Between Fires and Futures: Real Conversations for Tech Leaders Navigating What’s Now—and What’s Next
Between Fires and Futures: Real Conversations for Tech Leaders Navigating What’s Now—and What’s Next
Podcast Description
Between Fires and Futures is the podcast for modern tech leaders caught in the constant tension of today and tomorrow.It’s the space between daily firefights—cloud issues, AI hype, security breaches—and the visionary work of building scalable, resilient, future-ready organizations.Each week, we talk with the strategists, technologists, and innovators doing the real work of leading change. These are unfiltered conversations that expose the tradeoffs, wins, and lessons no one puts in the case studies.No spin. No fluff. Just pressure-tested leadership, real-world insight, and bold thinking.https://www.technologymatch.com/
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a range of themes relevant to tech leadership, including AI adoption, organizational resilience, and strategic foresight. For example, episodes delve into pressing issues like daily IT crises, practical AI use cases, and the necessity of shifting mindsets for successful transformation, ensuring that leaders have the tools they need to transition from firefighting to future readiness.
Between Fires and Futures is the podcast for modern tech leaders caught in the constant tension of today and tomorrow.
It’s the space between daily firefights—cloud issues, AI hype, security breaches—and the visionary work of building scalable, resilient, future-ready organizations.
Each week, we talk with the strategists, technologists, and innovators doing the real work of leading change. These are unfiltered conversations that expose the tradeoffs, wins, and lessons no one puts in the case studies.
No spin. No fluff. Just pressure-tested leadership, real-world insight, and bold thinking.
https://www.technologymatch.com/
If you’ve ever renewed an MSP contract while thinking, “This partnership isn’t working…but I don’t have the energy to fix it,” this episode is the one you’ve been waiting for.
In today’s conversation, Tonya sits down with Zack Aleksic, CTO and Principal Solutions Architect at Z7 Solutions, a firm trusted by public and private sector organizations for enterprise-grade cybersecurity, cloud, disaster recovery, compliance, and endpoint management. With certifications across ISO, NIST, CMMC, HIPAA, and more, Z7 pairs the rigor and resources of a large integrator with the responsiveness IT leaders actually want.
Zack has seen firsthand why so many IT leaders feel trapped in MSP relationships that no longer serve them and why the cost of staying put is far higher than most leaders realize. From silent vendors and outdated backups to untested disaster recovery plans and multi-year contracts that discourage accountability, he explains why the traditional MSP model is breaking down… and what a modern IT partner should actually look like.
This conversation is a must-listen for any IT leader navigating vendor stagnation, cyber risk exposure, compliance pressures, tool overload, or fear of disrupting operations during a provider switch.
In this episode, they dig into:
- Why IT leaders renew MSP contracts even when they’re unhappy and what fear, sunk cost, and fatigue have to do with it
- The hidden risks of staying with a stagnant MSP: widening security gaps, outdated backups, brittle DR plans, and compounding technical debt
- The dangerous “quiet MSP” pattern: minimal communication, no strategic guidance, no push toward modernization, and no accountability
- Red flags every IT leader should recognize
- How to proactively demand the bare minimum from an MSP, including quarterly risk reviews, evidence of controls, pen test validation, access audits, and clear prioritization with ownership + deadlines
- The real danger of complacency: nothing looks wrong until everything breaks
- Why the MSP burnout crisis is real and how it’s hurting response times, strategy, and quality of care for clients
- Step-by-step guidance for preparing a clean, low-disruption transition, including controlled environments, documentation, dependency mapping, and full discovery
- Why Z7 calls itself a turnkey solutions provider instead of an MSP and why that distinction matters for IT leaders managing risk, compliance, and modernization
- The explosion of tools in cyber and cloud, and why leaders must “eliminate the noise” to make smart decisions
- The one thing every IT leader should do tomorrow to evaluate their MSP: create a one-page MSP Scorecard (and why TechnologyMatch + Z7 are co-building one for listeners)
Important Links:
https://app.technologymatch.com/solutions/z7-solutions-managed-services
https://app.technologymatch.com/solutions/z7-solutions-staff-augmentation-services
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