What happens when two Northeast Ohio technology companies see collaboration as an opportunity rather than competition? Becky Cross, Vice President of Client Partnerships at FIT Technologies, sits down with FIT CEO Adam Tubbs and Lake Business CEO and President Jeremy Wood to discuss the partnership between their organizations.

They share how aligned cultures, complementary services, and a mutual commitment to clients brought the companies together. The conversation also explores how the partnership can expand client capabilities, accelerate growth, deepen technical knowledge, and strengthen the Northeast Ohio business community.

In this episode of What the Tech, FIT celebrates a new strategic partnership with NCompas Technology Solutions as host Becky Cross interviews founder and CEO Ramana Bhavaraju about moving from talking about digital transformation to building it through process streamlining, automation, custom applications, and AI.

They discuss how FIT's IT strategy, cybersecurity, and managed services combine with NCompas's application development and automation to help organizations replace spreadsheets, automate workflows, and achieve measurable outcomes, including identifying automation opportunities and avoiding common pitfalls around data and governance.

Raam shares his background as a lifelong software engineer who came from Dubai to Cleveland, worked with Saks Fifth Avenue, Rosetta/Publicis, and major clients as a consultant, and explains the “NCompas” name.

00:00 Partnership Kickoff

01:10 Welcome and Setting

01:35 Ram’s Origin Story

03:26 Why This Partnership Works

04:30 Real AI Automation Wins

06:58 Team Culture and Quality

08:30 Speed Through Process and AI

09:43 Next Five Years Vision

Pax8 Beyond Recap: From Managed Services to Managed Intelligence (and What’s Next for AI Agents)Fred and Adam reflect on Pax8 Beyond, noting that despite the focus on AI, the human element and face-to-face relationships remain the core reason people attend conferences, alongside highlights of visiting Salt Lake City. They discuss the industry shift from managed services to “managed intelligence,” emphasizing that AI adoption has accelerated rapidly and is now AI-first, with early wins in automating internal operations like ticket triage.Both stress being “client zero” by testing AI readiness, data governance, chat and voice agents internally so they can guide clients with real examples. Fred advises starting with understanding and mapping business processes before choosing platforms, while Adam warns organizations must begin adopting AI to stay competitive as barriers to entry fall. They predict growth in agent marketplaces, token/credit-based billing, new platforms for managing and training agents, and continued MSP demand to help translate and implement these changes.

Becky Cross, VP of Client Partnerships at FIT Technologies, recaps key themes from the Pax8 Beyond Conference in Salt Lake City with Jason Collins (CISO) and Ali Tubbs Amato (COO), focusing on moving past AI hype to practical execution. Ali discusses how to operationalize AI by starting with clear pain points, measuring time savings and ROI, and using automation to remove remedial tasks so people can focus on more impactful work, noting that similar fears accompanied earlier technology shifts.Jason emphasizes that secure AI adoption starts with visibility—knowing what AI tools and automations exist, what they can access, and governing them like new identities—highlighting a session on identifying and mitigating AI risk through repeatable processes. The group also explores an industry shift from managed services to “managed intelligence,” and closes by stressing the importance of relationships, community, and sharing experiences across the MSP ecosystem.

Learn what a realistic three-year IT roadmap looks like for small to mid-size businesses: a living business plan, not a static wishlist.

FIT's Becky Cross and Fred Franks outline three drivers for roadmap priorities: strategic initiatives, productivity improvements, and compliance/risk needs—so technology supports business goals instead of chasing “shiny objects."

Fred discusses how pacing should match an organization’s appetite for change to avoid fatigue, how to handle executive conflict by returning to a shared vision and commitments, and why three-year plans should be held loosely while 12-month plans are firmer for budgeting. They also cover measuring success through agreed outcomes and ROI, celebrating wins, and how “security first, mobile first” planning enabled continuity during the pandemic.

Is “perfect” slowing down your IT decisions? It might be.In this episode of What the Tech, Becky Cross (VP of Client Partnerships) sits down with Fred Franks (Chief Strategy Officer at FIT Technologies) to tackle a common challenge businesses face: knowing when “good enough” is actually the smartest path forward.

As organizations navigate fast-changing areas like cybersecurity and AI, waiting for the perfect solution can lead to missed opportunities—or even increased risk. Becky and Fred break down how to balance speed vs. precision, why inaction can be more dangerous than making the wrong decision, and how to approach IT strategy with confidence.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why “good enough” doesn’t mean cutting cornersHow to avoid analysis paralysis in IT decision-makingThe importance of outcome-based vs. tool-based decisionsHow to evaluate risk, cost, and timing when choosing technologyWhy continuous improvement beats waiting for perfectionHow cybersecurity and AI strategies benefit from a proactive approachFred also shares practical insights from working with organizations across industries—highlighting how businesses can move forward with clarity, even in uncertain or rapidly evolving tech landscapes.Key takeaway:The real risk isn’t making the wrong decision—it’s doing nothing at all.

In this episode, VP of Client Partnerships, Becky Cross, sits down with Chief Strategy Officer, Fred Franks, about what AI can reliably replace today while noting “agentic AI” can take limited actions using statistical prediction and pre-programmed logic. They warn against extremes of avoiding AI entirely or trying to replace everything, emphasizing that relational work and human creativity should not be fully automated.

For leaders deciding when to invest, they recommend focusing on governance and guardrails, especially data protection, comparing data’s role in the AI revolution to electricity in the industrial revolution. They also advise professionals to intentionally learn AI skills as adoption accelerates.

For more information about AI strategy: https://www.fittechnologies.com/it-services/managed-it-msa/

In this episode, Service Delivery Director, Rob Broida, argues that “people first” and AI-enabled support are compatible, emphasizing AI as a background tool that assists humans rather than replacing them. A people-first, AI-enabled help desk should feel like the agent knows the client’s business and environment, using AI to reduce effort, provide context, summarize requests, categorize tickets, and spot patterns while keeping ownership and relationships with users. He stresses that automation should handle repeatable tasks, but humans must lead when nuance, accountability, urgency, business impact, or heightened emotions arise, avoiding frustrating handoffs. Key AI adoption mistakes include automating before documenting processes and using AI primarily for cost cutting, which can create “fast mess.” FIT avoids pitfalls by automating documented low-friction work, keeping clear human escalation paths, and measuring quality, resolution, satisfaction, and confidence—not just speed.

Learn more: https://www.fittechnologies.com/it-services/managed-it-msa/