The Only 47 SMB Podcasts You Need to Know

Last year, on the Forrester blog, my friend Jay McBain published a post of "The 100 Best Channel Podcasts." I'd like to offer a major update to that post. (See the original here: https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-100-best-channel-podcasts-of-2021/.)

In addition to Jay's list, I've been adding podcasts from other lists, my own Stitcher subscriptions, and anything else that found it's way to my ears. But then I started paring down.

Why the update? Well, a number of of those pods have disappeared from the face of the earth. And a few new ones have become established. Finally, to be honest, a lot of the podcasts that make their way onto these kinds of lists are not a good fit for our community. That doesn't mean they're not good or that you can't learn something. But our audience is the SMB IT consultant, Managed Service Provider, and more broadly, any IT Service Provider in SMB.

Here are the podcasts I removed from the big list:

- Twenty-one podcasts on various lists are actually defunct. That is to say, they have posted nothing to Apple podcasts in 2022. Some still have an episode or two on their site, but not on a broadcast network. If you're not broadcasting to a podcatcher, you're not a podcaster.

Eight shows have produced zero episodes in the last three months. One of those only publishes on their own site, not to a broadcast service. Perhaps not defunct yet, but will be soon.

- Sixteen shows, though delightful and often good, are not really geared toward the SMB/MSP market. Some are very enterprise-focused. A large number are high-end sales-only focused. And a few are in a niche popular in the Salesforce world that you might call partnership and relationship professionals. Whatever they are, they're NOT immediately relevant to SMB IT or MSP owners and managers. 

- Seven shows are really Vlogcasts. They have no RSS feed, just video. Most of these are fairly active, but are definitely not podcasts. Podcasts that are audio-first and then provide video are still remain on the big podcast list.

- Of the remaining, there are six podcasts that appear to be in a slump. They have a large number of historical episodes (over 100), but are now producing at a rate of once per month or less. I kept them in the "big list" but noted that they might be fading. I kept them on the list because they ARE still producing, and anyone can have a slow summer.

That brings us down to the 47 podcasts listed below. Here are some notes about what we have to choose from among podcasts in our community.

Of the remaining 47 podcasts, I would consider 31 to be well established. All but two of them have 100 or more episodes, and those two will surpass the 100 mark in October. Of the remaining sixteen, three appear to be going strong. The rest have inconsistent production. 

Of the 47 podcasts on the list, 30 (67%) have guests. And, unfortunately, there's a great deal of overlap among these guests. Many are vendor-driven discussions, which makes them vendor-driven podcasts, whether they consider themselves in that category or not.

Twenty (43%) have ads or sponsors. This includes shows that are self-sponsored, such as Tigerpaw and B2B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro.

In terms of production quality, the mix is probably what you'd expect. Nineteen (40%) have higher-quality overall production; Seventeen (36%) have average production; and Nine (19%) have lower-quality production. And a couple more have mixed quality across shows.

Of the 47 podcasts on the final list, twenty-one (45%) are clearly vendor-centric. By that I mean that vendors are frequently the guests or the center of the discussion. In almost all cases, this means that a vendor is interviewed for a whole episode or a whole segment inside an episode. In a few cases, it's just clear that the vendor makes the show possible (for example, their name is on the show).

It's also interesting to look at the specialization or focus of each show. The most common topical category, of course, is "Various SMB/MSP." These shows provide a variety of vendors, partners, and information within the SMB IT and MSP world. Most shows fall into this category.

That's different from what I have labeled "Variety - General Tech." The variety group often doesn't address the IT Service Provider or Managed Service Provider directly. They tend to focus on miscellaneous emerging technologies or broader technologies that ITSPs need to be aware of, but might not touch every day. Three shows fit in this category.

I broke out security-focused shows (9) and marketing-focused shows (2) since those are popular specialties in the industry. Some people only listen to one or the other of these categories. Some listen to anything but these categories.

There are also a significant number of shows that fall into the Telecom world (7). Almost always, telecom folks talk as if they're addressing MSPs, but MSPs know that they're not the real audience. Much of the language is the same, but an MSP knows when the topic has wandered over to telephony and they're no longer interested. 

The only show that successfully addresses both audiences, in my opinion, is Changing Channels with Larry Walsh. As a result, he gets his own category as "MSP and Telecom." It would have been a disservice to throw him into one group or the other.

Other extremely small categories are: Mac-centric, Legal, Retail, and Tech in German.

I've broken down the list by subject category so you can easily scan for show types that you either have on your podcatcher or want to add to it.

Timing. The most common podcast length is about thirty minutes. Seventeen of the forty-seven podcasts are right in that range (36%). Three podcasts come in at an amazing TWO HOURS. Twelve podcasts are in the range of sixty minutes up to seventy minutes.

An interesting niche has emerged of micro-podcasts. Four podcasts come in at five minutes or less. There's one at ten minutes and another at fifteen. That means six (13%) of the shows are fifteen minutes or less.

Here are some stats. At the end of this table, I list each podcast, some production notes, and relevant links.

-- -- --

Podcast Name	Show Length	Vendor-Centric	Guests	Production	Total Episodes	Episodes last Quarter	Sponsors, Ads
Category: Various - SMB / MSP
B2B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro	15-30 mins		Yes	High	444	40	Yes
ChannelBuzz	15-45 mins	Yes	Yes	High	25	3	Yes
ChannelPro Weekly Podcast	2 hours !	Yes	Yes	High	239	9	Yes
CompTIA Volley	30 mins		Yes	High	156	6
Connecting IT	30 mins	Yes	Yes	High	68	2
Evolved Radio	30-60 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	90	2	Yes
Humanize It	30 mins		Yes	High	219	13
It Experts Podcast	30 mins		Yes	High	108	12
It’s All About the Questions	60 mins	Yes	Yes	High	327	1
IT4Whiskey Podcast	30-60 mins		Yes	Low	62	1
Mike Tech Show	30 mins			Low	840	9	Yes
MSP Initiative The	60 mins	Yes	Yes	Low	183	7	Yes
MSP Unplugged	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	126	19
MSP Zone The	30 mins		Yes	High	100	15	Yes
RocketMSP Podcast The	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Low	129	7	Yes
SMB Community Podcast	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	335	15	Yes
SolarWinds TechPod	50 mins	Yes	Yes	High	68	3	Yes
Technibble MSP Podcast	1-3 mins		Yes	Low	64	2
Tigerpaw Radio	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	55	6
Tubb Talk	15-60 mins		Yes	Low	123	2	Yes
Category: Security
Cyber Security and Information Security Stormcast	5 mins			Average	1561	90
Cyber Security Today	5 mins			Average	100	60
Cyberwire podcast	10-35 mins			High	1999	90	Yes
Defensive Security Podcast	30 mins		Yes	Average	269	3
Enterprise Security Today	60 mins		Yes	Mixed	288	14	Yes
SecureConnection: IoT Security Services Association (IoTSSA)	30 mins		Yes	Average	100	2
Security Now	2 hours !			High	19	12	Yes
Security Squawk	60 mins			Low	90	12
Security Weekly News	30 mins			Average	436	26	Yes
Category: Telecom
Channel Journeys	30-45 mins	Yes	Yes	High	97	6	Yes
Coffee with Craig and James - Channel Futures	25-65 mins	Yes	Yes	High	115	3
MSP Business School	15-30 mins	Yes	Yes	Low	98	16	Yes
Partner Channel Podcast The	10-20 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	100	20
Telco in 20	20 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	51	8
Telecom Reseller	30 mins	Yes		Low	50	50
Telecoms.com Podcast	2 hours !			High	247	6
Changing Channels (Category: MSP and Telecom)	15-30 mins		Yes	Average	100	3
Category: Variety - General Tech
Business of Tech (MSPRadio)	5 mins		Rarely	High	847	83	Yes
Killing IT Podcast, The	30 mins			Average	184	13	Yes
TBI Talks Tech	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	30	2
Category: Legal
Cyberlaw Podcast The	60 mins	Yes	Yes	High	378	8
Technology Bradcast The	15 mins			High	42	2	Yes
Category: Marketing
MSP Marketing Podcast The	10 mins		Rarely.	Mixed	25	3
Paul Green's MSP Marketing Podcast	25-40 mins	Yes	Yes	High	100	16
Category: Misc.
CMD-CTRL-PWR	40-70 mins			Average	482	12
Trusted Advisor The	30 mins	Yes	Yes	Average	77	3
MSP-INSIGHTS – Cloud & Managed Service Impulse	15-60 mins			Average	73	5

-- -- -- 

Category: Various - SMB / MSP

B2B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro
Shelby Skrhak
Not really SMB or MSP. Just tech.
https://b2btechtalkwithingrammicro.sounder.fm/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b2b-tech-talk-with-ingram-micro/id1468502961

ChannelBuzz
Robert Dutt
One host. Casual. Newer podcast.
https://channelbuzz.ca/subjects/podcasts/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/channelbuzz-ca/id428767648

ChannelPro Weekly Podcast
Matt Whitlock, Rich Freeman
Two hosts. High energy, quick pace. Likeable hosts. Q&A format.
https://www.channelpronetwork.com/tags/podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/channelpro-weekly-podcast/id1095568582

CompTIA Volley
Carolyn April, Seth Robinson
Laid-back. Casual chat before introducing guests. Sometimes guests, sometimes not. Likeable hosts.
https://www.blubrry.com/volley/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comptia-volley/id1119742772

Connecting IT
Dan Tomaszewski
Casual vendorology.
https://www.connectit.com/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/connecting-it-podcast/id1500650021

Evolved Radio
Todd Kane
Opens with a snippet of the show. Fresh Q&A sounds like friends chatting.
https://www.evolvedmgmt.com/podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evolved-radio/id1096866947

Humanize It
Adam Walters & Skip Ziegler
Great, modern podcast! Casual. Light and fun. Likeable hosts. Relates today's culture to the topic of the show.
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/humanize-it-adam-walter-7Bgsf-U5SXL/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humanize-it/id1511560088

IT Experts Podcast
Ian Luckett
High production value. Recaps last show. Very modern style.
https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/it-experts-podcast-with-ian-luckett/id1488200335

It’s All About the Questions
Laura Steward
Modern looking pod art. Not MSP/Tech related. More about writers and artists. Old school Intro. Public radio feel.
https://www.laurasteward.com/category/its-all-about-the-questions
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/its-all-about-the-questions/id1008520291

IT4Whiskey Podcast
Mayron Herrera, Joe Ussia, Craig Hickman
Bro culture. Low production.
http://it4whiskey.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it4whiskey-podcast/id1431787686

Mike Tech Show
Mike Smith
Also offers video format of each episode. Ads are very long, right up front.
http://mikenation.net/
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id73330425

MSP Initiative The
George Bardissi, Alec Stanners, Ken Patterson
Every episode is live. MSP guests.
https://mspinitiative.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-msp-initiative/id1599292227

MSP Unplugged
Jeff Halash and Paco Lebron
Split into two segments "Resource Thursday" and "Tech Talk Tuesday." Charismatic hosts.
http://mspunplugged.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/msp-unplugged/id1494653881

MSP Zone The
Charles Weaver
Has a new topic of discussion each episode. One host.
https://mspalliance.com/tag/the-msp-zone/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-msp-zone/id1504497136

RocketMSP Podcast The
Steve Taylor
Very low key. Friendly.
https://anchor.fm/rocketmsp/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rocketmsp-podcast/id1502450828

SMB Community Podcast
Karl Palachuk, Amy Babinchak, James Kernan
Our in-house podcast. Common Q&A format. 
https://www.smbcommunitypodcast.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smb-community-podcast-by-karl-w-palachuk/id1009543229

SolarWinds TechPod
Leon Adato, Liz Beavers, Sascha Giese, Patrick Hubbard, Kevin Kline, Thomas LaRock, Brandon Shopp, Kevin Sparenberg, Chrystal Taylor
Average. 100% vendor focused.
https://orangematter.solarwinds.com/techpod/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solarwinds-techpod/id1367299972

Technibble MSP Podcast
Bryce Whitty
Short tips and tricks. Micro advice you can use.
https://www.technibble.com/blog/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/technibble-msp-podcast/id642396478

Tigerpaw Radio
West McDonald & James Foxall
Roaring intro. Vendor/MSP focused.
https://tigerpaw.com/one-company/tigerpaw-radio/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tigerpaw-radio/id1497538513

Tubb Talk
Richard Tubb
Happy. Always energetic.
https://www.tubblog.co.uk/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tubbtalk-the-podcast-for-it-consultants/id900038524

Category: Security

Cyber Security and Information Security Stormcast
Johannes B. Ullrich
Quick, daily 5 minute podcast. Good clear sound. Informative.
https://isc.sans.edu/podcast.html#stormcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sans-internet-stormcenter-daily-network-cyber-security/id304863991

Cyber Security Today
Howard Solomon
Small bites of news. No frills.
https://www.itworldcanada.com/podcasts#cyber-security-today
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/cyber-security-today/id1363182054

Cyberwire podcast
Dave Bittner
Modern. Interesting. High quality production.
https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cyberwire-daily/id1071831261

Defensive Security Podcast
Jerry Bell, Andrew Kalat
Casual. Hot mics. Dynamic is a bit odd.
https://defensivesecurity.org/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defensive-security-podcast-malware-hacking-cyber-security/id585914973

Enterprise Security Today
Paul Asadoorian, Matt Alderman and John Strand
Two guests or more per episode. Mixed in with low production and overly produced soundbites.
https://securityweekly.com/category-shows/enterprise-security-weekly/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/enterprise-security-weekly-audio/id1112175960

SecureConnection: IoT Security Services Association (IoTSSA)
Julian Lee
Run of the mill format. They have not changed the name of the host on the Apple description
https://www.iotssa.com/category/security-podcasts/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/secureconnection-podcast-it-security-security-experts/id1310580559

Security Now
Steve Gibson, Leo Laporte
High energy. High production. Maybe too much, though.
https://twit.tv/shows/security-now
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/security-now-audio/id79016499

Security Squawk
Bryan Hornung & Reginald Andre
Three dudes chit chatting. Awkwardly long rock intro. Sound levels all over the place.
https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/security-squawk,2206/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/security-squawk/id1544342775

Security Weekly News
Aaron Lyons, John Strand, Beau Bullock and Paul Asadoorian
High energy. Interesting topics. Kind of like your local sports radio-energy.
https://securityweekly.com/category-shows/security-weekly-news/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/security-weekly-news-audio/id1111792719

Category: Telecom

Channel Journeys
Rob Spee
One host. Average format.
https://channeljourneys.com/category/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/channel-journeys-podcast/id1449164008

Coffee with Craig and James - Channel Futures
Craig Galbraith & James Anderson
Like a local radio station. Split into segments. High energy plus sound effects and background music. Too much going on.
https://www.channelfutures.com/intelligence/podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-with-craig-and-james/id1152619961

MSP Business School
Brian Doyle, Tim McNeil, Robb Rogers
Three hosts. Casual talk.
https://mspbusinessschool.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/msp-business-school/id1510890056

Partner Channel Podcast The
Daniel Graff-Radford
Vendor driven. Run of the mill.
https://www.allbound.com/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-partner-channel-podcast/id1153309766

Telco in 20
Danielle Royston
Upbeat and lively host. Casual. Short and to the point.
https://www.telcodr.com/telcoin20/podcast-overview/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/telco-in-20/id1534232642

Telecom Reseller
Doug Green
Sometimes there is an accompanying video. Very low energy. Maybe too low.
https://telecomreseller.com/category/podcasts/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/telecom-reseller/id377663279

Telecoms.com Podcast
Iain Morris, Scott Bicheno
Chit chat between two hosts.
https://telecoms.com/category/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/telecoms-com-podcast/id1124414975

Changing Channels (Category: MSP and Telecom)
Larry Walsh
Casual and well informed. Larry has a great microphone style.
https://channelnomics.com/category/pod2112/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/changing-channels-with-larry-walsh/id1554040398

Category: Variety - General Tech

Business of Tech (MSPRadio)
Dave Sobel
Energetic. Fast paced. Great news and commentary.
https://businessof.tech/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-of-tech/id1483264365

Killing IT Podcast, The
Ryan Morris, Karl Palachuk, and Dave Sobel
Our in house pod. Fun and casual. Original format with three subjects. Short, sweet to point.
https://www.mspradio.com/show/the-killing-it-podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-killing-it-podcast/id1463295432

TBI Talks Tech
Eric Hills, David Polakowski
Upbeat. Lively host. In studio, high quality. Face to face set up. Fun because of this.
https://www.tbicom.com/resources/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tbi-talks-tech/id1501250239

Category: Legal

Cyberlaw Podcast The
Stewart Baker
Almost like local radio talk.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/topic/cyberlaw-podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id830593115

Technology Bradcast The
Bradley Gross
Clear, concise. MSP themes only.
https://bradleygross.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-technology-bradcast/id1475289507

Category: Marketing

MSP Marketing Podcast The
Scott Millar
Sometimes there are guests. Most of the time, the host answers questions from his community forum.
https://it-rockstars-msp-marketing.castos.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/it-rockstars/id1429549204

Paul Green's MSP Marketing Podcast
Paul Green
Good energy. Lively.
https://www.paulgreensmspmarketing.com/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-greens-msp-marketing-podcast/id1485101351

Category: Misc.

CMD-CTRL-PWR
Joe Saponare, Sam Valenica, Jerry Zigmont
Casual. Three guys just riffin' Mac style.
https://commandcontrolpower.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/command-control-power-apple-tech-support-business-talk/id668387622

Trusted Advisor The
Jim Roddy
Average format. Great info on retail and POS markets.
https://www.gorspa.org/rspa-trusted-advisor-podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rspa-trusted-advisor/id1482142017

MSP-INSIGHTS – Cloud & Managed Service Impulse
Olaf Kaiser
Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch!
https://www.olaf-kaiser.coach/podcast/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/msp-insights-de-german-cloud-managed-service-impulse/id1198933863

-- -- --

There are LOTS of bits of information here. Please forgive any errors. 

Comments are obviously just my opinion. 

Please send me updates and corrections.

. . . Now start listening!

:-)