Episode Transcript
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chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (00:00):
Hey,
welcome to another episode of
the Wireless Way Special editiontoday.
Got two guests here with me.
And of course, as always, I'mglad you're checking out this
episode.
And I'm equally glad that Chazfrom Data Prize and his
counterpart, his partner incrime.
John Gonzalez is with us.
Welcome you guys.
John, start with you a bit.
(00:20):
Tell us, remind us you, you're aformer guest.
We talked a lot about expensemanagement the last time you
were on update us.
What have you been up to?
Tell us a little bit about yourrole today.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (00:29):
Yeah.
Since we last talked think we'renow in our 11th acquisition.
From a data price side of thehouse we've grown and expanded a
lot of consolidation happeningacross the industry.
Perfect fit for a lot ofpartners nowadays to land and
expand, with not only themobility model, but just in
general, right?
All of the IT services that areneeded.
(00:50):
Been doing that, been doing sometravel with the family.
Gotta do that, right?
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (00:55):
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-202 (00:56):
My
youngest graduating middle
school, so going to high school.
I have my son And then I have myeldest that had already gone
through college, taking over theworld in the coconut water
industry.
Hey, I'm good right now.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (01:10):
So
life is good.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (01:11):
Yeah.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (01:13):
What
what was your last trip to.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-20 (01:14):
was
to the main island, Hawaii the
main island, Hawaii, which theday we got there, the volcano
erupted, which we didn't get tosee until the next day was
amazing.
I'd never been through Lavatubes.
That's another, I felt like aBatman.
So we're talking about the, hissidekick here, Chana.
was really cool.
And then we went swimming withManta Rays which is.
(01:35):
At night, is another experienceyou guys look like.
You can relate like bombers,right?
Just coming at you, right?
Yeah.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (01:45):
I
know if I can, I know if I can.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-2 (01:47):
wow,
they're pretty, it's really
cool.
A lot of that time refresh,reset and just bringing that
good energy back with greatsolutions has been amazing.
chris_1_04-23-2025_15311 (01:56):
That's
awesome, man.
That's so important.
Great point being made there.
And Chaz, you're also a, analumni of the of my former
series Wireless SuiteWednesdays.
And I wanna come back to that ina moment, but first, introduce
yourself.
Tell us a little about, you andyour role and how you're living
life these days.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-20 (02:12):
cha
Shockley, VP of channel and
partnerships with data prize.
I've been with Data Prize for 20years, which is crazy to say.
But loving every minute of thatminute of it.
I gotta say this position isdefinitely one of my favorites
where I.
I'm leading our channelinitiative and working closely
with John on coming up with ourstrategy and how we're working
with our trusted advisors andpartners on the services that
their customers need.
And, as such, John and I arejust focused on taking feedback
(02:36):
from those trusted advisorswhere are their pain points?
And we'll get into that a littlebit later.
What's it like navigatingbudgets?
What's it like navigating all ofthe solutions that are out there
within the channel ecosystem andhow are we.
Best identifying and solving thecustomer problems.
Getting to to speak on panels.
I'm out at a conference actuallythis week somewhat related to
our pb and j conversation.
(02:58):
Lots of travel, lots ofinteracting with our trusted
advisors.
But that's what I've been up to.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (03:04):
No,
that's awesome.
And that I think, travel'simportant.
I know a lot of companiessometimes struggle with the
concept of the t and e expenseand all, I tell people, there's
no one in my office that wantsto buy from that.
You have to get out.
You have to get out, make therelationships, network, see the
people.
Especially these conferences,you can learn so much sometimes
even about your competition orjust get feedback from people.
So important.
(03:25):
So yeah, you, you brought it up.
I wanna go back to the peanutbutter and jelly wireless food
Wednesday that we did I think itwas in Houston many years ago.
Explain to to the listeners,what does PB and j and data have
in common?
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-202 (03:37):
so
first off, I have to give credit
to my now 10-year-old son forcoming up with a PB and j pitch.
But peanut butter and jelly,right?
Peanut butter and jelly just gotogether, right?
So when we first startedentering into the channel, we
were trying to come up withthings that would stick, pun
intended to, to in people'sbrains, right?
When we were trying to deliver acomplete solution.
(03:58):
One of our main solutions is abusiness resiliency package,
which is cybersecurity plusdisaster recovery as a service.
So Cyber Plus DRA go togetherlike peanut butter and jelly.
I was working it out,spitballing it with my son.
I was like, what's somethingthat can just be familiar to
people so that they're gonnaremember when they think
business resiliency or helpingCEOs sleep at night?
(04:18):
He is it's kinda like peanutbutter and jelly.
It's it, that's what we're goingwith.
so we're going with peanutbutter and jelly.
Apropos time for me right nowI'm at Veeam on in San Diego.
Veeam is one of our strategicpartners and we're a platinum
VCSP.
That Draz solution, disasterRecovery as a ser as a service
solution is powered by VeeamSoftware that we're managing,
(04:39):
we're delivering.
APO timing to bring back the PBand j pitch.
chris_1_04-23-2025_1 (04:44):
Fantastic.
I love it.
He's gonna be writing commercialjingles.
Before you know it, man, youmight be onto something.
And, I was sharing that storywith John.
John, of course, saw the videowe did a couple years ago.
And I said, man, not only doesthat make so much sense, as a
wireless guy, fellow wirelesswarrior with John, mobile
devices, they need security.
So many, I've seen numerousreports in different stats.
(05:06):
Most of them indicate at leastI.
55, 60% of cyber threats, canoriginate on a mobile device.
And they got me thinking about,the importance of mobile device
management.
You know how many companies justdon't have a strategy or they
think they check the box andthey have, unees'cause it comes
with their Microsoft license,but no one manages it.
So John, we were talking, Isaid, man, maybe it's peanut
(05:28):
butter, jelly, and banana.
I don't know if one's ever donethat before.
I've had peanut butter andbanana sandwiches.
Never put jelly with it, but,hey, maybe we could start
something new here.
John, what's your take on thevalue of MDM and, maybe kind of
state of the industry report onwhat are you seeing in, in the
market in terms of mid toenterprise companies and their
either adoption rate with MDMs?
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (05:49):
Sure.
So what studies are showing nowthat a lot of companies
investments in MMS and MDM arepaying off, like with 90% of it
reporting positive ROI.
Outta those respondents, 15% sayreduction in it costs came from
leveraging full lifecycle andmanage mobility and management
MDM solutions.
(06:10):
then there was another statisticthat said 90% credit manage
mobility services for improvedbusiness uptime in enhanced
productivity.
So overall the results revealedthat estimated 52% of IT
operations time could be savedfrom outsourcing mobile device
management.
So one of the biggest things andchallenges that we're seeing
(06:31):
nowadays is being able to securethose mobile devices through
MDM.
what it's calling out in cyberinsurance for cyber insurance
companies is that mobile device,it's not centrally managed
through MDM, locked down throughMFA, and that is an entry point
for a cyber incident, you betterbelieve those claims are
probably gonna be known andvoid.
(06:52):
it's really making sure thatthese overstretched IT
departments have the tool setsand expertise to make sure that
those devices are secure fromonboarding, right?
All the way from onboarding thedevices to when they're
offboarding the devices.
And that's the biggest challengewe see is the offboarding of the
devices for those.
So it's growing, everybody'sbeing asked to do more with
(07:13):
less.
Cut cost, be more efficient.
We can come and do this, prettyquickly.
And that's one of, I know we'regonna we're gonna be jumping
into a trifecta here, but that'sone of the tries of the trifecta
is really, coming in, savingcompanies time, money,
frustration.
And we're just seeing it juststart to skyrocket.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (07:35):
So
you mentioned the trifecta.
Who wants to take that one?
Who can unpack that for me?
So is it that, is the peanutbutter, jelly and banana, or is
there more to it?
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-202 (07:42):
So
for the Kentucky Derby, I want
you to pick number two, Jimmy.
Two times.
Two times, right?
Number seven, right?
Chaz, you wanna jump in?
You wanna jump in?
Rif?
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-2025 (07:54):
I
was waiting to see where we were
going
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (07:55):
Yeah.
Yeah.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-20 (07:56):
But
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04- (07:56):
Kentucky
Derby, the trifecta is gonna be
seven, two, and five.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23 (07:59):
That's
right.
There's the parlay.
So I'll give credit to John forcoming up with the name.
He always described his hismanaged mobility kind of
solution as found money, right?
So in, I'll say John, probablywhat, Q3 of last year.
Beginning of Q3 of last year.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (08:17):
Yeah.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-20 (08:17):
and
I as we were going through
strategy on what our approachwithin the channel community
should be.
And we saw that a lot of dealsweren't, or opportunities
weren't closing.
They weren't dying, but theyweren't closing because we're
running into this budget issueat customers, right?
Where they love the solutions,they love the pitch, but all of
(08:38):
a sudden their budgets startedgetting slashed because of.
Market insecurities, right?
And what's gonna happen with theelection.
And you name the excuse, right?
The budget.
It impacted the budgetconversation and we're still
there.
By the way this budgetconversation.
So John and I shifted from whatdata prize's core services are
in, in managed security managecybersecurity and your managed
(09:01):
IT services, which are monthlyrecurring commits, right?
Net new spends for customers.
We pivoted to what the channelpartners were asking for, which
is gimme a quick win help mefree up a spend within our
customers organization.
So John came up with a pitch oftrifecta, of found money.
I'll lead with the two that atleast relate to some of the core
(09:22):
data price side and then reallythe most impactful one that,
that John speaks of.
And it's the greatest foot inthe door.
For any seller is the managedmobility pitch that John has.
But the first two aspects of itI'll start with cybersecurity
insurance, right?
It was a pet project of mine andsome of our cybersecurity
leadership, we found, severalcybersecurity insurance
(09:44):
companies were willing to vetout data prizes, cybersecurity
solution set right?
Think E-D-R-M-D-R are the commonterms that we're hearing XDR.
So data prize delivers thoseservices.
cybersecurity insurancecompanies vetted out our
solution to ensure that we matchand meet all of the controls
that are required for acybersecurity insurance company
(10:06):
to guarantee a certain coverage,and and premium.
So they validated that with dataprize, and as such, they'll say
that with any customer that hasdata prize's, cybersecurity plan
in place.
Bonus points for having yourbackup and DRA solution in place
with data prize.
gonna offer 30% off of premiumsif you have data prizes,
(10:28):
solutions for a large enoughorganization that can help fund
the cybersecurity initiative inand of itself, right?
So that, that quick win.
One of the, one of the thespears of the trifecta, right?
Is this cybersecurity insurance,right?
We can hopefully free up 30% oftheir premium spend on
cybersecurity.
The second aspect of it, anotherquick win in budget creating
(10:50):
event.
Is the Azure optimization.
data, price is a managedMicrosoft partner, and that's a
technical term, right?
That doesn't just mean we'retight with Microsoft.
That means that we are in thetop 2% of Microsoft partners
where because of ourcompetencies, our
certifications, and'cause of thevolume of business we do with
Microsoft, we get to use thatmoniker as part of our
(11:11):
relationship, a managedMicrosoft partner.
such, we have a deep expertisewithin the Azure ecosystem.
Aspect of freeing up foundmoney, right?
Is optimizing a customer's Azurespend.
found that a lot oforganizations moved into Azure
they just forklifted, right?
They just took their on-premstuff or their stuff that was in
(11:33):
a data center and moved it intoAzure and that was a big move in
COVID, right when everybodystarted working remotely.
But they didn't optimize theirecosystem.
To really allow for spending andin some cases efficient
processing power within theAzure ecosystem.
So we'll come in and help assessthe Azure ecosystem so that
their spend is optimized, right?
(11:54):
Sometimes that means moving VMsvirtual machines into just
platform as a service or code asa serv infrastructure as code,
sorry.
So you're optimizing theconfiguration within that
ecosystem so that they're savingmoney.
In one case, we had one customerthat was saved that was spending
about$20,000 a month their Azureecosystem.
(12:16):
We came in for a$10,000 project.
two months, we freed up 12,000of that$20,000 a month spend.
So we freed up$144,000 a year.
That channel partner could thengo sell into that found money,
(12:37):
So that's one example of howwe're saving money.
So again, the first two aspectsof the trifecta found money are
the cybersecurity insurance andhelping optimize maybe 30% off
of their premiums, while gettinga robust cybersecurity solution.
second is the Azureoptimization.
Freeing up some of the spendthat they're allocating into
(12:58):
Azure by optimizing the Azureconsumption.
third John will get into here,and I wholeheartedly suggest
that channel partners use thisas a foot in the door manage
services.
I used to call it the gatewayDrug into Managed Services.
Is this managed mobilityservice, right?
Let's go ahead and push that.
We wanna see them do that.
(13:18):
John, go ahead and explain whatManaged Mobility is and how it
can free up the spend.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (13:22):
sure.
So we live in a mobile firstworld.
We know that we all rely onmobile devices, right?
They're like the DNA.
to what we're doing fromproductivity.
But they can also become a verybig expense.
So every company has mobiledevices.
say most would have corporatedevices.
Some have BYOD, some have a mix.
(13:43):
But if partners have any, anyclients, it's one of the, oh, by
the way, questions.
Oh, by the way, do you guys haveany mobile devices?
Oh, we do.
How many you got?
Oh, we got about a thousand.
Gotcha.
What care are you guys with?
At t, Verizon.
Gotcha.
Hey, what if I showed you a way.
you throw out the objectionswithout switching your carrier,
without disrupting your service,without spending any additional
(14:04):
money.
A better way to come in and cutcosts by 15 to 35%.
Okay?
Give you a better mousetrap formanaging cradle to the grade,
right?
How many people are doing thisfor you guys?
Do you like doing this?
You're six figure Microsoftengineer in your resetting
voicemails, taking supportcalls.
Get that off your plate, and letus show you how we can actually
come in and create a revenuestream out of a current expense.
(14:26):
So without them displacing theircarrier, we come in by their
next billing cycle, right?
And start to drive costs down.
But more importantly, that's thehook, the efficiency, the
accountability, the control, theprocesses, the policies that
we're implementing are huge,right?
For an overstretch ITdepartment.
This is a living and breathdevice.
(14:46):
Usage goes up, you have newdevices, new features, device
purchasing programs.
It just, it's overwhelming.
And from a security standpointright now.
A lot of clients have MDM mobiledevice management.
They use it to push out apps,right?
Ease of deployment, maybe aremote wipe here and there, not
knowing how much more thatsoftware can do for them from a
(15:06):
HIPAA compliance standpoint,from a FINRA compliance
standpoint.
Hey.
Geofencing, disabling cameras,Hey, do you only want to go to
one website?
Hey, from eight to five, I wantcorporate information at 5 0 1.
Make sure that's off.
There's so much that needs to bedone and streamlined that we
come in and we're able to takethat entire life cycle to save
them time, money, andfrustration and lead them.
(15:28):
And this happens by their nextbilling cycle.
So we put a lot of processes inand then the partner right
immediately.
15 to 35% and it, if you roundit like 10 to 20 bucks a line,
if they have a thousand lines,that's 10 to$20,000 a month or
120 to$240,000 of found money,okay?
You're not ripping and replacingcircuits, you're just gonna
(15:50):
happen right away.
Partners get, start getting paidby month two, right?
And it's a foot in the doorbecause.
Like I said, it's very simple.
They have the devices.
It's a challenge.
It's a four letter word for ITdepartments, believe me.
And it's a free look for them.
At least they, they can do afree check and balance and see
where they stand.
So that's the
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-20 (16:09):
the
what's the win percentage if we
do an assessment?
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-2 (16:12):
87%.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-2 (16:15):
87%.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (16:16):
87%.
That's amazing.
It's very, numbers don't lie.
They say, God, we trust, but allothers must bring data.
You guys are bringing the data.
It's not a, it's not a pipedream.
You're selling.
You're actually, you got realnumbers to show.
What, where are you seeingpartners win?
Is it, are there, is there amixture of new logos for the
(16:37):
partner?
Are they going back to theirexisting base and selling into
them?
What, how are you seeing.
Any kind.
Is there any kind of trends oris it kind all over the place
when it comes to.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-20 (16:47):
For
us, it is all over the place.
We're seeing.
Repeat trusted advisors that wework closely with, right?
The channel partners that knowdata price very well, know the
wireless watchdog service verywell, where they're bringing us
in.
They know that if they have anew prospect and they wanna free
up a spend, they want to buildthat trusted advisor
relationship.
(17:09):
They know that they can do thatwith a dataverse data prize,
wireless watchdogs combo, right?
So for the new prospects, it'smore of getting the foot in the
door by showing them that we'refreeing up a spend.
delivering a quality service forfor the existing customer base.
It's, that's where we're seeingmore of the managed services
come into play, right?
Because the channel partneralready has that trusted advisor
(17:29):
status.
They're already recommending theright solutions and they really
know what the customer's budgetis.
There's more maturity in therelationship, so we're seeing
more of the managed services onthat side.
But for new prospects it reallyis all about this trifecta
motion.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23- (17:44):
Yeah,
and I can speak to that too.
So we have a lot of like grouptrusted advisor groups that are,
that have hundreds of thousandsof clients that when I speak,
I'm like, look, everybody hasthis issue.
Everybody's having it.
You gotta go back to the clientsthat you have and just ask to
go.
By the way, oh by the way, youguys having this issue.
Are you guys having this, Hey,did you know HIPAA compliance
(18:05):
fines?
Are this and that?
Have you seen the statistics?
It's what's happening out there.
Patients, nurses, filmingpatients, putting it on
Instagram.
This is, it's not a joke, right?
This is about really securelymaintaining those devices and
it's a problem.
It's a problem.
Every audit, you probably, youknow this too, Chris, every
assessment we do unused devices,right?
(18:25):
Devices sitting on the
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (18:26):
Ugh.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-20 (18:26):
for
months.
People have gone, right?
They're lost.
They're not in a drawersomewhere, right?
You have a, it just going Ican't believe this.
I just ordered another 600devices and you're telling me I
have a thousand sitting.
What's, so this is
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (18:40):
Yeah.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-2 (18:40):
company
and it's not their fault, it's
just that they don't have thetools, the expertise, or the
time really to.
Get a hold of this whole thinghere.
So there's massive savings, notonly from the hard dollar, but
from this soft dollar savings.
So yes, going forward, thetrifecta perfect for getting in,
but you also gotta think aboutgoing back on all three, three
of those as well to all yourclients and seeing that those
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (19:02):
Yeah.
As you were talking, I was justthinking another little catchy
scene that I think I came upwith or heard from somebody.
Most of the things I say, I comeup, I probably heard from
someone, but but anyway if youdon't know, you stay with status
quo.
And partners don't.
If customers don't know,partners don't know.
And if you don't know, thenyou're just sitting there with
(19:24):
all these unused devices.
And my other favorite, John, Ilove to ask the question.
Hey, how do you guys deal withoverage fees?
Oh, we don't have overage fees.
We have everybody on thatunlimited data plan.
Come on, man.
Us, we wouldn't do that.
We're smarter than that.
I'm like, oh, are you really?
So I got my answer.
But when you do your assessmentswhat percentage of most a
hundred plus companies are noteven using Five gig.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-2025 (19:49):
I
would say at least 70%.
Like we see a lot
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (19:52):
Yeah.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-20 (19:52):
'em
on unlimited, right?
Oh, we're good.
My, my rep says We're, we get abetter deal than Walmart.
Oh we know we're good.
And then, but that's great.
I'm sure you have good rateplans, but hey.
Like you have unlimited plan,like which unlimited plan are
you on?
30, 35, 45, 65, which one areyou on?
And by the way, this person'sbarely turning their phone on
and you're paying, 40, 50 bucksfor that device when you can
(20:14):
probably buy it a different way.
Oh, are you a part of A-G-P-O-Agroup purchase your organization
to where you get extra discountsin special credits.
So it's really about that insidebaseball knowledge that
overstretched IT departmentthat's trying to secure the
company, trying to innovate hasall these projects that are
overdue, it's just Ah the billwas 30 grand.
Yeah.
You know what?
It was 30 grand last month.
(20:34):
Status quo.
Yeah.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (20:36):
Yeah,
man.
When you, something else I likeabout what we're talking about
here.
So many partners have builtgreat agencies selling
connectivity and dial tone.
And that's all they've soldtruthfully.
Over half of the channel isprobably out there going, oh,
yeah.
Yeah.
Because I've talked to partnersall the time and that's, that's
their shtick, would be coaxfiber or some flavor of dial.
(20:57):
This is branching out and yougot cloud, you got
cybersecurity, and you gotmobility covered.
These are three other parts ofthe tech stack that are revenue
opportunities.
So well done.
I love the trifecta.
I love the peanut butter jellyand the banana.
Any last words?
We gonna, again, this is aspecial quick fire edition.
Any last words, Chaz?
Anything you wanna leave uswith?
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23- (21:18):
John.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (21:18):
we
didn't cover?
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-2 (21:19):
said
it, you're right.
And John says it all the time,right?
It's that, oh, by the way,conversation, don't be afraid to
ask that last question one morething, right?
Oh, by the way, are you managingyour mobile devices?
Or, oh, by the way, when is yourcybersecurity insurance policy
up?
Or, oh, by the way, when did youmigrate into Azure?
Asking these one questions, evenas you're going out the door, I
(21:40):
guarantee some of those aregonna give you another 15
minutes conversation with thecustomer.
chris_1_04-23-2025_ (21:46):
Absolutely.
John, anything to add to that?
A dad joke.
A favorite quote?
What?
What's the last piece of adviceyou gave your kids?
Anything you can share?
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-23-20 (21:57):
you
miss a hundred percent of the
shots.
You don't take.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (22:01):
There
you go, man.
There you go.
Simple man.
We've all heard it, but it is sotrue.
But guys, thanks so much forthis kind of hurry up offense,
man.
I love it.
Short and sweet, impactful.
Three parts of the tech stackbundled into one, finding money,
repurposing money.
Man.
What's, I think you guys need togo hire some more order
processing people.
(22:21):
'cause after this episode it'sgonna rain buddy.
It's gonna rain.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23-2025 (22:25):
I
love it.
chris_1_04-23-2025_1531 (22:26):
Alright
guys, thanks so much.
I appreciate you guys joining metoday.
chaz---dataprise_1_04-23 (22:29):
Chris.
squadcaster-2h9c_1_04-2 (22:30):
Thanks.
chris_1_04-23-2025_153113 (22:31):
Yep.
And then, and there you gofolks.
Another episode of The WirelessWay.
Check us outonline@thewirelessway.net.
Use the contact us button andsend any suggestions or
feedback.
Love to hear from you and we'llsee you next time the wireless
way.