The Killing IT Podcast

Welcome to Episode 212 At 212 degrees fahrenheit, water becomes steam. At 211 it’s hot. At 212 you can move a locomotive or make electricity. We are happy to bring you episode 212 of the Killing IT Podcast! Please share this podcast on Apple, iHeart, or wherever you listen. Sponsored by… The Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. The best deal in online communities for IT business owners is the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Memberships start at just $799 per year, and that includes a five-week course at IT Service Provider University. Grab all the details at https://www.smallbizthoughts.org.  Topics: Topic 1: CISA update If the US government is not going to be helping small businesses with security alerts, who will step in to provide this service? Is there anything we can do to get CISA to help, or will this be another function we simply defer to Europe to provide the leadership? Doing nothing is not an option? What are you doing to stay tuned to security alerts for your clients? Topic 2: Taxes for IT consultants. Maryland and Washington announce new taxes. Who's next? Not to say we told you so, but … Whether we like it or not, taxes are coming to online services and tech support. Maryland's tax appeared very quickly, and then narrowed down to only SMALL IT consultants.  Dave mentioned this in his Business of Tech podcast, and the National Society of IT Service Providers addressed this on their blog at https://nsitsp.org/those-who-do-not-organize-get-taxed-lessons-from-marylands-3-tech-tax/. Now is a great time to decide where we as an industry stand on this. Topic 3: Under what circumstances should we rely on generative AI? There's a growing disillusionment with generative AI. There continue to be problems with hallucinations and outright falsehoods. And there are continuing examples of just plain laziness - without any meaningful accountability.  We discuss a really great, Boolean decision tree. See the graphic at https://guides.lib.usf.edu/c.php?g=1315087&p=9678779. That graphic also provides a very short, very straight-forward description of the answer. Does it matter if the output is true, accurate, or helpful? Do you have the knowledge and ability to determine whether the output is accurate? Feedback always welcome! :-)

Topic 1: CISA Under the Microscope CISA was called out in the Project 2025 document as a left-wing organization inside the government due to their warning about election interference. It is now subject to cuts and scrutiny. In the mass firings at DHS on February 14th, 130 employees at CISA were fired as they were “probationary” employees. Many MSPs and MSSPs subscribe to CISA.gov alerts. It is unclear how this will be affected. Wherever you stand on politics or related topics, small business needs a good source of security alerts we can rely on. What's your take? Topic 2 (AI, of course): Was DeepSeek revolutionary or just the next obvious step in the evolution of AI? From Geekwire: Satya Nadella's response was, "Jevons paradox strikes again! . . . As AI gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can’t get enough of." What do you think. Just another step in the evolution of AI? Or is there news here? See: - https://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-ceo-says-ai-use-will-skyrocket-with-more-efficiency-amid-craze-over-deepseek/  - Wikipedia on Jevon’s Paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox  - ChatGPT now has 300 million users (https://backlinko.com/chatgpt-stats)  - Google Search has 1 billion regular users, and now includes Gemini results at the top of every search - Microsoft CoPilot has about 30 million users (https://www.businessofapps.com/data/microsoft-copilot-statistics/)  - Adobe Creative Cloud has about 30 million users and includes AI in all products (https://photutorial.com/adobe-statistics/)  Topic 3: Will Microsoft compete with you - or your SOC? Now available: Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR Says Microsoft: "Our expertise is now your expertise. Augment your teams across security, compliance, identity, management, and privacy with Microsoft Security Experts." See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/services Is this service worth considering, or should Microsoft put those resources into fixing security problems in their deployed software? The pages makes it sound like this will have a major human-led component, but that's exactly what they are NOT doing. Will you jump on board or wait to see if this is real first? And will this help Microsoft cut payroll, or just require more hiring? We welcome your feedback! :-)    

The Q4 2024 Killing IT Podcast features what may be our last discussion of robots for a long time! Topic One - Where Are My Robots??? We’ve been talking about this for five years - So where are the robots? We have a massive personnel shortage on many fronts. AI is creating jobs faster and faster. So why haven’t robots evolved to serve us? We’re on the verge. What’s the holdup? If nothing else, we're tired of talking about it.   Topic Two - The Changing Economy of Our Industry In just the last five years, a layer of billion-dollar and near-billion-dollar companies are major players in our industry. This is literally a new layer of business and ownership. They are almost entirely focused on the top 3-5% of businesses in our space. In the meantime, 95% of SMB IT consists of and serves 1-4 person companies. The continued growth at the top seems unsustainable. So . . . where is all this going? Topic Three - A Practical Approach to AI  There's some (seemingly) conflicting research with AI adoption. Forrester highlighted the benefits of Copilot adoption for SMB. Lots of benefits, increased revenue, lower employee attrition, and more. At the same time, The Information reports that customers give Copilot mixsed reviews. Large corporations are increasing their usage, but tend not to use the paid version. Is this a conflict? How do we make sense? Obviously, we have three opinions. -- -- --  That's it for Q4 and for 2024. We'll be backin Q1 2025! :-)  

We're back for Q3 2024. Quick question of the day ... then onto the topics of the day. Topic 1: MIT Releases the AI Risk Repository Thanks to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a major resource. It's definitely more for you than your clients. But we see great opportunity here.  The public database contains 700+ risks as documented by published papers. It includes many categories, based on severity and other variables.  Check it out here: https://airisk.mit.edu/ You can poke around online and gets some good information. Or download the entire database in Excel format. You can then sort, color code, or do whatever you want with the data.  And that includes providing educationi and training for your clients -- -- --  Topic 2: Shocker - Google Has a Monopoly on Search! Okay, not really a shocker. But does it matter that a judege says so? Does anyone care (other than other search engines)? Would breaking up Google change anything? What is most likely to actually happen (e.g., Microsoft-like consent decree)? The 1984 AT&T breakup into seven baby Bells may help us see 40 years into the future As usual, we discuss. Related Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/technology/google-monopoly-antitrust-justice-department.html -- -- -- Topic 3: NIST Releases Cryptography for Quantum Computing See https://www.axios.com/2024/08/13/nist-post-quantum-cryptography-encryption. Quantum computing has been ten years away . . . for more than forty years.   Besides the “no harm to update,” how much attention do we really need to give to quantum computing?    We have three different perspective on how much this "news" matters. As usual. What do you think?  

Topic 1: Massive Botnet Network Taken Down Police coordinated by the European Union's justice and police agencies have taken down computer networks responsible for spreading ransomware via infected emails, in what they called the biggest-ever international operation against the lucrative form of cybercrime. The European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, said that police arrested four “high value” suspects, took down more than 100 servers and seized control of over 2,000 internet domains. Related Link: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/massive-international-police-operation-takes-ransomware-networks-arrests-110667670 -- -- -- Topic 2: AI Update, because We Have To Are strategies emerging?  Amazon is a brokerage for models Microsoft is doing CoPilot OpenAI is everywhere Apple just announced Apple Intelligence Cisco announces a pile of stuff Is there a “killer app” coming soon?  -- -- --  Topic 3: How is the M&A Frenzy affecting SMB IT? Google “m&a in it consulting” and you’ll find articles, events, advice, and a whole lot people scrambling for the almighty dollar. Are the KPIs used in business acquisition really the KPIs you should be using to run a solid, long-term business? The most common way that small businesses “end” are 1) Walk away, and 2) Sell the client list. None of those people are getting 3x profit or even 3x EBITDA. Should they change their business or just keep doing what they’re doing? -- -- -- Sponsor Memo: IT Service Provider University  This episode is Sponsored by Karl’s next big class at IT Service Provider University. The five-week course, Core Standard Operating Procedures for Small IT Service Providers, starts July 2nd and costs only $399. This class walks through the most important processes and procedures you need to run a successful, profitable IT company. And best of all, you get massive handouts as a "first draft" for your own SOP library. More information at https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/core-operating-procedures/ :-)

Check out the bonus Killing IT content on MSP Radio's Business of Tech podcast! Today's a great day to subscribe to that: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/ -- -- --  Topic 1: The Current State of Mergers, Acquisition, and MSP Consolidation Mergers and Acquisitions are alive and well in the MSP channel. Jay McBain from Canalys predicts a growth of M&A of 50% in 2024. In addition to MSPs themselves, he says that we’ll see some major vendors acquired as well. The promise of these larger organizations is always that they’ll bring efficiency and profit. So far, that hasn’t happened. But that’s the promise. Karl thinks this is a GREAT marketing opportunity for MSPs. Related Links: https://greenwichgp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MA-Demand-for-Managed-Service-Providers-in-2024.pdf  https://www.channelfutures.com/mergers-acquisitions/msp-m-a-staying-hot-what-to-expect  -- -- --  Topic 2: The Practical Application for AI in Small Business Are we there yet? While AI is the most popular topic in technology, the question remains: what can we use AI for that will produce actual business value? Some industries have made great progress with AI, including manufacturing and medicine. According to a recent study, more than 93% of manufacturers (from start-ups to global giants) are already using AI in some form.  What are the implications and opportunities for MSPs and solution providers to sell their services to manufacturing clients? And what lessons can we learn to accelerate the adoption of AI in other industries? Related Link: https://research.aimultiple.com/manufacturing-ai/ -- -- -- Topic 3: How to best use predictions and analysis from guys like us. Summary of the Larry Walsh article linked below:  “IT spending growth projections should be taken with caution as they are directional and subject to change. While major analyst firms forecast healthy growth, the market is not uniformly strong, with several countries experiencing recession. Partner confidence is also dampened due to negative macroeconomic trends. Despite fluctuations in forecasts, investors, vendors, and partners rely on them for strategic planning. Channelnomics predicts conditions in the first half of 2024 to resemble 2023, with substantial improvement in the second half. Robust growth in IT spending is expected in 2025 and potentially 2026, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, data management services, and infrastructure refreshes.” Article by Larry Walsh, Channelnomics:  https://channelnomics.com/taking-it-spending-forecasts-with-grain-of-salt/  See also: "With a projected 6.8% surge in global IT investment in 2024, organizations are positioned at the brink of transformative growth. According to Gartner, worldwide IT spending it expected to total $5 trillion in 2024. This represents a 6.8 percent increase over 2023. And while this is an increase, it’s down from the previous forecast of 8 percent." https://www.teamdynamix.com/strategic-it-spending-in-2024-navigating-growth-and-innovation/   :-)

Topic 1: Chat GPT 1 year later. AI Article Summary: Elon Musk creates his own AI company called X.AI, while Satya Nadella of Microsoft invests in OpenAI and accelerates plans to incorporate AI into Microsoft's products. OpenAI releases ChatGPT as a "low key research preview," which becomes a hit. Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, faces challenges with its own chatbot and struggles with the decision to go open-source. Microsoft introduces its own chatbot in Bing, surpassing Google's efforts. Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent AI scientist at Google, decides to quit and reflects on the rapid advancements in AI technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/technology/ai-chatgpt-google-meta.html --- Topic 2: Robots Multiplying by Thousands! AI Article Summary: Agility Robotics plans to open a factory in Oregon to mass-produce humanoid robots, starting with their bot named Digit. The factory aims to produce 10,000 robots per year and will assist companies like Amazon with tasks such as hauling and lifting. The production of bipedal robots that are nimbler and more versatile than existing industrial counterparts presents engineering challenges, but Agility Robotics aims to make general-purpose humanoids available as soon as possible.  Other competitors in this space include Tesla, Boston Dynamics, Sanctuary AI, Figure, and Apptronik. Amazon has invested in Agility Robotics and is testing Digit in a laboratory. The concern about robots taking jobs from humans has prompted Amazon to partner with MIT to study automation's impact on work. While there is momentum behind humanoid robots, there is still more testing to be done. In a separate article, it is highlighted that America's military needs to embrace artificial intelligence and robotics to maintain its competitive advantage in future wars, but congressional and bureaucratic restraints hinder rapid mobilization and investment in these technologies. https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-whats-next-d504c6f4-c6d1-4979-ae67-72f5bfaff090.html --- Topic 3: Will Private Equity Destroy Our Industry? Karl speculates that private funding and private equity will be looking for serious payouts starting in 2024. With a 4-6 year window, the clock is ticking. Some companies will have an identity crisis in the years ahead, and that will become visible in 2024.  Higher interest rates will force companies to decide, “Do we want to run this company like an adult, or take our money and leave?” Those who stay will either get loans - at higher rates than we’ve seen in twelve years - or take companies private so they don’t rely on outside financing. Investors who were promised a straight 40-50% return per year were disappointed in 2023 and that disappointment will grow in 2024. These people care nothing for the businesses they buy or the end clients of those businesses. Our industry cannot escape the effects of this unknown element of chaos.   --- Sponsor Memo: IT Service Provider University  This episode is Sponsored by Dave’s January class at ITSPU.com. Dave is teaching a brand new class in January: navigating emerging technologies for MSPs. This is a five week class, which will walk through the methodology Dave uses for analyzing technologies and how you can apply that in your business to find trends and be effective in your service provider business. More info at  https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/navigating-emerging-technologies-for-msps/   :-)

We're Baaaaaack! The Killing IT team returns . . . with a fun and educational Q4 show.  Topic 1: Overworking  Have you heard the term Over Employment or Overworking? These are folks who manage to hold down two or three full time jobs using apps and BS. Are these just eager, hardworking "gig" folks, or are they thieves who are simply more interested in making money than earning an honest living? A few links: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7begx/overemployed-hustlers-exploit-chatgpt-to-take-on-even-more-full-time-jobs https://www.wired.com/story/remote-tech-workers-secret-multiple-jobs/ https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/news-insights/fp-weekly-checklist-avoiding-the-new-breed-of-workplace-scams-in-the-remote-work-era.html They even have their own web site. https://overemployed.com/ Topic 2: Catch up on Artificial Intelligence Wow! What a year. Are we in the middle of a singularity? ow much is this like the early Internet (late 1990’s)? It seems like 2023 will be remembered as the year of AI.  We look at the good and the great - and what's next. What do you think? Topic 3: Metaverse – Dave offers a theory What will augmented reality bring? It looks like the future is becoming a little more visible. New products, from Apple's Vision Pro to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, are bringing new opportunities and will only get better with a little AI! We discuss. Please like and share - and send us your feedback! -- -- -- :-)  

Topic 1: How much will AI change our business in the next twelve months? ChatGPT now has over 100 million users. Government wants to regulate it. We’re past the hockey stick moment.  https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/14/u-s-tech-policy-must-keep-pace-with-ai-innovation/  --- Topic 2: Oh Dear God - Minority Report crack for Ryan: Movie clip reconstructed by an AI reading mice's brains as they watch Researchers have put together a 30-second movie clip based on a group of mice's brain activity data that was recorded while they watched the footage https://www.newscientist.com/article/2371943-movie-clip-reconstructed-by-an-ai-reading-mices-brains-as-they-watch/    --- Topic 3: How dead is the metaverse? KP: Not every “cool” technology has a big future. It will find its niche.    https://www.businessinsider.com/metaverse-dead-obituary-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-tech-fad-ai-chatgpt-2023-5   --- Resources and Links: https://www.businessof.tech/ https://www.asigra.com/ https://smbonlineconference.com/  

Topic 1: The Arms Race is Here...AI is Definitely Moving Fast, but Will It Break Things? ChatGPT is now integrated in Bing as “Prometheus.” That sounds ominous. But Bard is also coming. And now Ernie. And Claude. Soon there will be AI bots generating “conversations” and disrupting the search industry on all sides of the globe. Is that a good thing? https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-baidu-finish-testing-chatgpt-style-project-ernie-bot-march-2023-02-07/ https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/chinese-tech-giant-alibaba-working-on-a-chatgpt-rival-shares-jump.html Sample alternative tools -  https://bing.com https://hyperwriteai.com/ https://easy-peasy.ai/  ...And also, apparently writing software is about to become a less-lucrative career path. https://www.semafor.com/article/01/27/2023/openai-has-hired-an-army-of-contractors-to-make-basic-coding-obsolete --- Topic 2: Revisiting the Cabana... Four years ago, we set out to change the way our industry discussed IT.  We covered the scary, the quirky, and the fun of IT--all in hopes we could help others (and ourselves) understand this wild world just a little more.   Thank you for helping us do that. This is not goodbye. We WILL see you later. Until then, we thank you for tuning in to the Killing IT Podcast.    Contact us: Karl https://smallbizthoughts.com/ https://smbonlineconference.com/ Dave https://www.businessof.tech/ Ryan [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmorris303 --- Sponsor Memo: Linode  Are your go-to cloud providers AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud? Do you ever question whether some clients really need the complexity and expense of the big players? Recommend a better fit with Linode and Akamai, Linux cloud hosting at a fraction of the cost of the big players. Save up to 70% on cloud bills, enjoy flat transparent pricing and zero-tier technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of your monthly spend. Test Linode for yourself with $250 free cloud credit from https://linode.com/mspradio