The GTIA Communities & Councils Forum (CCF) isn’t your typical conference. This isn’t a pull up a chair in the back of the room kind of event. CCF brings together IT channel professionals for one giant brainstorm. It’s an opportunity to come together to not only get ideas and advice that will impact your own business, but it’s a chance to help us raise everyone up—no matter their specific scenario.
How do we do this? It’s about gathering groups of people that care to share stories, throw ideas at the wall and strategize. That’s what CCF is all about. Four GTIA North America interest groups met at CCF to do just that. Here’s what they’re working on.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Interest Group
Advancing DEI&B in IT: Challenges, Trends, and the Association's Role
Late last year, the North America DEI Interest Group published the DEI&B Guidebook: A Plan for MSPs and Other Tech Businesses to help support managed service providers (MSPs) and IT professionals foster a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Looking forward, the group plans to continue seeking to advocate for diversity and equal representation in the workplace, according to chair Eric Torres, vice president of channel and community engagement at Pax8, and Terez Leach, MSP marketing manager at Trend Micro.
Managed Services Interest Group
The MSP Growth Blueprint: Strategies, Stories and Solutions
The North America Managed Services Interest Group used CCF as an opportunity to gather data, talk about challenges and collaborate on growth strategies, technology, strategic focus, leadership and process adaptation. Participants spoke about success in talking about business outcomes versus features in sales conversations and how they are using automation to do more and scale up more efficiently. The group intends to build upon these real stories of both success and failure in their upcoming virtual meetings. “We are stronger together and we have a lot to share,” said chair Carrie Green, SVP Operations at Alt-Tech.
Cybersecurity Interest Group
MSP Cybersecurity Missteps: Turning Their Failures into Your Success
What’s the worst cyber incident you’ve had and how did you respond? In a session hosted by the North America Cybersecurity Interest Group leaders Tanja Omarageic, director of technical sales, cybersecurity and data protection, at ConnectWise, and Maria Scarmado, CEO of Praxis Data Security, CCF attendees broke into groups to analyze theoretical data breaches, credential compromise and other risk scenarios. “This exercise was supposed to be a list of everything not to do [in a cyber incident], but to me it’s ‘last Thursday’ when I talk to a lot of companies,” said Matthew Fisch, CEO of FortMesa.
Advancing Women in Technology (AWIT) Interest Group
Launching the Next Phase of AWIT
Did you know that just 8% of women are in leadership roles? It’s a sobering statistic that Brook Lee, chair of the AWIT Interest Group and vice president of channel and community at Liongard, opened with at CCF. Although the women in technology program began just 10 years ago, she noted that women have been in the tech workforce far longer and that we still have progress to make. Some of that progress includes holding monthly virtual office hours for coaching and support, pushing event organizers to put more women thought leaders on expert panels and launching the GTIA Women in Tech Guidebook later this year to provide direction on how to find, hire and retain women in the tech space. But the biggest change? The group will now be known as Global Women in Tech—a nod to the fact that women have been a part of this industry for quite some time and are here to stay. “We will continue to promote and support diversity, equity and inclusion,” Lee said. “No matter what happens anywhere else in the world, that will not change for this group.”
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