In today’s episode of the Computer Business Podcast we interview Dodi Glenn, Vice President of Cyber Security at PC Pitstop, about the threat landscape of 2016 and security best practices for computer business owners.
Also Paco discusses a merchant services headache, we answer an email about podcasting and what to do with old Windows XP machines, and in the toolbox we talk about a service that makes it easy for clients to book an appointment with your business.
All that and so much more in this episode of the Computer Business Podcast!
CBP 039: Security Best Practices for IT Service Providers
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Items Mentioned in this podcast:
- MSPRadio Episode featuring Matt and Paco!
- Lisa “Call That Girl” Hendrickson’s Office 365 Podcast
- 10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Answering Service
- Authorize.net
- Blubrry
- Libsyn
- PC Pitstop
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Hemanth says
Hello matthew and paco, great podcast and very helpful to grow IT repair business, as everyone worried about decreasing the PC sale and booming the smart phones and tablets sales any dedicated show on mobile devices repair and trainings and how to include in our existing business. thanks -Hemanth
Matthew Rodela says
HI Hemanth, thanks for writing! We actually did have a podcast dedicated to mobile device repair. Check it out here: http://www.yfncg.com/2014/09/22/mobile-device-repair/
Kevin says
The PC Matic people? I won’t go into them, but I have lost all respect for this podcast. All the years we have told customers to stay away from companies like this and now you support them. Why?
Matthew Rodela says
Hi Kevin, thanks for the feedback.
I’ll start off by saying that having Dodi on the podcast does not mean we endorse all the products made by the company he works for. I know PC Matic has a bad rep as a consumer product among some other technicians, but I personally have never used it nor have I had any bad run-ins with it, so I don’t really have an opinion one way or another. As I said in the interview I did get to demo their MSP product after speaking with their rep at ChannelCon. It looks very intriguing…they put a lot of thought into it and if I was still running a computer consulting shop I would give it a try and possibly recommend it if it worked out well.
I do try to support my guests and the company they work for or the services they provide, not because I endorse them myself, but as a way to say “thank you” for taking the time to be a guest. That’s the trade-off. If someone volunteers their time and expertise to help our listeners, I let them pitch their products briefly at the end of the interview if they choose. It’s up to you as the listener to check out product or not.
The only products we explicitly endorse on our show are our sponsors and the Computer Business Toolbox items.
I had Dodi Glenn on the show because he’s a cyber security expert, not because he’s affiliated with PC Pitstop. If I didn’t think he had anything positive to contribute to the show I wouldn’t have aired the interview. I think he provided great insights and food for though for our listeners and I stand behind my decision to have him on.
Hopefully that sheds some light on our decision process behind the guests we have on, and this guest in particular. I know that’s a long winded answer to a short question, but I want to make sure we keep things transparent here and that you understand our intentions.
I hope that clears things up and thanks for being a listener and supporter of the podcast!
Bruce Corson says
Matthew and Paco, you asked for ideas as to how to use Kabuto to grow one’s business. Once I’m more comfortable with it, Kabuto will be key per the description below:
How I plan to use Kabuto to grow my business:
I will be offering a “Concierge Care” plan for select clients (i.e., those who wish to pay for it). Installation of Kabuto will be integral to this. Concierge Care will be an annual plan, and will consist of the following:
1. Remotely monitor clients’ hard drive health, so data can be saved prior to failure. (This can be a big selling point.)
2. Remotely monitor other issues (BSOD, fragmentation, AV status, etc.) with Kabuto.
3. Establish a backup plan, whether local or cloud or both (Plan pricing will vary depending upon choice).
4. ESET NOD32 or Smart Security annual subscription; will encourage clients to use ESET’s ability to monitor whether Windows is updating.
5. InstantHousecall installed for easy remote access on demand; may integrate this with Kabuto.
6. Annual computer check-up included: malware scans, relevant software updates, check status of backups, renew antivirus, tweak for performance; and, liberal use of compressed air.
7. Priority service when humanly possible, to be scheduled ahead of non-Plan clients.
8. Discounted rate on all service calls and remote sessions.
9. Free phone calls if limited to four minutes or less (will reserve the right to cut these off it excessive). 15 minute remote fee charged otherwise.
Pricing is still TBD, though expected to be several hundred dollars annually. We’re doing a lot of the above piecemeal already, without a contract, and this will tie it all together and help make the clients’ computing experience smoother and safer.
Kenneth Crespo says
Hey Matthew and Paco. I also will be responding with how I plan to use Kabuto to further grow my business:
Currently I install Kabuto on every client machine I work on. I explain to them that this is a tool I use that helps to monitor details such as Hard drive health, Defrag, if the Anti-virus is installed and more. The one point that always seems to peek their interest is the hard drive health.
I am rolling out a couple plans once the launch of Emsisoft is complete.
I plan on having a Managed Anti-virus with Basic Monitoring plan along with Complete Internet Security plan.
The basic monitoring plan will include all the features of Kabuto with monitoring enabled along with having Emsiosft installed. This will be the starter package that at the very least will generate recurring revenue for me annually. Clients appreciate the proactive approach.
The Complete Internet Security Plan will be my recommended plan which includes the features of Kabuto monitoring, Manged Antivirus and also patch management with my RMM. I currently use Syspectr and have been doing so for almost a year now. That combined with Kabuto gives me a great combination to properly service the client and keep my profits high.
I will then continue to integrate my Team Viewer into Kabuto so that clients can contact me for Remote Support sessions.
I also plan on continuing to use Kabuto contact form for leads and inquiries when a client has an issue. The fact that it integrates with Repairshopr is perfect. Kabuto gives me the access to easily view the data anywhere.
Pricing has already been determined although I don’t plan on formally announcing it until the launch of Emsisoft.
Arjun Kumar says
Excellent podcast Mathews, I really Like it. But I don’t understand that how can we overcome the problems of decreasing inquiries as everyone is asking for cheapest and best services. How that could be possible as lot of expenses are growing day by day. Even the sales of the Computer and Laptops are also decreasing slowly as Tablet and Mobile sales are increasing very effectively.