Leveraging Technology Strategically, with James Brighton, TMG (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 754)
James Brighton with TMG joined host John Ray on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio to discuss critical aspects of technology management and optimization in business. James offered insights on assisting businesses in optimizing their IT spending and making strategic technology purchases, especially in the wake of tightened budgets post-COVID-19. James shared how vendors manipulate the technology purchasing process to their advantage and how TMG approaches this by being customer-centric and agnostic to solutions. James highlights major technology themes like cybersecurity, detailing the magnitude of the threat and the common pitfalls companies face, such as unpreparedness and ego. He also touches upon the challenges of cyber insurance policies becoming more restrictive and expensive due to the rising prevalence of cybercrime. The episode wraps up with James expressing skepticism about the widespread applicability of AI for businesses outside the Fortune 50, due to resource constraints.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
James Brighton, Technology Solutions Advisor, TMG
James Brighton is a Technology Solutions Advisor with TMG, formerly The McCracken Group.
TMG serves as a technology acquisition partner for their clients by engaging with and helping organizations and IT leaders understand all the disruptive technologies that exist today. TMG challenges the status quo of “traditional” VAR’s, ISV’s, and technology resellers. As an organization, they continually train and search for what is trending, where the markets are going, and what types of technologies are emerging—from cloud to cybersecurity to next-gen connectivity like SD-WAN.
The laser-focused role that TMG fills with their clients is to enable better technology purchasing decisions using proprietary tools, impartial and neutral research, and client consultations coupled with TMG’s comprehensive engineering experience. The client experience is continued from the purchasing decision through their complete care, starting with contract negotiation, solution implementation, and total life-cycle management with project management and full in-house Tier 1 support included. TMG’s clients look to them to bring clarity and understanding through their exhaustive analysis, purchase guidance, and vendor management to offer business solutions.
James Brighton LinkedIn | Connect with TMG: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X (Twitter)
Topics Discussed in this Interview
00:00 Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
01:24 Introducing James Brighton from TMG
01:31 Optimizing IT Spend and Strategic Technology Purchasing
02:24 James Brighton’s Unexpected Journey into Tech
04:55 The Importance of Being Customer-Centric in Tech Consulting
06:43 Navigating the Complex World of Technology Purchasing
13:43 The Alarming Reality of Cybersecurity Threats
18:37 The Growing Challenge of Cyber Insurance and Compliance
21:50 AI in Business: Hype vs. Reality
24:58 Who Benefits from TMG’s Services?
28:32 How to Connect with James Brighton and TMG
29:17 Closing Thoughts
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 750 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show welcomes a wide variety of business, non-profit, and community leaders to get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignore. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
