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Topic 1: Walmart fires inventory robots.
Walmart fires inventory robots after five years. Goes back to humans. Plus, they learned a lesson about customer service (and customer experience).
Related Link:
https://interestingengineering.com/walmart-thinks-humans-do-it-better-fires-all-inventory-robots
Topic 2: Who am I to pick the algorithm?
We’ve talked about AI algorithms having biases built in. Now the question is, how do you manage the choice of picking the algorithms? What’s the decision process for determining the presence of bias? Would the people who do well at building culture also be good at picking the best algorithms?
Book referenced: A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. (Please see our entire Reading List of books mentioned on this podcast.)
Related Link:
Topic 3: Life after the pandemic: AI and Traffic Sensors already in automobiles.
Artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the transport sector are stimulating innovations for better and more targeted use of vehicles and infrastructure. This could optimize network performance, support the monitoring and management of traffic, and create the base for solutions that pave the way to future mobility, particularly in cities.
Related Link:
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Our Sponsor this week:
PC Matic — Endpoint Security built on a zero trust philosophy, allowing only trusted applications and blocking all the rest. Light weight, simple to deploy, easy to manage, find out about PC Matic’s unique lead sharing program for MSPs backed by a prime-time national TV campaign. Together, we bring advanced security solutions combined with more than sales enablement … we bring actual leads. Find out more about PC Matic by visiting PCMatic.com/msp/
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Brian catches up with Heather Myers, Partner Channel Manager with ADT Cybersecurity to discuss compliance and the SMB.
With new compliance requirements on the horizon for business of all sizes, Heather gives us a few ideas to consider when not just communicating their importance to our customers but also selling and implementing. The drive to digital transformation for business in 2020 has pushed compliance front and center for IT Service Providers.
Topic 1: AI Correcting Bias . . .
Previously, we talked about how biases of the humans who build artificial intelligence are working their way into the AI. Now we find that AI is being used to remove biases from scientific research.
And there’s even an opportunity for service providers to help their clients find juicy, good information inside the data inside their business.
Related Link:
https://thenewstack.io/ai-corrects-50-years-of-sex-bias-in-drug-safety-trials/
Topic 2: Turning competition into collaboration: SMBs and Corporations
The modern opportunities for collaboration between large corporations and SMBs continue to emerge. Here are some comments about what these emerging relationships look like. Digital ecosystems are, of course, different from old-school incubator communities.
Related Link:
Topic 3: Life after the pandemic: Contract tracing apps haven’t performed as expected.
To be clear: The apps work just fine. People just haven’t downloaded them and turned them on. One explanation is that this is due to fear of giving away privacy data. Another is that people just don’t know these apps exist. That second explanation has more to due with failure to promote than fear of government tracking.
What do you think?
Related Link:
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Dan Wensley, CEO at ScalePad talks with Brian about the evolution of Warranty Master to ScalePad and what this means for IT Service Providers. With the addition of Software Asset Lifecycle Management into their current Hardware Management platform, this gives IT Service Providers clarity on customer environments. ‘Once you collect the data, its amazing what you find’ states Dan.
And the new name, in case you were wondering….Launch pad to scale your success. Love it and a big congratulations and also thank you to Dan and his team for continuing to drive growth and success for their partners in the channel.
Topic 1: Fragmented Health Data and Covid.
With HIPAA and other privacy laws have complicated the sharing of healthcare data that might be useful in fighting the virus. We look at that as well as general observations about the industry.
Related Link: https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/19/21522863/health-data-records-covid-coronavirus-model-nih-privacy-n3c
Topic 2: Right to Repair is on the Ballot in Massachusetts.
We’ve covered right to repair before. Once perspective, of course, is you – the potential repairer. On the other end of the fight are some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. As always, the world is a complicated place.
Related Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomokoyokoi/2020/10/17/rethinking-ownership-of-smart-products-in-right-to-repair/#6ef24531437d
Topic 3: Life after the pandemic: Industries that won’t make it.
Great click-bait, right? Here’s a great article, speculating about which industries will not survive this pandemic/recession. We don’t agree across the board (shocking, we know).
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Sponsor Memo:
PC Matic — Endpoint Security built on a zero trust philosophy, allowing only trusted applications and blocking all the rest. Light weight, simple to deploy, easy to manage, find out about PC Matic’s unique lead sharing program for MSPs backed by a prime-time national TV campaign. Together, we bring advanced security solutions combined with more than sales enablement . . . we bring actual leads. Find out more about PC Matic by visiting http://PCMatic.com/msp/.
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IT Channel Veteran and Technology Attorney Brad Gross founder of Bradley Gross Law has an innate ability to force us to take that 10,000 FT view of our business and potential trap doors. With the growth of Co-Managed Services, Brad talks with Brian about the intersection of services and potential liability risk that requires clarity upfront in order to protect you and your business. Brad states ‘If you’re touching a system, something bad can happen’. These aren’t discussions about doom and gloom, they are responsible business communications.
Brad’s regular Bradcast touching on these topics and more can be found here
After spending 49 minutes “warming up,” we hit the record button.
This turned out to be a particularly timely episode.
Topic 1: How close are we to universal connectivity?
And what does that mean, actually? In addition to searching for parity between work vs. home, and school vs. home, we are also looking at rural vs. urban.
Related Link:
https://www.theverge.com/21504476/online-school-covid-pandemic-rural-low-income-internet-broadband
Topic 2: Strategies for transformation (and why they fail).
Ryan’s favorite topic – digital transformation. There’s a lot of talk these days of how Covid is increasing digital transformation. But if it’s too slow, there are other issues as well.
Topic 3: Life after the pandemic – Smart offices
How much will your office really look different when the pandemic is over. We are not in universal agreement on this.
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In the spirit of Cybersecurity Month, If the bad guys are all working together, then why aren’t the good guys? This is a question we have always asked and promoted at our live Expo and Virtual Events where we consistently witness incredible collaborative discussion by IT Professionals. CompTIA have taken this to the next level with their new CompTIA ISAO announced back in the spring. Brian chats with Executive Director, MJ Shoer about the ISAO and what this means for the technology industry. ‘Tools and technology will take us so far, then we need the collective power of the industry to keep everyone safe’ states MJ. The CompTIA ISAO (Information Sharing & Analysis Organization) is a cybersecurity early warning system for everyone working in technology, from MSP’s to VAR’s to Software Companies…It is a threat intelligence sharing system that sends alerts on new threats and vulnerabilities with information on where they are coming from, what is the impact and how we can address it.
For more information on the ISAO and how this can benefit you and your customers, go to https://www.comptiaisao.org/
No awards this week . . . but we have a sponsor!
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Topic 1: Remote work versus distributed work
We all “went remote” all of a sudden. Did we do it right? The fact that you can go remote does not mean that you maintained culture, and all the good things about your business.
We discuss – of course.
Related links:
Topic 2: Have we not thought big enough about the connected world?
We have “some” cool, futuristic technology, but we don’t yet have the totally-connected, always-on access we were hoping for. Now that glowing vision of the future is coming into focus . . . brought to you by Huawei.
We love the vision. Just wondering if we can get it from someone else.
Link:
Topic 3: Return of “Life after Covid” – Post-COVID CIOs are looking at budget increases.
IDG say, “Innovating with a reduced budget will become a high priority for tech leaders as the economy returns to health finds major annual CIO survey.” But, at the same time, large companies are enjoying an increase in technology spending.
MSPs are absolutely in a position to provide this kind of strategic advice to their customers, and they need to have that kind of insight in order to be relevant in the current planning / guessing phase.
Link:
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Sponsor Note:
The MSP event of the year is back. This time, it’s virtual and free to attend!
Sherweb’s Accelerate 2020 offers a comprehensive online program to help you gear up for the future of managed services. Industry experts will deliver thought leadership sessions and hands-on workshops on sales, marketing, financials, strategic business planning and customer engagement. Also available will be 1:1 meetings and fun virtual networking.
Want to stay relevant in a disrupted world? Join us from anywhere on October 21st and 22nd. Registration is open at accelerate.sherweb.com.
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Jason Norton, Product Marketing Director with VIPRE Security talks with Brian about foundational security and establishing a solid security offering before looking to add on additional tools. Jason takes a very matter of fact look at what these fundamentals are and then steps to take in order to further build out your stack without having to add headcount.
