Mike Vizard

All posts by Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard has covered IT for more than 25 years, and has edited or contributed to a number of tech publications including InfoWorld, eWeek, CRN, Baseline, ComputerWorld, TMCNet, and Digital Review. He currently blogs for IT Business Edge and contributes to CIOinsight, The Channel Insider, Programmableweb and Slashdot. Mike blogs about emerging cloud technology for Smarter MSP.

CISA and NSA weigh in on best cybersecurity practices for MSPs

CISA and NSA weigh in on best cybersecurity practices for MSPs

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the National Security Agency (NSA), have defined a set of best cloud security practices that specifically call for managed services providers (MSPs) to provide more visibility into their IT operations. The...

/ March 27, 2024
cloud computing
Survey reveals cloud computing opportunity for MSPs with enterprise clients

Survey reveals cloud computing opportunity for MSPs with enterprise clients

A survey of 1,300 chief information officers (CIOs), chief technology officers (CTOs), and other senior technology leaders with more than 1,000 employees suggests cloud computing environments are becoming more complex at a rate that most internal IT teams cannot effectively...

/ March 20, 2024
Survey highlights need for additional cloud security expertise

Survey highlights need for additional cloud security expertise

There’s an old maxim that says you can’t manage what you can’t see. That has never been truer than when it comes to cloud computing environments. That lack of visibility, however, also creates opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs) to...

/ March 15, 2024
economic challenges
Navigating economic challenges requires flexibility

Navigating economic challenges requires flexibility

How organizations prefer to acquire IT products and services naturally varies widely from one organization to another. However, savvy managed service providers (MSPs) will need to pivot as macroeconomic conditions continue to change. For example, when interest rates are high,...

/ March 4, 2024
cybersecurity
MSPs have an opportunity to change the cybersecurity game

MSPs have an opportunity to change the cybersecurity game

For as long as anyone can remember, cybersecurity has been a game of whac-a-mole where resources are hopefully marshaled in time to thwart a threat either before damage is inflicted or, at the very least, as quickly as possible once...

/ February 26, 2024
Ongoing skills shortage drives demand for managed services

Ongoing skills shortage drives demand for managed services

Savvy managed service providers (MSPs) realize that any type of ongoing IT skills shortage creates opportunities for them. According to a recent online survey of IT managers conducted by the recruitment firm Robert Half, there are primary areas where IT...

/ February 20, 2024
cloud
Report reveals cloud optimization opportunity for MSPs

Report reveals cloud optimization opportunity for MSPs

Despite rising concerns about the cost of cloud computing, a new report finds more than half of organizations do not make use of Saving Plans or Reserved Instances. These plans, available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, make it...

/ February 12, 2024
Cybersecurity economics to increasingly favor MSPs

Cybersecurity economics to increasingly favor MSPs

As the economics of cybersecurity continue to evolve, the number of organizations that can effectively manage cybersecurity on their own will continue to decrease. A survey of 1,917 IT security practitioners conducted by Ponemon Institute finds only 43 percent claimed...

/ February 6, 2024
generative AI
How generative AI will transform IT service and support

How generative AI will transform IT service and support

We are still in the early days, but it’s apparent that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is about to have a major impact on how IT service and support is delivered. Just about every IT vendor is already racing to expose...

/ January 30, 2024
Kubernetes adoption reaching critical mass for MSPs

Kubernetes adoption reaching critical mass for MSPs

A survey of 333 IT operations and application development stakeholders directly responsible for Kubernetes in production environments suggests Kubernetes adoption has hit a critical mass point. This means managed service providers (MSPs) will be increasingly relied on to assist with...

/ January 23, 2024