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Henry Timm, CEO of Phantom Technology Solutions, joins host Katie Bavoso in Part 1 of this two part episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV. Just before this interview, Timm and his clients in Indiana endured windstorms that caused power blackouts across the state. The long time tech CEO explains why having a disaster recovery plan is necessary and will help small to midsized businesses get back up and running quickly. It’s the kind of mindset Timm says he would want from a managed service provider if he were a client. Timm also dives into how compliance and security goes hand in hand with education and explains how he incentivizes his staff to stay up to date on training, especially when it comes to AI. Many client businesses want to throw AI applications at anything, but the biggest challenge facing Phantom Technology Solutions is keeping clients, especially those in regulated industries, secure and up to date about how they can and cannot use artificial intelligence. Timm encourages business owners to utilize training resources and security frameworks from U.S. agencies like CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and the DoD (Department Of Defense) to stay up to date on the latest security and compliance mandates, and help them determine what they should look for in a managed service provider before allowing it to co-manage their business’s IT. In a world where Timm says the barrier to entry is low for anyone who wants to call their business a managed service provider, and CMMC compliance (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) regulators are limited, he invites stricter legislation to ensure competitors in his field know exactly what they’re getting into when going into business. Timm also explores the subject of consolidation in the industry where MSPs are being bought up by private equity companies and creating a distance between “mega” shops and smaller boutique or startup MSPs. Where one lacks the numbers to serve customers in bulk, the other lacks in-depth knowledge needed to best serve customers. Is that sustainable? Can both exist successfully? Find out!
Katie Bavoso is an Emmy-nominated broadcaster with a decade of professional content creation, production, hosting, and interviewing experience. Starting her career off as a TV news reporter and anchor in Maine, she pivoted to the IT channel to help connect vendors, solutions and services providers, and IT buyers through exciting video content and storytelling. Katie is now the host of Channel Insider: Partner POV, a video and podcast series shining a light on the the most innovative solution providers of the IT channel.
