The CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting gives a chance for community members to listen to experts discussing best practice, channel trends and thought leadership.
It’s also an opportunity to highlight how to get the most from the CompTIA community as a whole.
While the Spotlight Awards allow the community to celebrate the success and contributions of its members and partners.
This year we saw keynotes on self-sabotaging and public relations, and discussed the trends currently affecting the channel.
Introduction
The CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting and Spotlight Awards took place at the MacDonald Burlington Hotel in Birmingham on Wednesday 26th June.
Uptime’s Jason Kemsley was master of ceremonies for the event, making sure everyone kept to time.
The line-up included lots of great speakers. Thought-provoking keynotes, presentations about the state of the channel and open discussions on various topical subjects.
In the evening, guests gathered to celebrate the success of their peers at the Spotlight Awards, hosted by veteran stand-up comic Dominic Holland.
Highlights from the CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting
Regional chair Dan Scott and vice-chair Holly Whittles kicked off the proceedings with an introduction on how to get the most of the event.
Here are just a few of the highlights of the meeting.
State of the Channel Research
Tracy Pound and MJ Shoer highlighted some key channel statistic from recent research conducted by CompTIA.
- Estimated global IT services spend increased to $1.5 Trillion in 2024 – an approximate 8.7% increase
- 58% of UK and Ireland channel firms reported their businesses in better shape today than it was two years ago
- 52% of UK and Ireland channel firms said they plan to sell generative AI-based solutions to customers in 2024
MJ said that data is a goldmine, and a great opportunity for MSPs to exploit.
Tracy said that cybersecurity is such a complex area for businesses, and the expertise that MSPs can provide in this area can make it a valuable growth area. With the suggestion of partnering with MSSPs to deliver more value.
Break/fix business models are still popular in the channel, so Tracy asked why people thought this was true.
Suggested answers from the audience included:
- Out of scope service requests
- Subscriptions making overheads too high for businesses
- Being an attractive alternative to competitors that use monthly recurring revenue models
CompTIA has an extensive research library for members to make use of, and it can be co-branded for use in your business.
For more information, you can find the Global State of the Channel 2024 report here.
Protecting Your Crown Jewels
A keynote delivered by former law enforcement professional Adam Pilton of Cybersmart revealed a different take on cybersecurity.
“We’re continually giving information away”, says Adam. When we use free wi-fi or install apps that want access to our mobile phones for things it really shouldn’t need access to. That information can be leveraged by cybercriminals to target us.
Prevention is better than the cure, and with the right controls in place, it’s easier to achieve. Cyber Essentials is a great example of this, of course:
- Patch management
- User access controls
- Firewall and internet gateways
- Secure configuration
- Malware protection
However, having the controls in place is one thing, but it’s all unpinned by having a strong culture.
Culture consists of three elements: leadership setting an example, employee involvement and clear communication.
Pitfalls include insufficient or unengaging training, poor welfare and discipline in practicing what we’ve learned.
To avoid these pitfalls, we need the education and training with feedback mechanisms that fuel continual improvement. And we celebrate the success when it’s achieved.
It takes on average 4 years and 7 months from the time it takes to report a crime to getting a conviction, and it’s increasing year-on-year. AI will only increase this time frame in years to come.
Prevention may be better than the cure, but we still need a cure for when the worst happens.
The CompTIA MSP Guidebook
Ian Groves of Start Tech raised awareness of a new CompTIA resource that MSPs will find especially interesting.
When it comes to process efficiency in your MSP business, this white paper resource provides excellent guidance for MSPs.
Some of the areas Ian picked out included:
- Assess your service portfolio
- Build effective teams
- Invest in people
- Manage vendor partners
Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Your ideal customer is an important focus for choosing the right clients to attract and retain. And it’s something you should review over time.
In Ian’s case, he keeps details of each of his clients, such as:
Business size, geographic location, IT budget, pain points, scalability, compliance, and industry focus.
He said that conducting quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for your clients provides a number of benefits for your MSP:
- Relationship building – face to face meetings like this could improve the relationship with your client.
- Performance evaluation – to demonstrate your value as their technology partner.
- Strategic alignment – understand your clients long term goals.
- Proactive issue resolution – resolve small issues before they become huge problems.
- Client satisfaction & retention – show you’re invested in their success.
The MSP Guidebook also covers best practices for recruiting new talent, as well as managing vendor partnerships.
If you want to find out more about The MSP Guidebook: Cultivating a Culture of Process Efficiency, you can download it here.
CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting Keynote: The Art of Overcoming Self-Sabotage
Teresa Heath-Wareing is a business and mindset coach who delivered a keynote that resonated with nearly everyone in the room.
She began with a story about someone that she used to coach that was trying to start a podcast. This person started out on the right path but slowly found herself getting to a point where she couldn’t finish the task that she’d set for herself.
Several times along the way, the aspiring podcaster procrastinated, and found ways to avoiding going through with launching her podcast. And three years later, she still hadn’t completed her goal of launching a podcast.
It was a great way to help illustrate what self-sabotage is and how it affects us in practice.
What is Self-Sabotage?
Teresa described the cycle of self-sabotage as something that starts with GOAL that needs ACTION.
From that ACTION we detect a THREAT.
From that THREAT we’re led to SABOTAGE.
And following on from the SABOTAGE we’re led to REFLECT upon what we’ve done, and then ultimately, we feel SHAME.
The SABOTAGE is just a way of our brains keeping us safe. On an animal level, we’re recognising the fear response, and trying to avoid an outcome.
To break this cycle, we need a pattern interrupt between the THREAT our decision to SABOTAGE.
The reasons we self-sabotage could be anything from:
- A fear of failure or embarrassment
- A fear of criticism
- Perfectionism
- Feeling of inadequacy
- Having low self-worth
- Or even a fear of success
What will happen if you reach your goal? And what fear are you trying to avoid?
Some examples:
- If you’re launching a new service, it might be a fear of failure that prevents you from succeeding.
- Going live on Instagram might lead to a fear of embarrassment.
- Bringing on a new team member might cause you to experience a fear of loss of safety.
How to Stop Self-Sabotaging Behaviour?
Some steps to take to manage your self-sabotaging inclinations:
Notice the pattern – how are you sabotaging; is there a noticeable pattern? how does it manifest?
Question why – what are you trying to protect yourself from? what fears are you trying to avoid?
Rewrite the story – what would it look like if you didn’t feel this way?
Plan a 1% shift – make small changes that get you closer to your goal. Think of ways to avoid the saboteur.
Practice self-integrity – find ways to build trust with yourself and keep a record of the times you do.
Some people find journaling a good way to draw out any fears you might have and put them down onto paper.
However, it’s important to remember that this work takes time — but eventually you’ll get out of your own way and stop being so risk averse!
CompTIA UK&I 2024 Spotlight Awards
Each year, the community is encouraged to submit their entries into nine categories that honour individuals and business that have demonstrated commitment and leadership in advancing technology.
The awards are presented at a black tie dinner event that follows on from the community meeting.
Here are this year’s winners from the 2024 Spotlight Awards:
Individual Spotlight Awards
Advancing Women in Technology Leadership:
Georgia Howlett, Manager of Cloud Development, Pax8
Community Leadership:
Dan Scott, IT Nation Community Director, ConnectWise
Cybersecurity Leadership:
Mostyn Thomas, Senior Director of Security EMEA, Pax8
Future Leader:
Winner: Claire Jenks, Jenks Creative
Organisation Spotlight Awards
Advancing Diversity in Technology Leadership:
inSOC
Associate Member Spotlight Award:
ITbetweeners and Network Group (joint winners)
Innovative Vendor:
Salesbuildr and Sophos (joint winners)
Innovative Distributor:
Pax8
Solution Provider:
Start Tech
CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting and Spotlight Awards Conclusion
If you’re thinking of attending these community meetings, they are a great way to learn new industry trends and network with your peers. But there’s a lot more to them than that.
CompTIA are always striving to advance technology and the people that work in the industry. Certifications, research and moving the needle forwards on diversity are what separates this institution apart from other communities.
When we have the opportunity to learn from and connect with our peers, and to celebrate their successes it strengthens the community as a whole.
Did you attend the CompTIA UK&I 2024 Community Meeting? And did you experience the glamour of the Spotlight Awards? Without doubt, Teresa’s keynote was excellent. Did you have a favourite keynote speaker? As ever, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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I'm the MSP Community Manager for Tubblog. A small business owner, technical writer and blogger, with 15 years experience in corporate IT. I frequently attend MSP peer groups and create content relevant to IT service providers and business owners.
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