapore
More Info: https://www.blackhat.com/asia-24/
ASCII Edge 2024
April 17 & 18
Newark, NJ
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
eMerge Americas
April 18-19
Miami Beach, FL
More Info: https://emergeamericas.com/
TDWI Transform
April 28-May 3
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=777592&_gl=1*x88u25*_gcl_au*NjI4NDAyOTQxLjE3MDE3Mjk1NjI.
Kaseya Connect Global
April 29-May 2
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.kaseyaconnect.com/
Microsoft 365 Conference
April 30-May 3
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.m365conf.com/#!/
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May
Red Hat Summit
May 6-9
Denver, CO
More Info: https://www.redhat.com/en/summit
RSA Conference
May 6-9
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.rsaconference.com/usa
ServiceNow Knowledge
May 7-9
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://knowledge.servicenow.com/events/k23/getupdates
ChannelPro LIVE
May 8-9, 2024
Baltimore, MD
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
SMB TechFest
May 9-10
Irvine, CA
More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/showdates.asp
European Collaboration Summit
May 14-16
Wiesbaden, Germany
More Info: https://collabsummit.eu/
Gartner Application Innovation & Business Solutions Summit
May 14-16
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/applications-us
Dell Technologies World
May 20-23
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/events/delltechnologiesworld/2024/index.htm
IBM Think
May 20-23
Boston, MA
More Info: https://www.ibm.com/events/think
Microsoft Licensing Boot Camp
May 21-23
Atlanta, GA
More Info: https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/members/get-training
Nutanix .NEXT
May 21-23
Barcelona, Spain
More Info: https://next2024.nutanix.com/
MSP GeekCon
May 21-23
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.mspgeekcon.com
ASCII Edge 2024
May 22 & 23
Denver, CO
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
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June 2024
Cisco Live
June 2-6
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/global.html
Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit
June 3-5
National Harbor, MD
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/security-risk-management-us
ConnectWise IT Nation Secure
June 3-5
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/secure/cybersecurity-conference
VeeamON
June 3-5
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: https://www.veeam.com/veeamon
Microsoft 365 Educon & PWRCON
June 3-7
Seattle, WA
More Info: https://pwrcon.com/
Infosecurity Europe
June 4-6
London, England
More Info: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/
ChannelPro LIVE
Jun. 5-6, 2024
Columbus, OH
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Databricks Data + AI Summit
June 10-13
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.databricks.com/dataaisummit/
European Power Platform Conference
June 11-13
Brussels, Belgium
More Info: https://www.sharepointeurope.com/european-power-platform-conference/
North American Information Security Summit
June 16-18
Denver, CO
More Info: https://infosecurity-summit.com/
Commsverse
June 26-27
Weybridge, England
More Info: https://www.commsverse.com/
ASCII Edge 2024
June 26 & 27
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
XChange Best of Breed
June 2024
East Essex, England
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. | |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. | |
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AI Transparency Statement
We do not use artificial intelligence apps in the writing of any content for this newsletter. Some of our royalty-free paid graphics might use AI-generated images. But all of the writing is by Karl W. Palachuk, or others as noted.
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