Recent News & Press Coverage

Bethesda, Maryland – December 20, 2018 — The ASCII Group, the leading and oldest membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers, is pleased to announce the line-up of speakers for its 2019 North American ASCII IT Success Summits. The agenda for the Summits reflects an enhanced focus on education, providing attendees with strategies and best practices on how to grow their IT companies while best servicing their customer base. The events will be highlighted by more MSP-led education sessions and speakers in 2019, bringing even more value to attendees.Keynote Speaker – Adam Steltzner, Technology Is Not the Obstacle: Described as “Einstein brilliance meets Johnny Cash cool”, Adam Steltzner helps companies harness the power of curiosity to spark innovation and collaborative leadership across their entire organization. From aspiring rock star going nowhere fast to a history-making PhD rocket scientist, Adam Steltzner is recognized as one of NASA’s leading – and most unique – innovators. For nearly a decade, Adam led and inspired the breakthrough team that invented the ingenious “sky crane” landing system that so spectacularly landed the Mars Rover, Curiosity, on the Martian surface 300,000,000 miles from Earth in 2012. Next, Adam will lead NASA’s Mars 2020 Project that will gather core samples of Mars for scientific discovery. Additional MSP peer education speakers include:Leo Bletnitsky, LBA Networking – MSP Merger Concerns? Learn What NOT to Do!Mergers and acquisitions are one way to fuel growth but you need to tread lightly. Much of what is being touted when evaluating partnerships is numbers, but there is so much more to it. This session will detail specific questions you need to ask as part of any merger or acquisition evaluation. Leo has been involved in two mergers in his career – one was incredibly successful and the other failed miserably. With nearly 25 years in the IT industry, the lessons learned will certainly help your next business evaluation.Robert Boles, BLOKWORX – Security Business Service Transformation: The 6 P’s to MSSPOur industry continually adapts, and as we have evolved into a managed services provider role, the ability for each of us to offer deeper levels of service as it relates to cyber-security will become the standard in the near future. How can MSPs make this transition into a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) role and effectively present the value to their clients. With over 20 years in providing IT services, fellow member, Robert Boles has successfully made this business transformation. This session will help define, deliver and breakdown different strategies on how MSPs can successfully make this transition.Rayanne Buchianico, ABC Solutions – Key Financial Red Flags MSPs MissRayanne has been working with MSPs for over 15 years, helping them gain better clarity on their finances. With so many moving parts and constant change in our industry, it’s hard for MSPs to stay focused on the financial side of their businesses. By leveraging key MSP “sanity check points”, you can quickly see if there is a problem that needs investigating in your business. The session will help you better understand how balance sheet accounts work with the P&L and provide valuable insight into your business and key metrics you should be tracking.Angel Rojas, DataCorps Technology Solutions – Approaching the Home Services Market: HVAC/Plumbing/ElectricalWith a US market size of $60 billion, there is a healthy amount of money to be made in this vertical. In this session, we’ll cover the keys to serving the Home Services Market. It might seem trivial, but HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies have unique needs that, if not understood ahead of time, will absolutely kill the deal after the fact. When approaching this market, you need to be prepared and understand what is unique about it. DataCorps has had great success with the home services vertical and enjoys a niche in this industry that is made up of excellent, great-fit, value-oriented clients.The Success Summits are the leading conference in the channel, and bring together over 1,500 IT solution providers and MSPs, innovative technology vendors, and key industry thought leaders in a two-day format. With nine events across the U.S. and Canada, the series will focus on areas that will help MSPs advance and move their businesses forward through the power of community and its offerings.“As ASCII celebrates its 35th anniversary, we are proud to provide an environment where MSPs can learn from each other, discover new ways to leverage technology, and network with leading channel vendors,” said Jerry Koutavas, President, The ASCII Group. “Members leave the events with new ideas to grow their business and new partnerships with today’s top vendors.”The Summit series is designed for qualified industry IT professionals, and is targeted towards those looking to increase revenue and enhance their current business model. MSPs and solution providers interested in attending the Summits can visit www.asciievents.com.For more information, follow ASCII on Twitter @asciigroup and #ASCIISUCCESS.About The ASCII Group, Inc:The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers. The group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S. and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a national and international reach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensive peer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the mission of helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.

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Press ContactAlysia VetterVice President of MarketingTel: 800-394-2724 x 131Email: alysia@ascii.comWeb:www.ascii.com

MADISON, Wis., Dec. 17, 2018 – Managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) can now easily and efficiently administer security awareness training for their clients thanks to a new MSP Toolkit developed by InfoSec Institute. 

InfoSec Institute, the leading provider of information security education and workforce security awareness solutions, today announces a partnership with The ASCII Group, offering a tailor-made MSP Toolkit for ASCII MSP members seeking an efficient way to manage their clients’ security awareness training needs.

The MSP Toolkit is built upon InfoSec Institute’s SecurityIQ platform. SecurityIQ makes it easy to provide security awareness training that engages employees and motivates them to detect, avoid and report security threats like phishing.

“It speaks volumes when a company such as Infosec Institute works hand-in-hand with the ASCII MSP community to design necessary resources,” said Jerry Koutavas, president at The ASCII Group. “The MSP Toolkit incorporates the best practices and implementation strategies our members are seeking. This is a welcome addition to an already strong offering by the company and its ability to help MSPs in the ongoing battle against the fraudulent practice of phishing.“

The MSP Toolkit features:
• Clear step-by-step guidance illustrating critical steps and recommended best practices for implementing the process. 
• Automation tools equipping MSPs with easy-to-build security awareness training programs to deliver the right content to the right learner at the right time.
• Delegated administration enabling centralized management of multiple clients’ security awareness programs. 
• Automatic report generation for tracking and sharing training performance.  
• Customizable learning experiences using more than 300 modules, including critical training in phishing, suspicious hosts, ransomware and password security.

“ASCII is the trusted leader in the IT and security MSP community, and we’re thrilled to offer our MSP Toolkit to its more than 1,300 members,” said Mike Nobers, director of Global Channel Sales for InfoSec Institute. “Our goal when developing the MSP toolkit was to provide our partners guidance on creating a great security awareness program and delivering it efficiently and effectively with our platform.”

ASCII members already using the toolkit give it positive reviews.

“Our partnership with InfoSec Institute has been invaluable in helping us deliver accessible, engaging and effective cybersecurity awareness education to our clients. The MSP Toolkit allows us to use the SecurityIQ training platform to its fullest potential,” said Vanessa Reimer, manager of Corporate Administration and Communications at CarefreeIT.
 
“We have a trusted partner in the education space for technical training. The training is well-received by our clients and strikes the right balance of engaging and educational. It provides a well-rounded offering in terms of cybersecurity services. The MSP Toolkit provides a structured method of engaging with our clients and takes the guess out of proper process and procedure,” said William Chan, founder and president of Syzygy 3, Inc.

Learn more about InfoSec Institute’s MSP Toolkit
 
InfoSec Institute recently announced Gartner positioned it as a Challenger in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-Based Training. Additionally, the company is also recognized as a 2018 Best Security Awareness Computer-Based Training as Reviewed by Customers. 

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About InfoSec Institute
InfoSec Institute fortifies organizations and their employees against security threats with award-winning security and privacy education. Recognizing cybersecurity is everyone’s job, we provide skills development and certification training for IT and security professionals while building the entire workforce security aptitude with awareness training and phishing simulations. InfoSec Institute is also a Training Industry “Top 20 IT Training Company” and the Security Training & Education Program Gold Winner in Info Security Products Guide’s Global Excellence Awards.

 
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Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

About Gartner Peer Insights 
Peer Insights is an online platform of ratings and reviews of IT software and services that are written and read by IT professionals and technology decision-makers. The goal is to help IT leaders make more insightful purchase decisions and help technology providers improve their products by receiving objective, unbiased feedback from their customers. Gartner Peer Insights includes more than 70,000 verified reviews in more than 200 markets. For more information, please visit www.gartner.com/reviews. 

Bethesda, Maryland – November 7, 2018 — The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, VARs and Solution Providers, is pleased to announce the upcoming dates and cities for its 2019 IT Success Summit Series.Started in 1999, the Success Summits bring together nearly 1,500 IT solution providers, dozens of technology vendors, and key industry leaders in a two-day format that incorporates extensive peer networking, education and training. With events in nine markets across North America, the series will focus on areas that will help MSPs advance and move their businesses forward, through the power of community and its offerings.“As ASCII enters its 35th year in 2019, we reflect back on our original mission which still rings true today – bringing together IT business owners and helping them to grow by leveraging the power of our group. The discussions that take place, the connections that are formed, these are the true pillars as to why the ASCII community has been a mainstay within the channel,” said Jerry Koutavas, President, The ASCII Group.“This past year, we saw record-breaking participation – over 75 channel-focused vendors participated in at least one of our regional Success Summits! This is a testament to the overall health of the IT channel and reaffirms the value of MSPs in today’s economy. Vendors are seeing real results by partnering with ASCII members and other IT providers to enable end-user success,” said Shannon Mayer, VP Channel Development, The ASCII Group.With an emphasis on peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, the Summits are designed for qualified IT professionals and MSPs.2019 Summit Cities:• Orange County, CA  February 20 – 21• Dallas, TX  March 27 – 28• Washington, D.C.  April 24 – 25• Charlotte, NC  May 15 – 16• Chicago, IL  June 26 – 27• Denver, CO  July 24 – 25• Toronto, Canada  August 21 – 22• Newark, NJ   September 25 – 26• Boston, MA  October 24 – 25Keynote speakers will be announced at a later date. For more information on ASCII’s IT Success Summits, please visit www.asciievents.com. Follow ASCII on Twitter @asciigroup and #ASCIISUCCESS.About The ASCII Group, Inc:The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers. The group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S. and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a national reach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensive peer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the mission of helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.

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Press ContactAlysia VetterDirector of Marketing & CommunicationsTel: 800-394-2724 x 131Email: alysia@ascii.comWeb:www.ascii.com

Bethesda, Maryland – October 18, 2018 — The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, VARs and Solution Providers, is pleased to announce the winners of its annual ASCII Cup, with awards given to the ASCII Cup winner, Top 10 Vendors, and MSP Success Summit Distributor of the Year. The awards are presented each October to technology companies that have showcased channel goodwill and a commitment to helping ASCII members grow their IT businesses. Winners are voted upon by ASCII members at regional events, and the Cup and awards were presented at the ASCII Success Summit on October 18, in Seattle, WA.At each regional event, ASCII Success Summit attendees vote for the vendors in 13 different categories: Best Education; Best Partner Incentives; Best Presentation; Best Rapid Pitch; Best Keynote Presentation; Most Innovative Solution; Best Market Opportunity; Best Partner Support; Best Channel Program; Best Revenue Generator; Top Distributor; Best Partner Involvement; Best of Show. The winners at each Summit are selected based on the votes by the MSPs, VARs and solution providers in attendance; at the end of the year, the winner of The ASCII Cup is determined by tabulating the results of all nine events. The 2018 winners of The ASCII Cup, Top 10 Vendors and MSP Success Summit Distributor of the Year were announced at a private industry gathering.The ASCII Group is pleased to honor the top 10 contenders for this year’s ASCII Cup:The 2018 ASCII Cup Vendor of the Year – Pax8Top #2 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – DattoTop #3 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – MailprotectorTop #4 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – Duo SecurityTop #5 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – Solutions GrantedTop #6 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – ContinuumTop #7 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – RapidFire ToolsTop #8 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – Vertical AxionTop #9 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – CytracomTop #10 Vendor of the Year for ASCII Cup 2018 – Technology Marketing ToolkitMSP Success Summit Distributor of the Year – Pax8“On behalf of The ASCII Group and its community, we congratulate Pax8 on winning the 2018 ASCII Cup and the MSP Success Summit Distributor of the Year. In addition, we also wish to acknowledge the Top 10 Vendors and extend a big thank you to all of the companies that participated at our Success Summits this year. We recognize the value that all of these participants bring to our members and appreciate their commitment in continually providing innovative and advanced solutions to our community,” said Jerry Koutavas, President, The ASCII Group.Photos of the celebration will be made available on The ASCII Group and The ASCII Cup Facebook pages.For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.About The ASCII Group, Inc:The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers. The group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S. and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a national reach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensive peer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the mission of helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.

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Press ContactAlysia VetterDirector of Marketing & CommunicationsTel: 800-394-2724 x 131Email: alysia@ascii.comWeb:www.ascii.com

Bethesda, Maryland – September 5, 2018 — The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, VARs and Solution Providers, has announced the selection of 8 ASCII members to the newly created Executive Strategic Committee based on their knowledge and industry expertise. The Committee includes a select group of IT professionals from various sectors of technology, who will work in concert with Alan Weinberger, CEO of The ASCII Group, to provide insight and feedback on timely topics.The new Executive Strategic Committee includes:Joe Balsarotti, Software To Go – St. Peters, MORene Barnes, Opus 1 Systems – Silver Spring, MDRyan Bowman, TCW Computer Systems – Mannheim, PARayanne Buchianico, ABC Solutions LLC – Dunedin, FLAJ Gyomber, Technology Visionaries – Woodbridge, NJMichael Kimmerly, Precision Computer Solutions – Port Huron, MIJoshua Liberman, Net Sciences, Inc. – Albuquerque, NMJoe Molick, Molick Enterprises – Ramona, CA“The goal of the Executive Strategic Committee was to create a small sounding board, whereby appointed members could offer varying viewpoints and acumen,” said Weinberger. “With the Committee, The ASCII Group is reinforcing our focus on community.”About The ASCII Group, Inc:The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers. The group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S. and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a national reach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensive peer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the mission of helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.-30-Press ContactAlysia VetterDirector of Marketing & CommunicationsTel: 800-394-2724 x 131Email: alysia@ascii.comWeb:www.ascii.com

Bethesda, Maryland – July 12, 2018 — The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, VARs and SolutionProviders, has announced the addition of 5 new members to its Advisory Committee. The Committee includes a select group of IT professionals from varioussectors of technology, who collaborate to provide input on ASCII membership and initiatives.Comprised of representatives from 15 member businesses from across North America, the Advisory Committee works with ASCII headquarters on a regular basisto discuss new alliances, member programs, peer-to-peer networking opportunities for the members, and overall ways to bring value to the group. Thesecomponents would add to the more than 70 value-add programs ASCII currently provides to its members.The 5 new members include:Des Dougan, Dougan Consulting Group – Vancouver, BCKevin Rubin, Stratosphere Networks – Evanston, ILStephen Monk, Noverus Innovations, Inc. – Roseville, CADavid Stinner, US itek – Buffalo, NYThomas Fox, Tech Experts – Monroe, MI“The ASCII Advisory Committee plays a pivotal role in maximizing member engagement,” said Alan Weinberger, Chairman and CEO, The ASCII Group. “We are thrilledto have assembled a diverse group of successful IT business owners who provide insight on industry trends with varying perspectives that help us deliverimpactful programs and resources to our members.”The ASCII Advisory Committee was established in 2001 and the committee meets regularly during the year. To view a list of all current ASCII Advisory Committeemembers, visit the ASCII Company page www.ascii.com/about-us About The ASCII Group, Inc:The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, VARs and solution providers. The group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S.and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a nationalreach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensivepeer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the missionof helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.-30-

Press ContactAlysia VetterDirector of Marketing & CommunicationsTel: 800-394-2724 x 131Email: alysia@ascii.comWeb:www.ascii.com

The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent MSPs, VARs and solution providers, is pleased to announce the ‘Best of Show’ award winners from its 2018 IT Success Summit in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The awards are voted on by the attending solution providers, and honor the industry sponsors in multiple Best of Show categories.  

Pre-Day Winners

Best Education – Invarosoft

Best Partner Incentives – Vertical Axion

Best Presentation – Solutions Granted

Main Day Winners

Best Rapid Pitch – GMS Live Expert

Best Keynote Presentation – Pax8

Most Innovative Solution – Mailprotector

Best Market Opportunity – Pax8

Best Partner Support – Datto

Best Channel Program – GreenLink Networks

Best Revenue Generator – ID Agent

Top Distributor – Pax8

Best Partner Involvement – Cytracom/Datto/Pax8

Best of Show – Pax8

The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent MSPs, VARs and solution providers, is pleased to announce the ‘Best of Show’ award winners from its 2018 IT Success Summit in Chicago, Illinois. The awards are voted on by the attending solution providers, and honor the industry sponsors in multiple Best of Show categories.  

Pre-Day Winners

Best Education – Carvir

Best Partner Incentives – Solutions Granted

Best Presentation – Solutions Granted

Main Day Winners

Best Rapid Pitch – Invarosoft

Best Keynote Presentation – Mailprotector

Most Innovative Solution – Mailprotector

Best Market Opportunity – Pax8

Best Partner Support – Datto

Best Channel Program – Pax8

Best Revenue Generator – Intermedia

Top Distributor – Pax8

Best Partner Involvement – Cytracom/Datto/Pax8

Best of Show – Pax8

Channel Executive Magazine & MSP Insights:

Is the Channel Prepared for Cyberattacks?  Featuring ASCII Members Lynn Souza and Jason McNew

Maximize the Value of Partner Programs  Featuring ASCII Members Tom Lambotte and Stephen Monk

The Dangers of Warning Your Clients About Price Increases  By ASCII Member Angel Rojas

The Benefits of Warning Your Clients About Price Increases  By ASCII Member Mike Bloomfield

How MSPs Benefit from Effective Public Speaking  By ASCII Member Alain Lefebvre

TechTarget | SearchITChannel:Business continuity solution: How should MSPs price an offering? By ASCII Member Raffi Jamgotchian

My Tech Decisions:

Cybersecurity Practices for the Layman Employee  By ASCII Member Albert J. Gyomber

What is Unified Communications As a Service (UCaas)?  By ASCII Member James Brendle