Clive Longbottom

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Contributor and Analyst at Freelance

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Articles

The do's and don'ts for MSPs

1 week ago | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

There is a big problem when discussing artificial intelligence (AI) with a prospect or customer. With AI, and positioning AI, being a relatively new market with a broad coverage, navigating AI positioning without knowing a person’s level of knowledge can be tricky. To make matters worse, MSP’s own sales and marketing teams may lack sufficient knowledge of AI. If we just start at the very basic level, is there a difference between machine learning, deep learning (DL), and AI?
A game plan for MSPs to overcome AI objections

4 weeks ago | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

Artificial intelligence (AI) is following a standard hype curve. AI started as something that few people really knew about. However, it exploded into public consciousness as large companies like Microsoft, AWS, and Google embedded AI services into their cloud offerings. Web browsers made previously techie-only features, like ChatGPT, accessible to everyone. For a while, everyone was AI-giddy: AI was going to completely change everything overnight, and mainly for the better.
MSPs to the rescue: Defending against the human threat

1 month ago | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

The human threat is often the biggest risk to an organization, whether through malicious actions or—more commonly—accidental activities. Since the COVID-19 pandemic increased remote work, accidental end-user security issues have risen, with many organizations lacking the resources to address these off-platform challenges. Managed service providers (MSPs) can help organizations defend against cybersecurity risks stemming from two main user groups: general workers and IT workers.
WFH, RTO, Hybrid – What's best for MSPs?

2 months ago | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

The pandemic drove employers to allow and enable broad-scale work from home (WFH). Now, as the impact of COVID-19 dissipates, some employers are insisting on a return to office (RTO). This has not gone down well with all employees – and many are voting with their feet. For certain employers, a RTO makes sense: many brick-and-mortar retail and manufacturing environments just cannot operate with everyone working from home.
Getting the basics right for MSPs

Dec 3, 2024 | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

I’ve given up counting the number of managed services providers (MSPs) websites where I have looked at the “Home” and “About” pages and still wondered just what the company does. Bland statements that cover the same sort of things that every other MSP offers; claims of being ethical, sustainable, the best employer – you name it, everything but what a prospect may be searching for. And even when something borders what the company does, it tends to miss the point.
The era of LLMs, transformers, and FLMs in AI

Oct 16, 2024 | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

“Hello, how are you today?” A simple enough statement, often used to start a conversation. A generative AI (GenAI) interaction will result in a simple human response, such as “I’m fine, thanks.” The GenAI engine can then move on to the main purpose of the interaction, such as “How can I help you today?”In the first instance, any common response by a GenAI engine is based on analyzing a large data set of how humans interact.
What is infrastructure (IT infrastructure)?

Sep 24, 2024 | techtarget.com | Clive Longbottom |Stephen J. Bigelow

Infrastructure is the foundation or framework that supports a system or organization. In computing, IT infrastructure is composed of physical and virtual resources that support the flow, storage, processing and analysis of data. Infrastructure might be centralized within a data center, or it might be decentralized and spread across several data centers that are either controlled by the organization or by a third party, such as a colocation facility or cloud provider.
The power of hosted remote desktops for MSPs

Sep 19, 2024 | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

In my last piece, I discussed how using hosted remote desktops can minimize risks should a major incident occur. Beyond reducing risks, the use of remote desktops provides a lot more than just basic access capabilities. Remote desktops are based on a completely known platform – either hosted in your data center or Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
How MSPs can prepare for future PC outages

Aug 14, 2024 | smartermsp.com | Clive Longbottom

A recent global event has demonstrated how vital it is to maintain a reliable IT infrastructure. This is including its access points such as endpoint devices, as it is the backbone of many essential services. While the event may seem like an isolated incident, commentators have already stated that it’s no longer if, but when, an event like these PC outages will happen again.
How Puppet works: Using the configuration management tool

Aug 13, 2024 | techtarget.com | Clive Longbottom

With Puppet, organizations can manage configurations and simplify the DevOps process. Learn how it works, and see if it's the right choice for your organization. ByClive LongbottomPublished: 30 Mar 2021 The DevOps stream from development to operations is a single overall process, with a multitude of tasks underneath that push it along. Feedback loops must be maintained to ensure that any issues picked up along the stream are reported back to the right area for remediation.