𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 🤝
For most small businesses, that person is their IT provider, and that whole industry is going through its biggest shift in decades.
This week on the 𝐒𝐌𝐁 𝐀𝐈 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, Kree and Varun sit down in studio with 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐊𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐬, CEO of The ASCII Group, the original vendor neutral community for IT providers across North America, founded in 1984. Jerry has spent nearly thirty years in this channel.
The numbers that frame it: 📊
📊 The managed services market is forecast to grow just 𝟏𝟎% this year, with real margin pressure as basic IT gets commoditized
📊 Yet specialist providers who advise, rather than resell boxes, report about 𝟑𝟎% higher margins and charge more, not less
📊 Roughly 𝟗𝟓% of AI pilots deliver no measurable return, and two thirds of companies get stuck in experiments that never scale
📊 ASCII has powered over 𝟓𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 exchanges, providers helping providers
Jerry's throughline: the technology keeps getting cheaper and easier. What stays scarce is trusted advice from someone who understands your business. If your provider only ever talks hardware, licences and problems, that's the commodity relationship AI keeps making cheaper. The one worth paying for asks how your business is trying to grow.
What this means for you: when your provider brings you AI, ask one question. What number in my business is this going to change, and how will we know? Answer that clearly and they're an advisor. Only features, that's a sale. 🎙️
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Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. This is an Independent commentary. Third-party excerpts are credited on screen or in the show notes. Some voices in this program are AI-generated.