The MSP community is a close-knit part of the technology industry, and sometimes that can make things, well, uncomfortable. For many vendors and Master MSPs, navigating the fine line between partnership and competition can be challenging. Frankly, it can be equally difficult for MSPs at times. In this session, we’ll discuss

  • Vendor partnerships
  • Balancing partners and competitors
  • Building relationships to weather the storm
  • Key to success: Communication
  • Never burn a bridge: How to tactfully exit a partnership

About Sunny Kaila

As the founder, visionary and driving force behind ITBD, CEO Sunny Kaila pairs an unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit with an inspiring point of view and innovative, inquisitive mind. From his roots as an IT manager in an NYC company, Sunny has built a thriving MSP business alongside his wife and business partner Kam. He generously shares the lessons he has learned during 20 years as a business owner, building a thriving MSP in one of the most demanding environments—New York City—and then scaling up that business to transform into a master MSP serving a global customer base.

From day one, ITBD was grounded in honesty, hard work, customer service, and genuine partnership. Sunny leads the company with a mindset that sees opportunity where others see hurdles and he isn’t afraid to embrace thoughtful risk when the time comes to make a leap of faith. He challenges his entire team to think beyond what is happening right now to seek the next innovation for every aspect of the business—from marketing to customer experience to operations. Those efforts have turned Sunny’s 2003 step into the world of entrepreneurship into a global company with nearly 500 employees servicing small and mid-sized companies across a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, finance, nonprofit, public relations, hospitality, and marketing.

Through a sincere and transparent approach to partnership, and his mantras of constant value creation for the customer and sharing is caring, Sunny has created a community vs. a company, treating every team member and customer as a part of the family. As part of that, he is adamant about living the company values of humility, accountability, positivity, passion, and community, and his passion for building a positive environment not only attracts top talent but retains them. He blogs as well as hosting webinars and a podcast series about business leadership, culture, and innovation and self-reflection as a business owner and peer, all included in Sunny’s Silver Linings resource center.

Additionally, Sunny is an advocate for SMB owners both across the MSP community and in his backyard. As a result, he launched the Sikh American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) in 2012. This nonprofit organization is now proliferating into regional groups around the country, carrying forward its mission of promoting education and entrepreneurship within the community. The organization also promotes job opportunities with its annual job fair, providing the opportunity for more than 50 businesses and nearly 800 potential employees to connect. The fair also includes mentoring sessions, providing open access to more than 30 mentors representing several vertical markets, reinforcing Sunny’s belief that everyone should have a mentor.

Set an appointment with Sunny by contacting Gennifer Biggs, IT By Design, genn.biggs@itbd.net  (814) 449-2676