Jim Lippie 1 profile page

Jim Lippie 1

A seasoned, self-motivated leader with a proven track record, Jim Lippie has a unique perspective on the channel. As the former President of IndependenceIT (iIT), one of the fastest growing cloud desktop companies in the World, Jim Lippie was responsible for helping the MSP community identify opportunities to grow recurring revenue and add value to end-users. Lippie joined iIT and built a foundation for success, growing the partner base over 250 percent and increasing revenue nearly 300 percent over 18 months. Over the years, Lippie has developed his "Channel Eclipse" philosophy and has become a strong and outspoken advocate for the channel. His passion to help sustain the channel is what led Lippie to form Clarity Channel Advisors. He is now dedicating his experience to helping all of the companies in the channel ecosystem.

Formerly, Lippie was the President and CEO of Thrive Networks, a Staples Company. He was responsible for guiding the company’s overall business operations and strategy with a vision of becoming the premier provider of outsourced IT support for emerging and mid-market companies. In 2006, Lippie spearheaded the company's successful acquisition by Staples. Under his leadership, Thrive tripled its revenue and doubled its employee base over a six year period. During his tenure, Thrive was consistently ranked as one of the most progressive managed service providers in the world according to MSPMentor.

Lippie has also been named as one of the world's most influential people in the managed services industry three times on MSP Mentor. He has been quoted in hundreds of publications over the last several years and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Before being named President and CEO in 2005, he served as Thrive Networks' director of business development.

Prior to joining Thrive Networks, Lippie was a partner at Client First Associates, a management and organizational development-consulting firm. He is the author of "Five Management Principles in One CREAD: A Management Guide to Live By."

A native of Massachusetts, Lippie received his bachelor's degree in public relations and his master's degree in urban affairs from Boston University.

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MSP Analysis: Which is the Best RMM and PSA?

Consulting firm Clarity Channel Advisors conducted an independent review of the top MSP platforms to give service providers an objective perspective of this dynamic marketplace.

MSPs Should Expect Plenty of M&A in Q4

Accelerating consolidation could mean more national and “super-regional” service providers within three years.

Consolidation in Service Provider Industry What Does it Mean to Your Business

Consolidation in the Service Provider Industry: What Does it Mean to Your Business?

Market consolidation doesn’t have to be catastrophic, if you’re strategic and plan accordingly.

DaaS to WaaS and the Numbers Behind the Adoption

An industry that started with the moniker Desktop as a Service (DaaS), that many now call itself Workspace as a Service (WaaS), has become commonplace in the world of IT management.

DaaS Versus WaaS and the Numbers Behind Adoption

Whatever you call it, signs point to growing momentum for the service offering.

Research in the Light of Day: Understanding the New MSP 501 and TSP Index

Since we revealed the MSP 501 list and TSP Index, we have received a heap of praise and a lot of questions. Here are some answers.

Smart Play for Service Providers: Adding Intelligence

The intersection of business intelligence, business analytics and big data is opening new opportunities for managed service providers and their SMB customers.

Evolve or Devolve: Service Provider Strategic Insights

Evolution of the services model is essential to fuel profitable growth, and MSPs in particular need to seek guidance to determine how best to evolve their business model.

The 2016 MSPmentor 501 Survey: Preliminary Results Reveal Growth in Jobs, Recurring Revenue

While most service providers are enjoying good growth, more than a few companies have reported a drop in revenue on a year-over-year basis. We will watch this trend carefully and make correlations between growing service providers and ones reporting reduced revenue in our final 2016 MSP 501 report.

Is the Forecast for Cloud Workspace Clearing?

Data amassed by the Cloud Clarity Score suggest 2016 will be the year that DaaS breakout and gives shape to the Cloud Workspace market.

Will You Stop and Plan This Holiday Season?

It is officially budget season, for most businesses anyway. In just about every industry you can name, organizations of all size are in the throes of defining goals and resource requirements for a new year. This includes many tech companies—but not nearly enough. Be smart and make sure your organization is one of them.

Is DaaS the new RMM for MSPs?

To ensure future success MSPs must control the third-party business applications their clients use. The best way is with Desktop as a Service (DaaS). Bundle in hosted Exchange and Microsoft Office and the MSP has a package most SMBs find compelling. But where does that leave RMM vendors?

Channel Eclipse: It’s Gaining Momentum

Channel Eclipse is a phenomena where large direct companies, ISVs and SaaS applications are taking market share and revenue opportunities from service providers. MSPs, beware — Channel Eclipse is gaining momentum.

Coach First, Sell Later

Instead of pitching a product, try educating potential customers. The lesson for service providers is to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and instead of walking into your next sales meeting armed with your company history and capabilities teed up on a PowerPoint, try coaching the client/prospect on the challenges facing their industry and how various technologies can meet those challenges.