They explain how they’re evaluating AI security tools, addressing AI governance, and using automation to support security analysts while keeping people involved in decisions. The conversation also explores continuous exposure management, the value of business context, and why adopting AI calls for redesigning workflows and reskilling teams.

For IT channel service and solutions providers, the discussion offers a look at building deeper customer partnerships, adapting managed security services, and helping customers decide what to handle internally and where to seek outside expertise.

00:00 AI and cybersecurity converge
01:27 Meet the guests
02:02 Evolving the security services model
04:30 Evaluating AI tools and governing adoption
08:09 Changing customer priorities
11:54 AI defenses and the security analyst’s role
19:37 Connecting security services with business context
23:41 Security’s role in AI transformation
26:34 Operationalizing AI, workflows, and reskilling
34:01 Advice for security leaders
38:05 What to build internally or outsource

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released on Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Why MSPs face another inflection point
01:34 – Peter Fidler and WCA Technologies
03:09 – How customer demand for AI is evolving
04:03 – AI governance, data security, and responsible adoption
06:32 – When customers adopt AI before their MSP
09:25 – The shift from AI assistants to AI agents
11:58 – Could AI agents replace MSP services?
14:58 – Moving MSP conversations toward business outcomes
17:45 – Change management and learning through failure
21:05 – Why MSP peer groups and community matter
25:29 – Supporting partners in the Microsoft ecosystem
30:04 – What Microsoft expects from partners
31:19 – How MSPs need to evolve next
35:09 – Why MSPs need AI expertise
36:17 – Where to learn more about WCA Technologies

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.

In this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, Katie Bavoso speaks with GTIA Chief Channel Officer Nancy Hammervik, longtime ASCII member Chad Kempt, president of Fast Computers, and two members of both organizations, Third Element Consulting CEO Dawn Sizer, and Phantom Technology Solutions CEO Henry Timm, about what’s changing—and what isn’t—following the acquisition.

The conversations explore ASCII’s continued independence as a peer-driven community within GTIA, changes member benefits and dues, GTIA’s global resources, the role of ASCII’s advisory committee, concerns about maintaining community culture, and what the acquisition could mean for MSPs navigating AI and rapid change across the channel.

Topics & Timestamps:

00:00 — GTIA acquires ASCII Group: What does it mean?

01:29 — What are GTIA and ASCII, and why do they fit together?

04:09 — How the GTIA-ASCII acquisition happened

05:44 — How will ASCII remain an independent brand?

08:16 — ASCII member dues, benefits and GTIA access

10:26 — ASCII’s vendor sponsorship model

11:17 — Who leads ASCII after the acquisition?

13:01 — Will ASCII’s community culture be preserved?

16:01 — What GTIA members gain from ASCII

18:48 — GTIA’s growth strategy and potential future acquisitions

21:27 — ASCII member Chad Kempt on the acquisition

23:14 — How ASCII helped transform Kempt’s MSP business

27:39 — Chad’s first reaction to the GTIA acquisition

29:34 — Will ASCII maintain its intimate community?

31:29 — Why MSP community matters in the age of AI

34:25 — The value of trusted relationships in the channel

36:08 — Why GTIA was the “best case scenario” for ASCII

38:29 — Dual member Dawn Sizer weighs in

41:34 — What could change over the next 6–12 months?

45:06 — How members were informed about the acquisition

50:10 — What GTIA and ASCII should prioritize going forward

51:22 — Dual member Henry Timm on consolidation in the IT channel

55:18 — Who benefits more from the acquisition?

57:12 — New resources, research and cybersecurity benefits

59:30 — What members don’t want to see change

1:00:15 — What should GTIA and ASCII do next?

A new episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV is released every other Thursday.

Watch the interview on YouTube @ChannelInsider_NewsAndTrends

If you have questions for a featured solution provider or want to be a guest on the show, reach out to us at partnerpov@channelinsider.com

For more episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV as well as written content on the IT channel, go to channelinsider.com

Connect with Channel Insider on LinkedIn.

Episodes of Channel Insider: Partner POV are hosted and produced by Katie Bavoso with help from Dana Sell, and edited by Ayen Alvarez and Katie Bavoso.

The cover art for Channel Insider: Partner POV was created by Aubri Ziegler. The opening and closing animations were made by Mackenzie Burke. The thumbnails for each episode are made by Brandon Cornwell.

Channel Insider: Partner POV is an asset of Channel Insider, which is a brand under TechnologyAdvice.