The accelerated shift to digital due to new technologies and the global Coronavirus pandemic has changed the game in terms of scaling your network’s work capacity to serve employees and customers. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Mark Hwang, Director Strategic Alliances at Panduit, discusses making the digital shift now. Such topics included: -The need for a tech platform to be nimble and scale well -Future-proofing your fiber infrastructure -Getting your network infrastructure ready for future...
Sep 04, 2020•23 min
The data protected by SMBs is no less valuable or vulnerable than that of large companies. When they don’t have the finances or personnel to invest in cybersecurity, SMBs are subject to the shotgun approach of cybercriminals with automation on their side. In this episode, Joel Boyd, Director of Marketing, and Ben Wilson, VP of Product Management at Fortinet, talks about the unique security risks SMBs are facing. They also discuss: -43% of attacks target SMBs—but what exactly does SMB mean? -Secu...
Sep 02, 2020•28 min
We’ve all heard it before: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. While it’s a true adage, professional communities like Trust X Alliance go further than superficial connections. Members are encouraged to put competition aside and work together for the advancement of technology. Ingram Micro’s Senior Manager of Channel Communities, Ashley Stachura, joins Keri to discuss four big reasons why partners should consider joining Trust X Alliance. Plus, they cover… -What Trust X Alliance is and the...
Aug 31, 2020•22 min
As first-day-of-school pictures circulate on our social media feeds, it’s hard not to notice the masks covering anxious and excited smiles. Masks aside, this school year is going to be full of new challenges for teachers and students alike. Luckily, partners are in a position to support educational institutions in addition to other public sector entities. Elliot Williams, Sales Director at Dell Technologies, and Tony Celeste, Executive Director and General Manager at Ingram Micro, join Keri to d...
Aug 28, 2020•44 min
“ID, please.” When’s the last time you heard that? Maybe it didn’t come from a bouncer or bartender. It probably came last from your work device. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri sits down with Murtaza Hafizji, the Sr. Advisor of RSA’s leading authentication and access solution, RSA SecurID Access. Murtaza shares the risks of remote work and how companies can manage who’s accessing their networks. Plus, he goes over… Challenges associated with accelerating your customers’ digital transform...
Aug 26, 2020•14 min
There is no fantasy football without OpenShift. Not to mention the U.S. Open or the Masters. OpenShift is Kubernetes at the core, and it focuses on making things easier for developers and the operations team. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, we chatted with Chris Rosen, Program Director of Offering Management at IBM, about developing cloud natively within Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud. We also discussed: Use cases and how there is no one-size-fits-all customer profile OpenShift is 99.99% SLA H...
Aug 24, 2020•22 min
You have a unique perspective, knowledge base and skill set. Make it known! Content marketing is crucial to the success of your business. A vlog (video blog) is an extremely impactful and easy-to-do marketing technique that you can start right now. Ingram Micro’s Sr. Content Strategist, Danielle Gallagher, shares five steps for starting a vlog in this episode of B2B Tech Talk, as well as: 3 big content marketing trends for 2020 Why your website should be the home base for all your content Where ...
Aug 21, 2020•19 min
You could say that federal and state agencies are a little… distracted during this Fed buying season. They’ve got a lot on their plates, just like everyone else this year. So, it’s critical to make purchasing solutions from you as easy as possible. Executive Director and GM at Ingram Micro, Tony Celeste, offers partners multiple keys to success for this Fed buying season. He and Keri also discuss… The differences between selling to the Fed and selling to SLED Major market trends happening in the...
Aug 20, 2020•30 min
How is digital transformation like playing in a band? Everyone has to be on the same page or it won’t work. In this episode, Keri interviews Cameron Chehreh, CTO and VP of Presales Engineering at Dell Federal, about transformation in the application ecosystem. In this episode they discuss: Why it’s critical to get your teams aligned Digital transformation trends during the pandemic Data security and the cloud Where technology is going in the next year Contact Cameron on LinkedIn or Twitter @cche...
Aug 19, 2020•19 min
The words “cloud migration” and “easy” have never gone together—until IBM decided they should. IBM’s public cloud allows you to lift and shift any VMware tools from any other cloud or data center with zero alterations to your applications. Matt Johnson, one of IBM’s youngest Product Managers, explains how cloud migration can be so easy on this episode of B2B Tech Talk. He also discusses: -Why VMware customers are moving to the public cloud and the obstacles they’re running into -The benefits of ...
Aug 17, 2020•18 min
Understandably, cash flow is top-of-mind for a lot of businesses during this economic downturn. However, there are IT companies that still have a reliable stream of cash. How? To answer this, Frank LoTempio (Senior Manager, Credit Development) and Kathy Kagay (Director, Credit Development) join Keri on B2B Tech Talk to discuss: -How partners who use Ingram Micro financial services outperform their peers by 25% on average -Why partners using Direct Express grew 48% in Q2 of 2020 compared to Q2 of...
Aug 14, 2020•27 min
The best things come in threes. Digital marketing has three big players and if you were wondering how to leverage them, you’re in luck. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with Chase Miller, Digital Marketing Manager at Ingram Micro, about owned, earned and paid digital media. Plus, they cover: -What the best strategy is for a paid digital ad campaign -How to figure out which media channel is best for your target audience -Expert SEO tips SEO tools mentioned: Google Trends, Moz, Brighte...
Aug 13, 2020•20 min
4,000 percent. That’s the amount ransomware attacks have risen since the start of the pandemic. Who’s at risk? Everyone—government agencies in particular. Joining Keri on B2B Tech Talk is Brad Montgomery, the Sr. Manager of Federal Presales at Dell Technologies. In this episode, they discuss: -Reasons for the steep increase in ransomware attacks -The #1 insider cyberthreat organizations need to watch for -Critical components of a cyber recovery solution -How to implement a holistic cybersecurity...
Aug 12, 2020•26 min
Just three years ago, IBM was completely overlooked as a disruptor in the cloud space. Now, not only is IBM one of the top three cloud providers in the world, it’s spearheading multi-cloud management. Global tech executive and chief evangelist, Pavel Ferreri, shares how enterprises and small businesses alike can leverage IBM Cloud services. Pavel also covers: The disruption IBM made and is still making in the cloud space Why companies today should not be leveraging only one cloud provider What t...
Aug 10, 2020•34 min
SMBs make up 99% of America’s 28.7 million firms. Why wouldn’t you meet them on their preferred communication channels? In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Kelly Sander—Director of Sales for SMB at Ingram Micro and 2020 nominee of Women in the Channel—speaks with Keri about working with SMBs in a remote work world. Plus, Kelly goes over: -The definition of an SMB and why it’s critical to partner with them -The most efficient ways to target end users and their customers -Benefits of teaming up with...
Aug 07, 2020•18 min
Selling isn’t what it used to be. Over are the days of pushy salespeople pestering you until you buy from them. At least, that’s what Brian McKeon (SimpleCom) and Justin Pugh (Ingram Micro - Verizon) believe sales should be. They join Keri on this episode of B2B Tech Talk to chat about: -How SimpleCom can help Ingram Micro Ignite partners successfully scale and promote enterprise solutions -Why SimpleCom puts so much emphasis on their mantra, “design, deploy and support” -Why the best solution s...
Aug 05, 2020•30 min
If you received an email informing you that you’ve been laid off due to the downturn of the economy, would you believe it? A lot of us probably would. That’s just one of the phishing awareness techniques JC Vega, executive security advisor at IBM Security, uses to teach organizations about information security. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, JC talks about phishing emails in addition to… -The importance of centralized planning in the military and within an organization -Why employees should h...
Aug 03, 2020•46 min
Digital isn’t something we do anymore—it’s something we are. There are 3 digital marketing tactics you can start using today that Michelle Becka, Senior Manager of Content & Digital Marketing at Agency Ingram Micro, says will help your business maintain market share. She shares additional digital marketing insights in this episode, including: -The qualities that define strong content -Why partners should seriously consider investing in digital marketing at this particular time -What to look ...
Jul 31, 2020•23 min
The initial challenge was getting people connected to the resources they needed while working from home. The next challenge is keeping these new workflows secure. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Brian Robertson, sr. product marketing manager at RSA. They discuss: -The top 5 security challenges dynamic workforces are encountering today -How organizations can increase threat visibility -The impact AI will have on IT security in the future Learn more on RSA threat detection and r...
Jul 29, 2020•18 min
Before the pandemic, IT consultants were able to connect with public sector organizations in person at events. Those events claimed the majority of our marketing efforts and budgets. Now, how do we still offer the service the public sector has come to know and expect? Keri sits down with Dell Technologies director of North America public sector marketing, Milo Speranzo. The two discuss: -The keys to virtual marketing in the public sector -Why partners should be focusing on stimulus dollar spend ...
Jul 27, 2020•34 min
One aspect customers often overlook in their home office is the printer. Typically, someone else handles the paper jams, toner replacement and keeping the paper tray stocked. But what about now? Millions of people are now working remotely and using their home printer more than ever. In this episode, Keri chats with Ingram Micro’s senior vendor business manager, Paul Sin, about the new normal of managed printer services (MPS). They also talk about: -How Ingram Micro’s MPS can help remote workforc...
Jul 24, 2020•12 min
Believe it or not, smaller cloud providers have just as much power as the market behemoths (Google, IBM, Amazon, etc.). In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, VMware’s Director of Product Marketing, Michael Haag, talks about how small cloud providers can differentiate themselves in the market. He also discusses: -2 main drivers of the hybrid IT environment -Why VMware cloud providers are seeing tremendous growth -Verticals that prefer small cloud providers to the market giants Learn more about the VM...
Jul 22, 2020•25 min
Communication is a two-way street. The more you can understand that, the more effective your customer conversations are going to be. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Steve Tuomey, data center account executive at Dell Technologies, about growing your business through helpful conversations. Plus, they talk about: -Types of questions to ask your customers to open up new opportunities for solutions -The 4 key sales pillars Dell operates within -How Steve’s Land & Expand sellin...
Jul 20, 2020•25 min
A lot of things are uncertain right now, but your small business’s IT doesn’t have to be. Joining Keri in this B2B Tech Talk episode is Kevin Wills, Sr. Solutions Sales Specialist for Cisco Meraki at Ingram Micro. Kevin gives the scoop on Meraki Go for small businesses, plus: -How small businesses can use technology to compensate for the absence of a dedicated IT team -Why a comprehensive cloud platform could be the best solution for your business -How Meraki Go supports remote workforces Learn ...
Jul 17, 2020•21 min
“Cloud isn’t where you operate, it’s how you operate.” — Joe Beda, principal engineer at VMware & co-creator of Kubernetes With the right platform, you should be able to operate and leverage legacy applications alongside modern apps. This is just one of the many ideas Keri chats with Jim Potts, sr. systems engineer at VMware, about. They also discuss: -How the definition of an application has evolved -Challenges companies are facing when combining legacy apps with more modern app -Why vSpher...
Jul 15, 2020•16 min
The greatest asset and greatest risk in your organization are one and the same: people. Cybercriminals understand this. That’s why they exploit human vulnerabilities more than any other type of network weak point. In this episode, Keri chats with Casey Borresen, (channel sales engineer, Proofpoint) and Jacob White, (tech consultant, Ingram Micro). The trio discusses: -How a people-centric security strategy works -Why effective email security is so vital in today’s business world -How to implemen...
Jul 13, 2020•34 min
Imagine if you had to rewire your entire house each time you purchased a new TV or computer. You’d probably stick with the old one if that were the case. That’s how critical it is for businesses to have an intelligent IT infrastructure that can adapt to new technologies. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Jeff Paliga, Director of Business Development at Panduit. They discuss: -Why physical infrastructure is important in any network design -Why customers are starting to look at IT...
Jul 10, 2020•19 min
There’s something every single Dell Technologies customer struggles with: Data sprawl. That’s precisely why they’ve sought out the expert services of Dell Technologies. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri sits down with Dallas Nash, the sr. director of sales at Dell Technologies. The two talk about: -Two major data problems Dell Technologies customers used to run into -The differences between structured and unstructured data -How Uunstructured data solutions (UDS) make it easier to glean busi...
Jul 08, 2020•33 min
Do you hate exercising? You probably haven’t found the right activity yet! As people are returning to the office, tensions are high. Physical activity and mindfulness techniques are a great way to reduce stress and cultivate community. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Jennifer Daily Gress and Steve Procknal of Jen & Steve Speak offer advice for starting a successful corporate wellness program in the wake of the pandemic. Find more about how Jen and Steve give back to the community with: Yog...
Jul 06, 2020•26 min
Practice like you play and you’ll be prepared for anything. While this is a great sentiment for sports, it also applies to IT security in a big way. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with IBM Security Command- Chief of Operations, Chris Wilkes, about the biggest cybersecurity trends we’re seeing in 2020 and IT best practices. The two also talk about: -Why file-less malware has become the new norm for cybercriminals -The impacts of a security breach on the organization and the individu...
Jul 03, 2020•31 min
