Ingram Micro Cyber Attack, Windows 11 Market Growth, and Cloudflare's AI Scraper Blockade

[00:00:02] It's Monday, July 7th, 2025, and I'm Dave Solt. Four things to know today. Ingram Micro's ransomware attack exposes a critical supply chain weak point for IT providers. Windows 11 overtakes Windows 10 as end of support looms with slow consumer upgrades but stronger commercial momentum. Cloudflare moves to block AI scrapers and sparks a content licensing shift.

[00:00:25] And Flamingo's Open MSP challenges vendor lock-in with open source. But at what cost? This is the Business of Tech. Well, it's coming off a holiday July 4th weekend, so you should be of little surprise there was a ransomware attack going into it. Ingram Micro suffered a significant cyber attack attributed to the SafePay ransomware group, which disrupted its systems and affected deliveries across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

[00:00:54] Since July 5th, 2025, the company's website and online ordering systems have been offline. Employees reported finding ransom notes on their devices, indicating a breach that is believed to have occurred through the company's Global Protect Virtual Private Network platform. The company confirmed the presence of ransomware on certain internal systems and is taking steps to mitigate the impact while conducting an investigation with cybersecurity experts.

[00:01:22] The company's website has been working on a ransomware network, including financial information, intellectual property, and customer records, and has demanded a ransom to ensure data security. The group, which emerged last September, has been highly active, reportedly targeting a variety of sectors with a focus on healthcare and education. According to an analysis from Quorum Cyber, SafePay was rated as the fourth most active ransomware group globally as of March 2025, with 43 confirmed

[00:01:51] victims listed on its dark web site. The story is very tactical. It's tempting to dismiss this as just another big company ransomware story. Ingram isn't just another victim, it's one of the largest IT distributors globally. MSPs, VARs, and IT providers depend on its systems to provision hardware, software, and cloud services. Even a few days of disruption to online ordering and logistics creates ripple effects downstream, especially in tightly

[00:02:21] scheduled projects or warranty replacements. But this isn't just about Ingram, it's about ecosystem fragility. For providers, the strategic takeaway is the exposure created by dependency concentration. One ransomware hit to a critical supplier can create a bottleneck for your entire stack. So two questions to ask immediately. How resilient is your procurement process if Ingram or a similar distributor stays offline for a week?

[00:02:49] Have you validated your vendor's incident response and communicated alternative sourcing plans to your clients? On the security side, revisit VPN reliance. For your clients and your own operations, the attack vector here reinforces that zero trust network access or secured remote access solutions are no longer nice to haves for MSPs. Ingram, use their baseline hygiene.

[00:03:14] Are you and your clients tired of the time-consuming ticket tennis of coordinating meetings and help desk calls? Wouldn't it be better to automate this process with a tool that connects directly to ConnectWise Manage or Autotask? TimeZest offers scheduling automation that gives you complete control of your schedule and eliminates the hassle of calendar ping pong.

[00:03:40] As the only service designed specifically for MSPs, it integrates into your workflow and makes scheduling appointments easy on you and your clients. Plus, you can try TimeZest for free. Visit timezest.com slash MSPRadio and use the code MSPRadio to get 10% off your first year of TimeZest. So let's take a look at some of the larger market data.

[00:04:09] Microsoft's Windows 11 has officially surpassed Windows 10 to become the most widely used desktop operating system, capturing 52% of the market share compared to Windows 10's 44.59%. This milestone comes just months before Windows 10's scheduled end of support on October 14, 2025. Despite becoming the most popular operating system for PC gaming in September of 2024,

[00:04:35] Windows 11's overall adoption has been slower than that of its predecessor. Data from October 2023 indicated that Windows 11 was running on over 400 million devices, taking two years to reach this figure, while Windows 10 achieved the same milestone in just one year. A key factor influencing this slower uptake has been Windows 11's stringent hardware requirements, which have left millions of older machines unable to upgrade. So will it bring a surge in PC upgrades?

[00:05:05] Well, this year, PC shipments in the United States are projected to rise only 2%, largely due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and a lack of consumer interest in purchasing larger items. Despite a 15% increase in imports during the first quarter of the year, consumer demand remains subdued as households prioritize essential spending over discretionary items. The research directors from Canalis highlighted that while PC purchases are currently exempt from tariffs,

[00:05:35] rising prices in other categories have created inflationary pressures, leading the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate cuts. Additionally, many consumers are indifferent to the approaching end of Windows 10. In contrast, the commercial specter is experiencing growth, with an expected 8% increase in shipments as businesses transition to Windows 11. This shift is anticipated to counterbalance the stagnation in consumer spending,

[00:06:00] with Canalis predicting a 6.5% growth in consumer PC sales next year, contingent on future tariff policies. So if your customers aren't looking to upgrade, Microsoft's cloud solution provider partners will be able to begin selling extension plans for Windows 10's extended support program starting September 1st. The program allows organizations to continue receiving critical security updates for Windows 10 devices that are nearing the end of their support lifecycle.

[00:06:28] Windows 10 version 22H2 will reach its end-of-life date on October 14th, leaving devices using this version without support or updates. Despite maintaining over 53% of the market share as of May, devices still running this version can pose significant security risks. The extended support program will be available for a maximum of three years, starting at $61 per device for the first year, with increasing costs for subsequent renewals.

[00:06:54] Individual consumers will also have the option to enroll in this program for the first time, starting at $30, but these enrollments will only last one year. Additionally, users of Windows 10 devices accessing Windows 11 cloud PCs will receive these updates at no cost. I did want to acknowledge that Congress passed their budget bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill. In a significant move, the bill raises the threshold for qualifying small businesses

[00:07:19] from $50 million to $75 million and increases capital gains tax exclusions. A proposed 10-year ban on state-level regulations concerning artificial intelligence was not included in the bill. Why do we care? This isn't the PC supercycle that some vendors would like you to believe. It's more of a slow bleed toward modern endpoints and hybrid solutions. For consumer-focused IT providers,

[00:07:47] don't expect a major Windows 11 upgrade wave in the SMB or prosumer space. The consumer market is weak. Tariffs, inflation, and general upgrade apathy are real. But in commercial, the 8% bump in shipment signals businesses are moving. Larger clients are budgeting for refreshes. Smaller ones may lag and need MSPs to nudge them with risk framing around unsupported systems. For providers, the smart play is to not push hardware alone,

[00:08:17] but to frame the coming Windows 10 end-of-life as part of a larger digital workspace modernization conversation. Who needs new endpoints? Who could shift to cloud PCs or VDI? And who's worth putting on extended support, but hardening with layered security? The policy changes in the budget bill also merit attention. Larger providers, now up to $75 million to be a small business, are in a better position to spend, and state-level AI rules are back in play.

[00:08:46] Positioning yourself as a guide through this regulatory and technical transition will differentiate you from the providers who are still just patching and replacing PCs. I'll be catching up on product announcements of note over the course of the week, too. Flamingo has launched OpenMSP, a platform designed to help manage service providers and manage security service providers reduce software costs by utilizing open source tools and artificial intelligence.

[00:09:12] The market for these service providers is currently valued at $83.76 billion, with commercial software licensing consuming 20-35% of their revenue and technician salaries accounting for another 20-30%. OpenMSP features an AI margin increase report generator that analyzes software usage and provides tailored reports on licensing expenditures and potential savings.

[00:09:37] The platform includes a vendor mapping directory of 155 commercial vendors and identifies open source alternatives for roughly 63% of these platforms. Cloudflare has announced that it will now block known artificial intelligence web crawlers by default, aiming to prevent unauthorized access to online content. The decision is a response to growing concerns among content creators regarding AI companies scraping their material without permission or compensation.

[00:10:07] The company will require new domain owners to indicate whether they want to permit AI scrapers, introducing a pay-per-crawl program that allows publishers to set fees for AI access to their content. According to Cloudflare, traffic from traditional search engines has dropped significantly, with OpenAI's tools generating 750 times less traffic than Google, and Anthropics models driving an astonishing 30,000 times less.

[00:10:35] And Cloudflare has introduced end-to-end encryption to its video calling application, Orange Meets, and has made the solution open source for transparency. The development allows users to explore secure video calling within research or prototyping contexts, with the application initially launched last year as a demo for Cloudflare calls. Orange Meets employs messaging layer security to ensure secure group key exchanges and client-side encryption via WebRTC.

[00:11:04] While this tool is designed for developers and privacy enthusiasts, it's noted that Orange Meets is a technical prototype rather than a fully polished product, lacking the robust features and user-friendliness of established platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. And speaking of Zoom, Zoom has introduced real-time media streams that will provide developers and organizations with secure, real-time access to audio, video, and transcript data from Zoom meetings.

[00:11:29] The tool aims to enhance AI-driven applications by transforming live meeting content into structured data streams, allowing teams to gain immediate insights and automate workflows. TD Cinex has acquired Aptium, a software development company and cloud commerce platform provider to enhance its capabilities in cloud services and everything-as-a-service offerings. Aptium has been a key partner for TD Cinex, particularly through its Stream 1 platform, which facilitates data-driven decision-making

[00:11:59] and solutions aggregation for ecosystem partners. The integration of Aptium's platform-as-a-service model allows companies to implement marketplaces more efficiently emphasizing configuration over code to accelerate time to revenue. Now, why do we care? The messaging Flamingo is sending is clear. MSPs and MSSPs are losing margins on software licensing, 20-35% of revenue, and tech labor, 20-30%. Flamingo's OpenMSP believes that open source

[00:12:29] combined with AI-driven margin analysis can reduce these costs. MSPs who adopt this approach might position themselves as independent of vendor lock-in, appealing to price-sensitive SMBs. However, it could also fragment your tools and complicate support agreements. Open MSPs' promise may be exaggerated. Open source solutions often lack vendor-level SLAs. MSPs implementing them at scale may sacrifice software savings for increased software support costs and client friction.

[00:12:59] Your client's web content is part of the data AI models are quietly ingesting. Cloudflare's move gives businesses a lever to control access or potentially monetize it. For providers, there's a consultative angle here, helping SMBs decide whether to opt-in for AI crawling or block it. Privacy-conscious industries like legal and healthcare may want proactive blocks. In the bigger picture, this is a first major push toward a content licensing model

[00:13:28] for AI training. If it sticks, we could see a new revenue stream for content-heavy clients and a reckoning for AI firms relying on free scraping. I'd included their orange meats tech not because it's useful now. It's a prototype, not a Zoom replacement. But because Cloudflare is inching towards becoming a privacy-first collaboration platform enabler. If this matures, MSPs could eventually have open-source video options for regulated clients

[00:13:57] wary of U.S.-based platforms. The ASCII Group has announced the passing of its founder and chairman, Alan D. Weinberger, who died on June 29th after a battle with cancer. Alan was instrumental in establishing the ASCII Group in 1984, beginning with 40 independent computer dealers, and he transformed it into a leading independent IT community that serves thousands of managed service providers across North America. A distinguished legal scholar,

[00:14:27] Alan earned his Juris Doctor degree from New York University and later an advanced law degree from Harvard Law School. He was recognized as one of the top 25 most influential executives in the computer industry by CRN and authored a book highlighting the critical role of managed service providers in cybersecurity. His impact on the IT channel was significant, fostering a community that championed the values of IT professionals for over four decades. Why do we care? Well, this is a human business

[00:14:56] despite being technology-driven, and the passing of a leader who spent his life working to better the community is distinctly worthy of caring about. My condolences to his family and the ASCII community. When chaos hits, will your system survive? Comet Backup's full image backups protect your entire system, files, apps, settings, and even the OS in one powerful automated backup. Comet is easy to deploy and bandwidth efficient. Full system backups for Windows,

[00:15:27] for Linux, for servers, for endpoints, all in one centralized platform. Whether you get hit with ransomware, hardware failure, or accidental deletion, Comet restores your system to physical VM or the cloud. Short on time? Restore individual files or folders to access critical data within moments. Try Comet Backup today, reliable, secure, and made to scale. Visit cometbackup.com to protect what matters most. Get $100 free credit when you sign up with the promo code MSPRADIO.

[00:15:56] Comet Backup. Backup. Fast. Restore. Easy. Thanks for listening. National Strawberry Sunday Day, World Chocolate Day, National Dive Bar Day, and National Macaroni Day. Sounds like a party. Join me for a webinar sponsored by ThreatDown, AI's dark side, what every MSP needs to know. Sign up, it's next week, and visit bit.ly slash ThreatDown to register now. The Business of Tech is written and produced by me,

[00:16:26] Dave Sobel, under ethics guidelines posted at businessof.tech. If you've enjoyed the show, make sure you've subscribed or followed on your favorite platform. It's free and helps directly. Give us a review, too. If you want to support the show, visit patreon.com slash MSP Radio and you'll get access to content early. Or buy our Why Do We Care merch at businessof.tech. Have a question you want answered? We take listener questions,

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