Podcasts about msps

Vendor channel consolidation continues to shape decision-making for MSPs, as the industry evaluates tradeoffs between integrated security stacks and maintaining best-of-breed toolsets. The episode's discussion centers on the role of platform consolidation, referencing Guardz as an example of a provider leveraging third-party engines like SentinelOne for EDR and Check Point/Avanan for email, shifting focus from proprietary tool development to deep integration and operational unification. This shift reflects broader industry movement away from fragmented tooling toward unified security operations designed specifically for MSP and SMB environments.The primary evidence highlighted is the operational friction and compromises created by legacy all-in-one approaches, which often involved aggregating standalone tools without meaningful integration, leading to inefficiencies and substandard outcomes. Doni Brass detailed Guardz's initial strategy of building proprietary AV and EDR products, ultimately conceding the inability to match specialist vendors' effectiveness. The current Guardz model combines licensing and unified management for technologies like SentinelOne, managed through a single point of support and tied together with an identity-centric architecture. The operational benefit, according to Doni Brass, is streamlined onboarding, reduced tool sprawl, and simpler day-to-day management.Supporting developments reinforcing the structural channel consolidation theme include user poll data indicating a split among MSPs: some using under three security vendors, others supporting four to eight, and a minority historically managing as many as 15. The discussion also addresses the risks associated with consolidation—namely increased dependency on single-vendor platforms, reduced flexibility to swap components, and potential compliance shortcomings for high-regulation sectors such as CMMC-restricted defense contractors. Doni Brass acknowledged Gardz's lack of CMMC certification and identified large, mature MSPs with internal SOCs as less likely to benefit from consolidated stacks unless targeting downmarket segments.For operators, the main implications concern assessment of operational risk, contract liability, and long-term agility. Single-platform solutions can simplify onboarding and management but may introduce lock-in, especially if multi-year contracts are involved. Doni Brass recommended favoring short-term agreements and avoiding exposing specific vendor brands in client-facing deliverables to maintain stack flexibility. Growing reliance on unified platforms demands thorough trial evaluation and continued scrutiny of channel strategy and compliance postures, as vendor pivots and regulatory expectations can change with little notice. Careful governance remains necessary to mitigate both strategic and operational downside.Sponsored by:GuardzBook a Demo: guardz.com/book-a-demo-v5/?utm_source=Davesobel&utm_medium=Webinar&utm_campaign=Davesobel

Margin pressure, driven by a widening profitability gap among MSPs, is the primary structural shift highlighted in this discussion. According to Dave Cava, industry data shows that over half of MSPs operate at less than 5% profitability, while around 27% are running at a loss. Larger and better-funded MSPs are leveraging resources to accelerate adoption of new technologies such as AI, increasing competitive risk for smaller providers that lack operational maturity and financial resilience.The discussion identified concrete data on workforce dynamics and hiring models as significant, with PeopleSharp internal figures revealing a 30-day gap between presenting a hiring candidate and accepted offers, attributed to process inefficiency on the MSP side. Additionally, Dave Cava referenced market research (Saya) showing a jump from 9% to 16% of MSPs struggling to find qualified technicians, despite a labor market some perceive as soft. This further intensifies pressure on mid-sized and smaller MSPs with limited recruiting power, especially as staffing expectations and willingness to work on-site have been drastically altered post-COVID.Secondary developments include the evolving structure of technical teams and career ladders. Traditional L1-to-L3 progression is under scrutiny as automation and AI begin to erode the volume of entry-level roles. While the shift is gradual, Dave Cava noted that "talent factories," or MSPs able to internally develop staff, are increasingly necessary. Process and operational maturity, not early AI adoption alone, are indicated as pre-requisites for sustainable growth, as merely adding new technology does not solve the underlying margin or process challenges.For MSPs and IT leaders, these dynamics translate to concrete operational risks: underestimating cost structure, slow hiring processes, and reliance on commoditized pricing expose businesses to margin erosion and slow response to market shifts. Building robust, value-based pricing strategies, investing in internal talent development, and streamlining hiring and onboarding are positioned as necessary—but not sufficient—conditions for survival. Rapid AI adoption without foundational process discipline creates more risk than opportunity in the current market landscape.Supported by:ProofpointHaloPSA

The episode outlines a structural shift in managed services and IT operations: the automation and unbundling of junior technical work due to the integration of automated tools and AI-driven solutions. This change is absorbing the traditional entry-level, apprenticeship-oriented roles within MSPs and IT organizations, fundamentally altering career development pathways. The trend is illustrated by specific product launches and research findings from entities such as TeamViewer, RDE Technologies, the Center for an Urban Future, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and SignalFire.Primary evidence centers on quantitative labor data. According to the Center for an Urban Future, entry-level tech job postings in New York City declined 49% since 2022, while Bureau of Labor Statistics projections show a 3% decline in employment for computer support specialists by 2035, amounting to a reduction of 24,300 roles. At the same time, new graduate hiring at large technology firms and startups has dropped by 65% and 76%, respectively, according to SignalFire. In contrast, higher-skilled technology roles—including data scientists and security analysts—are forecasted to add over 310,000 positions over the same timeframe.Secondary developments reinforce the trend. TeamViewer released a support agent that automates fixes with senior technician approval, while RDE Technologies adopted a tool (Vight) automating ticket notes, time entries, and coaching data from support calls. These tools reduce learning opportunities for junior staff. On the hiring side, research highlights that junior hires are arriving at pay rates equal to or above existing staff, creating training, motivation, and retention challenges. At the senior end, a noticeable increase in exits from AI-exposed professions among older workers represents a further supply squeeze.The operational implication for MSPs and IT leaders is a direct challenge to traditional hiring and talent development strategies. Automation is reducing the volume of teachable, ticket-based tasks necessary for hands-on training, while elevating compensation for new and senior staff. MSPs face a choice: deliberately reserve real client work for skill development—accepting lower margins to “manufacture” future engineers—or compete for costly senior talent amid a shrinking candidate pool. Budgeting for training must become an explicit, defended line item, and pricing should reflect the operational burden of nurturing internal talent versus buying it on the open market.00:00 The Job That Stopped Existing 03:48 Built Out Of Easy Tickets06:54 The Engineer Isn't For Sale11:03 Why Do We Care?Supported by: WebPros(CometBackup) USecure

The dominant structural shift outlined is an accelerating concentration of market power and operational control within a handful of large technology companies and platforms, exacerbated by aggressive vendor channel consolidation and a move toward marketplace-based service delivery. This concentration is evidenced by recent actions such as Broadcom's decision to cut roughly 90% of VMware's partners and take top-tier accounts direct, as well as the increasing tendency of hyperscalers and major vendors—including Microsoft, AWS, and Google—to funnel services and resources directly through their own marketplaces and forward-deployed engineering teams. Reports discussed, such as the Omdia Global Partner 1000, reinforce the extent to which the industry has pivoted toward highly scaled players at the expense of smaller channel partners and MSPs.Evidence from the Omdia Global Partner 1000 report demonstrates that the top 30 service partners now generate the same amount of revenue as the bottom 970 combined, with the remaining 970 firms outperforming over a million additional smaller providers. The managed services market was noted at $608 billion—1.5 times the size of the global SaaS industry and all hyperscalers—yet smaller MSPs report decreased growth expectations and declining vendor satisfaction; for example, satisfaction in the UK and Ireland dropped from 37% to 19%. Further, partner programs for generative AI remain underdeveloped, with over 90% at only “maturity 3 of 10,” while 82% of MSPs acknowledge they are not prepared to scale as rapidly as customer demand for AI-driven outcomes will require.Additional developments deepening this concentration include widespread launches of vendor-controlled marketplaces and the growth of token-based consumption models. Companies such as SuperOps, ManageEngine, and Pax8 are positioning their platforms as marketplaces for MSP-delivered AI and SaaS, while Microsoft and AWS continue to expand both their direct-to-customer strategy and investments in pre-sale technical resources. Analysts project that the shift toward token-based billing and variable consumption will disrupt traditional per-user pricing, limiting future margin opportunities and accelerating direct transactional relationships between vendors and end-customers.For MSPs and service providers, these shifts increase dependency on large vendor platforms, raise the risk of abrupt contract changes, and intensify pricing and margin pressure. Traditional models relying on single-source vendor relationships and predictable per-user or per-device billing are likely to be replaced by variable, consumption-based contracts governed by token usage and direct marketplace transactions. Providers must prepare for heightened governance requirements, increased operational complexity in managing multi-vendor and multi-marketplace integrations, and potential threats to their role as strategic intermediaries in client accounts.Supported by: ProofpointGuardzUSecure

Got a question or comment? Message us here!When your trusted RMM platform becomes the target, the consequences can ripple across thousands of systems. In this episode, we break down the N-able Zero-Day, examine how attackers exploit vulnerabilities in remote management tools, and discuss the critical lessons MSPs and IT teams can take away to strengthen their security posture and reduce risk.#CyberSecurity #Nable #RMM #ZeroDaySupport the showWatch full episodes at youtube.com/@aliascybersecurity.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere you get your podcasts.

More leads will not fix a sales pipeline nobody is working. That is the lesson from a recent client visit where Laura Johns and her COO, Lydia Walker, found hundreds of open quotes sitting untouched inside a multi million dollar MSP. Active revenue nobody on the sales team was following up on.In this episode of Get More MSP Leads, Laura explains why the request she hears most, "we need more leads," is rarely the right diagnosis. Most MSPs asking for more leads already have plenty sitting in their pipeline. What they lack is a system for following up on what they already have.Before Laura touches a client's marketing strategy, she looks at three numbers: 1) How many quotes are currently open2) How many proposals went out in the last ninety days3) How many conversations have gone quietThose three numbers show whether the issue sits in lead generation or in the sales process itself.Laura also breaks down the buyer cycle every MSP sale runs through, thirteen to twenty touches before a prospect decides, and the close rate a healthy MSP pipeline should hit, 25% to 35%. Pull up your pipeline this week, count every quote that has gone cold, and call each one instead of emailing. Fix the pipeline first, then spend on generating new leads.The Business Growers helps MSP and IT company owners build the marketing foundation, sales pipeline, and follow up systems that let them grow past a plateau. Find your Growth Gap below to see exactly where yours sits.0:00 – Hundreds of open quotes nobody's working2:11 – Why more leads won't fix a broken sales process4:03 – Foundation before fuel: the 13 to 20 touch buyer cycle6:02 – Why you can't measure what you don't track8:04 – What a healthy pipeline looks like and the close rate benchmark10:17 – This week's homework: call, don't email

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Brought to you by the English Programme. Featuring news, politics, popular culture, celebrity trivia, quizzes, book readings, and a whole host of fun.Support Our Rescue Cats | Our Blog | Get New Episodes By Email | Rumble | X | YouTube | NewsK365 on Spreaker | Get New Blog Posts By Email | Throne Wishlist |

The episode reveals a structural transfer of forecasting and adoption risk from AI vendors to managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service organizations. Five companies—CyberFOX, Intezer, Sophos, Flamingo, and Charles IT—have taken distinct strategies to expand AI capabilities within the channel, underscoring a coordinated attempt to shift the uncertainty of AI demand, usage, and revenue forecasting off vendors' balance sheets and onto service providers.A central data point comes from Gartner's survey of over 1,300 technology leaders at companies above $50 million in revenue: fewer than one in four have successfully scaled an AI project across business units, even as 85% plan to increase AI investment and many cannot quantify current spending. Analysts note a move away from flat-rate subscriptions toward usage-based AI pricing, significantly increasing projected IT costs through 2035 for customers. The episode highlights that vendors are pre-building AI channel programs with the expectation that third-party providers will absorb both commitment risk and customer deployment burdens.Supporting evidence includes announcement details: CyberFOX's new North American deal with Ingram Micro, Intezer's launch of a comprehensive partner portal, Sophos's OpenAI integration targeting MSPs, Flamingo's open-source AI agent platform, and Charles IT's acquisition of Descent, an AI-native MSP. Spending data from Ramp and adoption surveys from the Census Bureau and Futurum Group further illustrate the gap between stated AI success and actual operational adoption, elucidating systemic uncertainty and reporting bias in AI project returns.For MSPs and IT leaders, the implications are clear: the structural shift means channel programs increasingly pass fixed commitments and usage volatility to service firms while providing little guaranteed demand. Practical safeguards include independently counting and verifying clients with active, process-integrated AI adoption before entering distribution contracts. Defining specific, outcome-focused criteria for adoption can protect against being tied to overambitious vendor forecasts, allowing providers to negotiate terms on verifiable demand rather than projections that vendors themselves could not convert.00:00 Everyone Is Selling To You 03:41 The Forecast That Didn't Convert06:29 Nobody Can Prove The Demand09:38 Why Do We Care?Supported by: GoTo(LogMeIn) Pax8

Hosted by Fiona Scott, today's podcast welcomes Emma Carter, CEO of WestSpring IT. Emma's small business is based in Bristol and offers clients technical support and IT services to companies across the UK. She's known Fiona for many years as a client and as a friend. Fiona takes Emma back to her background. Emma describes her history as working in ‘sales' although she feels she wasn't ‘that good of a salesperson' but she had the unique ability to go from industry to industry. When she was at Yellow Pages, her management and leadership skills were developed. From there, she went on to Biffa (the waste company) and from there to Excalibur which was her first experience with IT. After 9/10 years, she left and went to a digital marketing agency before joining WestSpring where she is now and thoroughly enjoying it. Fiona begins by asking Emma about her time at school and her childhood. Emma explains that she spent her childhood years in Portsmouth with her mum. She then moved to Slough for her dad's work and grew up in the most deprived area of Slough. Emma says she did well at school, but it was about working hard for her rather than ‘brains.' She's the eldest of six and learned very early that she had to contribute. She left home at sixteen and actually always wanted to be a teacher but she couldn't find work experience and actually ended up working in a mobile phone shop. She absolutely loved the experience and was offered a ‘Saturday job' at the end of it. She eventually found an apprenticeship in administration with a brilliant mentor, which is something she feels is incredibly important in life and business. Emma really touches upon her childhood in poverty and explains how money as an adult became a sense of security. She was told that sales was the easiest way to earn money and that's what she did. She always worked hard and wanted to build good relationships with people. She feels it was later in her career at Yellow Pages that she learned good relationships equals good sales and began to understand the world of business more. Fiona then goes on to ask Emma if she's a ‘tech geek' and Emma laughs in response, saying ‘no!' She feels because she went from advertising to waste disposal and then to IT doesn't feel like that. For her, management and leadership skills are what got her to where she is today. Emma says she liked to make the ‘tech' world sound human, and this is something she strives to do in her business. Fiona asks Emma to tell listeners about the company WestSpring and what she feels she has brought to the table. Emma explains that they had been around for 8 or 9 years when she joined. It was created by two amazing founders, Jason and Phil, and they started with a credit card around a kitchen table. They had seen the poor way that some MSPs had treated their clients, and they wanted to change this. They took on Emma as CEO because they felt they had taken the business as far as they could but didn't have the skill about how to grow at scale. They'd focused so hard on winning any client without finding consistency and stability to enable the business to grow. Fiona then goes on to ask Emma about why she always valued media outreach, especially during her days at Excalibur, when Fiona and Emma met. Emma says that PR and media activity helps to form trust in the relationship before it's even needed. For example, if someone was to hear her talking on the radio or a podcast, the person would get a real representation of who she is as a person and what she stands for. She feels this helps the person to make decisions before even picking up the phone or emailing. The PR and the media bit is really important. However, she does touch on her earlier days, when she used to be afraid that people would be intimidated by her and her reputation. But now, Emma feels she owns this in her everyday life and the people known to her, realise that she does this with care and isn't afraid to have difficult conversations. Fiona also talks about how she sees similar traits in herself to Emma and that they can't ‘not be themselves.' Fiona discusses with Emma how when she worked at Excalibur, she used PR to show how important and valued their team members were. Emma explains this because they had a lot of competition with bigger companies in Swindon and they found recruitment difficult, so they needed to prove to people why working for them was the best decision. The PR really allowed them to share that ethos and culture with others.  Fiona asks Emma what her biggest challenges have been so far as the CEO of WestSpring. Emma says the first was working with the founders can be very different because they struggle to give up an element of control to someone new. Secondly, some of the people found the change hard, especially when they needed to implement new structures into the company. Fiona goes on to ask Emma how she's going to tackle the challenge of keeping the small business intimate feel while allowing the company to grow. Emma says that has been a challenge over the last 6 months. They've also had to think hard about what growth means to them in their company. Emma says they've found that growth for them is sustainable growth by winning the right types of clients, not just any clients and if they're aware of what their forecast and pipeline looks like so that they can schedule recruitment and plan resources that might be needed and find partnerships and clients to support them on that growth journey. Fiona notes how Emma has always been committed to personal development and self-awareness. Emma talks about how much of this comes from the mentors she had in the past. She says James Phipps was a massive help in the early stages of her career because he signed her up to a group called Vistage which puts you around a table with other senior leaders of businesses and you have a safe space to share what's going on in your business and gives you the chance to see some great speakers. She talks about how important networking is and that socialising with others who are also CEOs and founders' means they understand the pressures you have to face every day.Fiona asks Emma, ‘When you started at WestSpring, you contacted me quite soon... why?' Emma says “as a board that it was really important to start making sure that people knew who we were straight away. We'd done well at making some relationships, but we had to tackle the idea of making sure people knew that PR isn't the same as selling. We wanted people to understand who we are and our culture. We also felt that authenticity was important and Scott Media's reputation preceded you with other clients and we had great references. We needed a mentor who was honest, would be up front and wasn't afraid to give feedback.”The two then go on to discuss a moment while Fiona was in Canada earlier this year and an opportunity on TV and radio came up for Emma to talk about working from home. Emma was able to give a different viewpoint to this as she values working in the office and she talks about the importance of such opportunities and taking them when they arise. Fiona then asks Emma what her take is on AI. Emma says that AI gives an element of automation and productivity gains that doesn't replace people. Creativity comes from humans and that can't be replaced but AI can be used well as a tool in business. She feels everyone's opinion of AI is different, but it may help to save time in certain cases or to help with organisational tasks. Emma also talks about her friends who are artists and musicians who have had their work stolen by AI. She feels this is a huge problem in today's society. There is a moral side that doesn't like the environmental impact of it but for businesses it can be helpful to use. She says for business owners they have to decide what their use of AI is like for them and how does it suit them individually. Emma says the best thing about AI for many businesses is the efficiency it brings to the table. You can contact Emma on usual social media channels under ‘WestSpring IT' and on LinkedIn or email emmacarter@westspring-IT.co.uk. Listeners can tune in to hear everything about Emma Carter's story. To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk.Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Don’t get left behind in the AI revolution. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this powerful episode, Vince Menzione sits down with Rebecca Jones of Bridge Partners and Mark Yaphe, Head of Consulting Partners for AWS, to uncover how AI is fundamentally rewiring the partner ecosystem. They explore the urgent shift from 90% stalled AI pilots to a new era of rapid execution, warning against the trap of “shiny object” syndrome. By unpacking the necessity of a “builder mindset” and a product-focused approach, this discussion reveals exactly what top-performing companies are doing to collapse six-month development cycles into four weeks and secure their place in the 2026 market landscape. Key Takeaways The transition from on-prem to cloud and marketplace is now entirely focused on AI transformation. Top companies approach AI with a product mindset rather than running scattershot pilots. Empowering frontline teams with a “builder mindset” can collapse solution cycles from six months to four weeks. Partners must avoid the $260 billion AI “FOMO” trap by specializing in specific industries and workflows rather than trying to do everything. Evaluating the “highest and best use” of AI models like Claude is essential for managing token economics and ROI. Thriving through AI disruption requires cultivating a strong growth mindset and prioritizing human connection and critical thinking. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags AI transformation, AWS partner ecosystem, hyperscaler alignment, builder mindset, product mindset implementation, Bridge Partners insights, GenAI solution cycles, AI token economics, Claude model utilization, GSI strategy, 2026 ecosystem shift, AI ROI measurement, agentic tools, workflow specialization. Transcript Rebecca Jones and Mark Yaphe AUDIO EPISODE [00:00:00] Rebecca Jones: You can either, um, think about being disrupted or being a disruptor. [00:00:07] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us the way hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel. And what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:18] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host. [00:00:23] Vince Menzione: And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of [00:00:26] Vince Menzione: technology, partnerships and outcomes, the voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. [00:00:45] Vince Menzione: Let’s start. We have another incredible session today, right? So I get to invite another friend of, of ultimate partner who’s been around for a while and, uh, it’s just absolutely amazing. Rebecca has been in the studio, she’s been at, how many of events have you been with? Fourth, fourth one, and I’m gonna have you introduce Mark as well. [00:01:10] Vince Menzione: So come on, on stage. Rebecca. Rebecca Jones to many of you know. [00:01:14] Rebecca Jones: Thank you, sir. [00:01:15] Vince Menzione: Good to see you. Good to see you. And Mark, great, great to have you. I want to have you, Richard, we’ll have you, Rebecca’s gonna introduce you and then we want you to introduce yourself as well, sir. [00:01:23] Rebecca Jones: Wonderful. Well, [00:01:24] Vince Menzione: and another AWS exec. [00:01:26] Vince Menzione: I love this. Like, I know. Yeah, we’re finishing out the day Strong. [00:01:28] Rebecca Jones: Well, Vince, I have to say, you’ve got me, um, the last time we got together, it was the last session before happy hour. So I guess we’re closing. [00:01:36] Vince Menzione: Well, you know, we’re gonna close us [00:01:38] Rebecca Jones: out [00:01:38] Vince Menzione: really nicely. Know we, yeah. We’re serving Bloody Mary’s, by the way, while you’re guys are up here. [00:01:42] Vince Menzione: No. Good. [00:01:42] Rebecca Jones: So, um, we’re so excited to have Mark. Thank you, mark, for joining us here. Um, head of consulting partners for AWS and, uh. We’re gonna close this down, aren’t we? I love [00:01:54] Vince Menzione: it. I love it. Yes. I’m looking forward to it. [00:01:56] Rebecca Jones: Okay. [00:01:56] Vince Menzione: So Mark’s well, welcome. Good to have you. [00:01:58] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. Do you wanna take a seat? [00:02:00] Vince Menzione: Uh, yeah, [00:02:00] Rebecca Jones: please do. [00:02:01] Rebecca Jones: All right. [00:02:01] Vince Menzione: Please do. I’m morphing the pillows up, by the way. [00:02:05] Rebecca Jones: Oh, are you [00:02:05] Vince Menzione: by the way, for those of who don’t know, these got shipped from my house because we got Oh, I was wondering. It’s hard to find, but yeah. Yeah, they’re, we take them from event to event. It’s so funny to have them. But I wanna, well, thank you for both being here. [00:02:17] Rebecca Jones: Yes. [00:02:18] Vince Menzione: I think it’d probably be helpful for those who don’t know, bridge Of course. Maybe just spend a moment because I know you well. [00:02:23] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. [00:02:23] Vince Menzione: And we know the organization well, those of us. Those of us. [00:02:26] Rebecca Jones: But for me, uh, so let me talk to you a little bit about Bridge Partners and my role, um, the company has been around for almost two decades. [00:02:34] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. And so when you think about the transformation that’s happened within the tech industry. And our primary focus is the tech industry. Uh, and within that we focus on enterprise companies and we help them with product go to market and how they scale that through partners. Yeah. Uh, so that’s given us a really interesting and, uh, vantage point around the transformations from on-prem to cloud, cloud to marketplace and now marketplace and the transformation with ai. [00:03:04] Vince Menzione: I feel like you’re the McKenzie of the, of the partner business. Like I, [00:03:07] Rebecca Jones: I like that. [00:03:08] Vince Menzione: Can we get that? [00:03:09] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. [00:03:10] Vince Menzione: I’ll, I’ll, I’ll sign an agreement with you, but I really do, I feel like as we work together, bridge was always like the organization we bring in to help us. Solve the big issues. Yeah. Like that I think about your organization. [00:03:20] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And Mark, talk to me about Global Consulting services. Sure. So is it all GSIs? Is it, [00:03:24] Mark Yaphe: uh, so I head up, uh, global Consulting Partner Marketing. Okay. So I focus really on, on two key categories for the, the more sig larger, uh, GSIs. Uh, I’ve got a team that actually partners very closely with them. Nice. [00:03:36] Mark Yaphe: That helps them develop the right strategies, go to market approaches, nice to unlock the opportunity. And then for the full consulting community, I look at those mechanisms. Go to market approach is leveraging marketplace to help our whole consulting community become successful with AWS. [00:03:51] Vince Menzione: And we’ve got GSIs in the room here, which is kind of cool actually. [00:03:53] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Um, where do we wanna start? Let’s, let’s, [00:03:57] Rebecca Jones: well, yeah, we’ve got a good list of questions to go through. How’s everybody feeling? We’re we’re good? We’re awake. One more session, everyone. Alright. Okay. [00:04:09] Vince Menzione: So Rebecca, uh, across the organizations you work with. What are you seeing from the highest ’cause? I, I say you’re like the McKinsey. [00:04:16] Vince Menzione: What are you seeing from the highest performing companies? Yeah, that they do differently. When it comes to turning your go-to market strategy into outcomes? [00:04:23] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. Um, I will say the most important thing that we’re seeing from companies is they’re asking different questions, fundamentally different questions when it comes to ai. [00:04:34] Rebecca Jones: Interesting. [00:04:34] Vince Menzione: What do you mean by that? [00:04:35] Rebecca Jones: Well, we, we talked a lot this morning about there’s never been higher access, and I’ll say general adoption for tools and technology. There was a great stat this morning. Uh, I think Jay shared that, uh, from MIT. [00:04:50] Vince Menzione: We keep looking there as if he’s still [00:04:51] Rebecca Jones: sitting there. [00:04:51] Rebecca Jones: Yeah, I’m looking. Where was Jay? He, he was all over the place. Um, there was a great stat from MIT that there was, you know, if you looked at last year, 90% of pilots. Were stuck and they weren’t going anywhere. And now that’s dropped down to 70%. So there’s movement and transformation. And so when I think about that, and when I go back to the types of questions leaders are asking, um, that are really moving ahead, they’re looking at operating systems differently and they’re looking at, um. [00:05:25] Rebecca Jones: They’re asking the questions on where should I apply AI within those work streams, um, and within those operating systems, and the way in which they’re approaching that is with a product mindset. So that is fundamentally different than just the scattershot of let’s just do pilots everywhere. [00:05:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. You’ve talked about product, uh, mindset with me as well. [00:05:48] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. [00:05:48] Vince Menzione: And I think we were gonna talk about builder mindset as well, mark, that that is a kind of a different point of view. When you think about moving from strategy to execution, how does that mindset show up inside teams and organizations? [00:06:00] Mark Yaphe: No, absolutely. Yeah. You know, the notion of the builder mindset is about, uh, taking the notion of innovation and pushing it out to the edge. [00:06:07] Mark Yaphe: Of the organization, um, the greatest ideas for innovation, the greatest things that will help you scale. They’re in the minds of your customers and the people that can best understand them and best address ’em. They’re your teams. Yeah. Your, your customer teams or your technical teams, but unlocking it. You, you want these teams to do more than just have the conversations and understand needs. [00:06:28] Mark Yaphe: You want them to be tooled and equipped to build. Yeah. So the ones that are right in front of the customers. In that moment of need where they say, I’ve got these offerings and these motions, and it gets me this far, but if I could only do a little bit more, I could delight them. I could really power this up. [00:06:45] Mark Yaphe: And so you wanna unlock that. You want to give them the tools to build, to build the POC to address specific, uh, options in the meeting. And then when they’re showing some success, show the rest of the organization how they can scale that. [00:06:58] Vince Menzione: How do you think about, because I think about big GSIs. Having huge organizations like Accenture has half a million people, and then you have customer teams that may not, are, may not be as fluent in the technology side of things. [00:07:13] Vince Menzione: Like how do you make sure that’s getting from the customer all the way to the right people in the organization and driving that loaded question. I know. [00:07:20] Mark Yaphe: No, I, I, um, you, you, you want to think about how that process works. Yeah. And there are parts of the organization. That define how do we get go to market offers in motions out to the field. [00:07:34] Mark Yaphe: Um, and they look at the whole thing and they say, well, how effective are we and how quickly can we cycle through? Yes. These activities. There’s one partner I worked with, um, they looked at this and they measure the cycle time. How long does it take me to get from pushing on an offer? Working with customers, getting feedback, and then creating new updates. [00:07:53] Mark Yaphe: A long, long time ago, like two years ago, this would take, it was a hundred [00:07:57] Vince Menzione: years ago in AI terms. [00:07:59] Mark Yaphe: Well, that’s basically it. This took about five to six months. They get about two revs a year. Now. They literally implemented a geni solution that number one uses geni to push it out to the teams, makes it bespoke on an engagement by engagement basis. [00:08:14] Mark Yaphe: It makes it relevant for their industries and their use cases. And that same tool is the feedback mechanism. So in real time it’s providing feedback. So they’ve collapsed six month cycle times to four weeks. And the punchline here is we talked about builder teams. The people that figured out they needed the solution, built the solution, and piloted the solutions were the builder teams. [00:08:36] Mark Yaphe: They were the people working with the customers. [00:08:38] Vince Menzione: I love it. Yeah, I love it. Anything to add to that? Rebecca, I know you work again, being the McKinsey of the, of the partner world. [00:08:46] Rebecca Jones: Well, I’ll, I [00:08:47] Mark Yaphe: It’s gonna stick, [00:08:47] Rebecca Jones: stick. It’s [00:08:48] Vince Menzione: gonna [00:08:49] Rebecca Jones: stick. You say it three times, that’s stick. No, I, you know, mark just hit on some really important things with the customer mind. [00:08:57] Rebecca Jones: You’re really looking at what outcomes are you trying to drive for those customers and that builder mindset, you, you’re going to hear a lot about that because companies need, as you transform, you really need to be thinking differently. And transformation takes quite a while. And while there is massive opportunity and you see the, the quickness you have to have that long-term vision and then be able to work backwards from that. [00:09:21] Rebecca Jones: And so I couldn’t agree more with the, the focus on customer outcomes. [00:09:26] Vince Menzione: So we’re in a very interesting, I’ll call it, almost a seminal point, although that’s overused in terms of where we are with AI today, right? I you mentioned like two years, feels like 10 years. Yeah. Ago, right? I mean, we’ve seen such transformation happening, but it also doesn’t feel like organizations are keeping, like, I, I feel like small SMBs actually are further ahead because they, they have to be agile, but the bigger organizations are still trying to figure some things out, right? [00:09:53] Vince Menzione: So. What needs to change around organizations, culture management processes? Like how do we bring, how do we bring everyone along on this journey? [00:10:04] Mark Yaphe: There’s a lot that needs to happen. Um, [00:10:07] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:10:08] Mark Yaphe: One thing that struck, there’s a lot of things I, I wanted to anchor on. One that Yeah, please. It could be a relevant conversation. [00:10:13] Mark Yaphe: Both, um, as part of your, uh, partner organizations delivering outcomes to customers. And, um, it’s about focusing on the business outcomes. It can be very easy, uh, to talk about the technology and the services, but day to day, the sales organization is going into solve customer problems. They’re meeting line of business leaders in specific industries who have very specific business problems to tackle. [00:10:42] Mark Yaphe: And I think one thing that organizations can do is impress upon them that it’s critical to understand. What are the business problems that we solve for our customers that we’re serving? What are those use cases? What are the drivers for it? In the role that I’m doing in an organization, how does that move the needle? [00:10:58] Guest: Yeah. [00:10:58] Mark Yaphe: For the business outcomes, it’s, it’s not dissimilar to other things, and perhaps it’s a little bit of a pivot, but always thinking about business outcomes, I think is, um, a little bit of a change that needs to be instilled within [00:11:10] Vince Menzione: what, what are the best doing better, and where are you seeing the gaps? [00:11:16] Mark Yaphe: Couple of areas, uh, one area, um, nobody knows everything. Yeah. Nobody’s got all the knowledge. [00:11:23] Vince Menzione: Right. [00:11:23] Mark Yaphe: And so rely on your ecosystem of partners and stakeholders. Yeah. Recognize you’ll only have so much information, um, and reach out, whether it’s to your technology partners, your business partners, your hyperscalers AWS to find out what am I missing. [00:11:38] Guest: Yeah. [00:11:38] Mark Yaphe: Um, again, many years, you know, a hundred years ago, two years, two years ago, um. We’d have these conversations about, well, what use cases are you seeing and what business problems are you solving? But, but those would be in scheduled meetings quarterly. Now there are agenda items on weekly standards. [00:11:55] Mark Yaphe: They’re happening every single week. What are you seeing? What are you seeing? And further, I’ve seen some gen AI and agent solutions that actually automate how that information flows to, to make it, to accelerate. [00:12:06] Vince Menzione: Yeah, it’s, it’s absolutely amazing. Yeah. Anything on, I mean, certainly you’ve got a perspective ’cause you’re working with these organizations. [00:12:13] Rebecca Jones: I have a couple thoughts on this specifically for the partner organizations and the partner companies here. I can understand there’s a lot of, you know, we looked at a stat earlier about the AI partner opportunity and it was. $260 billion somewhere in that bracket. And that can create maybe some fomo, you know, maybe, uh, let’s go after everything in this area. [00:12:37] Rebecca Jones: Yes. And not pick and choose [00:12:39] Mark Yaphe: a [00:12:39] Rebecca Jones: shiny object. Shiny object and not prioritize. And it’s actually the opposite. It’s really understanding where your strengths are in the market. Um, who’s in your partner ecosystem? What are you bringing to market? Are you, uh, a tech company that are looking to break? Bridge and bring out services or your services company, and now that can build product. [00:13:01] Rebecca Jones: But really understanding your opportunity. What industry do you play, what specialization do you have? And go really deep and then know how to augment your partners and the ecosystem around you to make you stronger and better for the customer. So with that market opportunity, which is. Tremendous, how do you focus and prioritize? [00:13:21] Rebecca Jones: And that’s where I have observed partners. Oh, I’m a little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit here. And, and, uh, I would be curious, I mean, that’s probably pretty hard for you if a partner shows up and they’re a little bit of everything. [00:13:34] Mark Yaphe: Well, I, I resonated with a point that you made before. Yeah. I, I’ve spent, um, half my time at AWS on the consulting side working with enterprise customers, the us half the partners. [00:13:43] Mark Yaphe: It’s critical that partners understand what’s unique about them. [00:13:45] Exactly. [00:13:46] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. [00:13:47] Mark Yaphe: You it. I mean, everybody here, they’re looking at cloud migrations and modernizations and agentic, but that’s kind of part of the noise. You’ve gotta know what uniquely you do in an organization to deliver value. Are you developing supply chain for transportation companies or drug acceleration pipelines for. [00:14:06] Mark Yaphe: Pharmaceuticals. Yeah. Starting with that anchoring on your differences, I think is, is really important. [00:14:11] Vince Menzione: When I first started in the partner world, that was one of the biggest challenges and dilemmas, and I’m sure you still see it today, where I do all things. You know the partner that does the big SI that does everything, they have all the certifications. [00:14:24] Vince Menzione: I have 10,000 people trained on every technology certification, right. And then like, well what do you do? Like, and they can’t clarify. Right. Have that conversation. [00:14:33] Mark Yaphe: And then how do people, customers, [00:14:35] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:14:35] Mark Yaphe: Or sales organizations choose you and why. [00:14:38] Vince Menzione: Yes, exactly. Exactly. So how do you get them to show up in that way? [00:14:43] Vince Menzione: Like especially if they’re like, how do you coach them through that? ’cause it feels like it’s still exists, right? This like mentality or this mindset. I can do all things, especially with the shiny objects that we’re facing today. [00:14:55] Rebecca Jones: Mm-hmm. [00:14:55] Vince Menzione: And I feel like we’re almost, I, I almost feel like we’re at a point right now where we were getting clearer and we’ve had so many shiny objects, even just in the last few months. [00:15:03] Vince Menzione: Like you were talking about how like months feels like ears, uh, you know, I’ll, I’ll use the Claude example here. Yeah. ’cause we, a lot of us pivoted and shifted and like, what do I do now as a partner in the room? Again, I think you, you mentioned the solving for business outcomes for client outcomes as opposed to chasing the next shiny object. [00:15:24] Vince Menzione: Like how do you get, how do you coach them on that? [00:15:27] Mark Yaphe: It’s always on the agenda. It’s, it’s day one conversations. Yeah. Who are you? What’s unique about you? How do you deliver value? Which customers do you focus on and with? Which use cases, and if it is a jack of all trades. Then my team, my and my team will help ’em. [00:15:42] Mark Yaphe: We know that down to specific areas of focus. [00:15:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So how do partners need to evolve their capabilities? Like how do they, I mean, how do they actually hone in on this? Like, you know, okay, I can state one thing, but how do I hone in on my capabilities, offerings and teams to stay relevant during this time? [00:15:59] Mark Yaphe: Um, what I’m coaching them on right now? Yeah. That’s what I is, uh, use the technology internally. The agentic tools and the gen AI tools are. I’ve been at this for a while, and the tools that exist right now dramatically expand your capability and capacity. So the thing I coach ’em is embed them in your organization. [00:16:18] Mark Yaphe: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Tackle those key things organizationally. You need to change and leverage these tools to help you accelerate. [00:16:23] Vince Menzione: And they’ll help you solve, they’ll help you solve for absolutely any of them. Right. It’s like, it’s like hiring a consulting organization to come in and solve for that. [00:16:29] Mark Yaphe: Yeah. [00:16:29] Vince Menzione: Yeah. How are you thinking through this? [00:16:31] Rebecca Jones: Well, uh, there’s a couple things I’m thinking about. Um, if you start to. I’ll stay with the customer for just a minute because you’re talking about Claude and just the dramatic improvement. [00:16:45] Guest: Yeah, [00:16:46] Rebecca Jones: that’s there. Just with Claude, uh, we start to think about highest and best use of the model because, uh, we had another talk earlier about the economic conditions and the. [00:16:58] Rebecca Jones: And so now we’re asking partners like, right, [00:17:01] Vince Menzione: the tokens. [00:17:01] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. Yep. How do you specialize and be focused by industry, by workflow, by use cases, you’re gonna start to look at what is the ROI of that investment? Is this a good enough? Look at the models, look at how you’re using that, and you’re having a token conversation because the economics might not be there. [00:17:21] Rebecca Jones: And so as you’re a business and a customer looking to transform their organization. They’re going to look across the business and figure out what are the highest and best use cases that should get that focus. And as a partner, if you wanna be in that conversation and really helping that company or that. [00:17:40] Rebecca Jones: Customer transform from where they are. It’s not only industry specialization, but it’s functional and workflow and really helping them understand what they should be using in that particular use case. So specialization is king or queen and that, um, scenario, and that’s where, you know, you ask partners today to specialize because there’s a whole economic conversation coming behind that, around how do you think about the models as that new one shows up? [00:18:09] Vince Menzione: Let’s shift from the technical side to the human side. [00:18:12] Rebecca Jones: Yeah. [00:18:13] Vince Menzione: Super important, right? I mean, we were having this conversation internally, like everybody’s saying, you know, jobs are going away, jobs are going away. I think I, I believe more jobs are gonna happen, but we’ve gotta get humans aligned properly to what their new roles will be. [00:18:29] Vince Menzione: Comments on this one? [00:18:31] Mark Yaphe: I think this is like a classic organizational transformation Yeah. Question. Mm-hmm. Where the 70, 80% of the problems are people process change. Um, I, I think there are these three areas that organizations need to focus on, and I’m gonna sound a little bit repetitive, but one, it’s okay. [00:18:46] Mark Yaphe: It’s, uh, the role of the team members have gotta be focused on outcomes, especially when things are moving quickly and there’s ambiguity. The one way that you can anchor on moving in the right direction is how do I let my customer, so one is outcomes. The second one is the builder mindset. Move from, I’m presenting, I’m hearing, but I’m gonna build things. [00:19:05] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:19:05] Mark Yaphe: And the last one is, uh, inspiring your team, making them competent and confident to navigate ambiguity because that is the premise upon which everybody’s operating. So those three, [00:19:17] Vince Menzione: Rebecca, what capabilities. Would be embodied in, in that organization that Mark describes. [00:19:23] Rebecca Jones: Yeah, I think that the growth mindset, you know, if you can package that around, you can either, um, think about being disrupted or being a disruptor. [00:19:34] Rebecca Jones: And if you have a growth mindset around the opportunity that’s ahead, it’s a whole different perspective of the challenges before you. I love that. And so when I think about what. Capabilities. You know, it’s the critical thinking and the judgment, human connection. We’re all here for a reason. Yes. Right? [00:19:50] Rebecca Jones: Yes, yes. And so as a leader, um, really helping set that tone and letting them see the art of the possible, um, around that vision. But it’s really, if I boiled it down to one thing, it’s having a growth mindset to the opportunity ahead. [00:20:05] Vince Menzione: Well, I wanna open it up. We have about five minutes left. Yeah. And this has been so insightful, but I. [00:20:11] Vince Menzione: I mean, I feel the energy. There’s gotta be some questions out here too. ’cause this, we have two incredible experts up here talking. I mean, and this is such an impactful conversation today. So John’s got a mic and uh, I think we’ve got some questions coming. [00:20:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:20:33] Rebecca Jones: this’s [00:20:33] Vince Menzione: a long way [00:20:33] Rebecca Jones: around. [00:20:34] Vince Menzione: Took a [00:20:34] Guest: thanks, long David Younger with. Thank you. That was great, great discussion. So, uh, you, you brought up a key statistic, uh, which is the MIT data and around the, the 90, I think it was 95%. Of, uh, businesses, uh, are not in production. And, and actually they, they went further to say that 95% of businesses. [00:20:56] Guest: Uh, we’re achieving zero ROI. And, and that was about a year ago, right? And now, and now you said the number, I think the number was quoted earlier today too, is, is shifting to about 70% of those, uh, projects in production. I’m curious to, to know as you, and I think you nailed it too, when you talk about product, right, have a product mindset or business mindset, right? [00:21:16] Guest: Not just how can I save money, but how can I actually generate revenue, whether it’s saving money or generating revenue. Where would you say. Uh, what, what percentage of companies you talk to are actually achieving real ROI would you say? [00:21:31] Rebecca Jones: Yeah, that’s a, that’s a great question. Really. Great. So I’ll go back and explain a little bit more about what I mean by product mindset. [00:21:39] Rebecca Jones: So a lot of companies did get stuck or there were just, uh, a. Large amount of pilots happening in the organization. And that’s not a bad thing. ’cause you think about, that’s a builder mindset, go and test and trial. But when you’re starting to look at true business transformation, you really need to think about where that, um, high value use case is. [00:22:00] Rebecca Jones: So a. The product mindset I’m talking about is taking a long-term view of the outcomes you’re trying to achieve and how are you going to measure those? And then look at that workflow, that function, and if you’re an expert in that function, whether that be a sales process or a marketing process, you know what KPIs your business is trying to drive today, and you start to unpack that. [00:22:24] Rebecca Jones: And so we’ve seen and what. Um, the most, uh, accelerated motion is knowing the KPIs and the measures you’re trying to achieve and then working towards that. And from there you can build, right? And you start to think and you have an ecosystem approach to that workflow or work stream. So we have seen, um, everybody wants cost on the system. [00:22:46] Rebecca Jones: Um, we have seen dramatic cost reduction in areas we’ve seen, you know. Two to three times, um, faster time to market. Um, there’s multiple things that we’ve seen as, uh, leaders really start to unpack that, understand what they’re trying to accomplish in the business, and I’m happy to go into greater detail. [00:23:06] Rebecca Jones: I know we have just a couple minutes left, but that’s just the product mindset up. How do you get started and how do you look at that long-term opportunity? [00:23:15] Vince Menzione: Really great answer. Mark, do you wanna add that? [00:23:17] Mark Yaphe: I think if you look at all use cases. Maybe 30% perform. But if you look at this across enterprise, I think each enterprise is finding very specific use cases where they’re driving ROI and and um, and so I think it’s about picking your spots, knowing who you are, identifying the top priority ones, not worrying about the broad enterprise transformation. [00:23:38] Mark Yaphe: Find those areas where you can drive value a little bit. Yeah, [00:23:41] Vince Menzione: that’s great that that’s almost a mic drop moment in my opinion. Yeah. That’s really great. Any other questions? I we’re holding every, oh, we got one in the back. I was gonna say I’m holding people up from happy hour. Yeah, [00:23:53] Rebecca Jones: just, we’ll just bring the cocktails in here [00:23:56] Vince Menzione: pretty soon. [00:23:57] Guest: Uh, Jeremy with Integral, um, um, a money question, something comparable. Uh, activator portfolio, the programs for founder firms that are trying to really get off the ground with new ideas. And there’s some comparable programs, I think with different providers. How much of that is a strategy, and I don’t wanna put you on the spot if activating portfolio aren’t the things you’re covering, but, but that money investment for startups that are trying to grow and really focus on AWS uh, the thousand dollars is the founder version that gets us in and then a hundred thousand dollars. [00:24:26] Guest: It’s a bit difficult to get into. And then there’s bigger ones after that if we attend the schools and all these things. But I’m thinking about as we all are trying to grow and really focus in AWS, which a lot of folks really wanna do with Bedrock and all the things that are kind of cool going on, it’s just. [00:24:40] Guest: Great AI focused conversation, but how is that playing into attracting more of the MSPs that are, that are trying to grow and more of the startups to really funding this idea of, of startup mentality. Hopefully that’s not too off topic, but your, your fair game [00:24:57] Mark Yaphe: was, was the question, how does funding. [00:25:01] Mark Yaphe: Attract startups in specific categories, process. [00:25:04] Guest: I think it’s, it’s about if there’s, uh, the other hyperscalers also have programs comparable. So Microsoft’s program is, uh, 150 grand to to, to build out the founder kind of, and it’s fairly easy to get into. Aw. WS is a bit harder to get into, but is that going to change as far as using that as a, as a key strategy for incubating more and more ideas to accelerate the velocity of everything you guys were talking about? [00:25:25] Mark Yaphe: I’m really not the right person. Definitely outta my wheelhouse on that. No problem. [00:25:31] Guest: Yeah. [00:25:37] Vince Menzione: And we’re about seven seconds away from uh, happy hour. [00:25:41] Rebecca Jones: I know, [00:25:41] Vince Menzione: I know. This was fantastic. I know. It was so great. [00:25:44] Rebecca Jones: Yes. [00:25:45] Vince Menzione: And I think the McKenzie thing is gonna stick. I think it is, it is. [00:25:48] Rebecca Jones: Now, mark, I’m gonna make [00:25:49] Vince Menzione: sure it does. And Mark, it was great to have you up on stage with us today. So, so great to have AWS supporting us and sponsoring the event with us and, uh, and having just this broad audience of people just so interested in. [00:26:02] Vince Menzione: Being in the room and and learning from each of you. So thank you so much today. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. [00:26:09] Mark Yaphe: Thanks for listening to The Ultimate Partner [00:26:11] Vince Menzione: Podcast. If today’s conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the ultimate partner.com. [00:26:22] Vince Menzione: For show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live Event in Reston, Virginia, October 26th through October 28th. Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.

Barracuda's recent unification of its reseller, MSP, and services programs into a single partner success structure highlights a continuing trend toward channel consolidation and streamlined partner management among technology vendors. This realignment is designed to provide partners with a unified interface and consistent experience, moving away from segmented, product-specific engagement and instead centralizing processes, portals, and incentives under one program.The most consequential operational development is the consolidation of partner access points, reducing from seven disparate logins to a single portal. According to Barracuda, this centralization supports not only transactional activity but also encompasses partner enablement, updated certifications, automation of onboarding, and incentives tied to the entire customer lifecycle. The company reports that partner engagement through the new portal has exceeded prior benchmarks by over 20% compared to the previous period, with error rates reported below 10%.Supporting developments include Barracuda's adjustment of program features such as launching “Barracuda ONE” and Mastery certifications, adding compliance and AI-focused badges, and introducing a buy-now feature tailored for lower-volume purchases. The company also referenced plans to further modernize renewals, contracts, and support structures to address common channel complaints in billing, contract flexibility, and support availability.For MSPs and IT providers, these changes shift operational dynamics by consolidating vendor dependence and reducing administrative friction, but may also introduce risks related to program uniformity and centralized governance. Reliance on a single vendor-managed platform can concentrate risk if features or support become limiting for certain business models. MSPs should assess the tradeoffs of standardized engagement versus flexibility—especially for scenarios like minimum seat requirements and variable contract terms—and scrutinize the alignment between partner incentives and evolving compliance and technology demands.Supported by: ScalePadHaloPSA

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, I want to talk about one of the most common reasons MSP owners end up coming to the Growth Hub for help, and it is one I wish more people addressed before it becomes a crisis. That dreaded phone call. Your biggest client rings up and tells you they have been bought out, they are in financial difficulty, or they are simply leaving. If you are lucky, you have a three year contract in place. If you are not, you could lose that revenue overnight. This is client concentration risk in its rawest form, and it catches so many MSP owners completely off guard.  Client concentration risk builds quietly. On paper, your revenue looks healthy because your biggest client keeps growing with you. Underneath that growth, your exposure is increasing every month. Your costs stay fixed while your income becomes tied to the decisions of one organisation you do not control. When that client leaves, the cash flow shock is sudden, staff redundancies can become a real possibility, and instead of planning for growth you are firefighting to survive.  I want to share the five steps we walk our own clients through in the Growth Hub to manage client concentration risk properly, and I would love for you to take action on these today rather than filing them away for later.  The first step is to calculate the revenue percentage contributed by your top ten clients. Many owners only look at their bank balance and assume everything is fine. A healthy bank balance tells you nothing about debtors, accruals, or how exposed you really are. Once you know the numbers, you can start making informed decisions rather than hopeful ones.  The second step is to stress test what would happen if you lost your largest client tomorrow. Look at your contract length, whether that is thirty days or five years, and talk this through with your team. Bringing your help desk and wider team into this conversation matters, because client concentration risk should never sit with the owner alone.  The third step is to build and maintain a rolling ninety day cash flow forecast. This single habit gives you far more clarity than watching your bank balance ever will. It shows you your reserves, your incoming recurring revenue, and your project work, so you can make confident decisions around recruitment and resourcing rather than reactive ones.  The fourth step is to set a target to reduce dependency on any single client over time. If your biggest client currently represents fifty percent of turnover, aim to bring that down gradually, perhaps to forty percent next year and thirty the year after. Best practice suggests no single client should represent more than ten percent of turnover for a strong business valuation, and closing that gap steadily protects you from client concentration risk without damaging the relationship with that client.  The fifth and hardest step is strengthening what we call your new client runway, so you consistently replace revenue rather than relying on one relationship to carry the business. Account management keeps your existing clients happy, and it needs pairing with sales and marketing activity that brings in fresh leads every single month. We call this ONCA, one new client a month. Build credibility with your target market, stay consistent on your messaging, and bring your existing clients into events where they can introduce people who are not yet clients.  Reducing client concentration risk gives you a more resilient business. Your valuation improves, your cash flow forecasting becomes sharper, and your leadership time shifts from firefighting back into planning for growth. No MSP owner wants that call from their biggest client to be the moment they finally address this, so I would encourage you to run these five steps this week with your team.    Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy.    Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK    And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads.    If you're serious about growth and want to explore what this could look like for your MSP, you can book a Right Fit Clarity Call with us HERE.  OR  To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE  Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!   

The episode highlights the ongoing consolidation of the MSP sector, driven by acquisition-focused entities like Evergreen Services Group. This structural mechanism centers on long-term acquisition strategies and the operational integration of MSPs, with Evergreen positioning itself as a permanent holder rather than a market aggregator intent on short-term profit. The discussion underscores how private equity-backed firms operate within multi-market IT services, spanning managed services, application support, and specialized government contracts.Evergreen Services Group reports completing 47 acquisitions in the previous year, now owning 135 MSPs and 171 companies overall, with stated revenues of $1.5 billion and $250 million EBITDA. According to Craig Fulton, the company's standard acquisition model typically offers 90% of enterprise value in cash at closing, with a remaining 10% tied to a one-year earnout dependent on 15% EBITDA growth. Quality of earnings assessments and customer renewal health are described as primary factors that can stall or terminate deals, particularly if financial accounts lack clarity or significant customer dissatisfaction emerges.A recurring operational gap identified by Evergreen in acquisition targets is the absence of a dedicated growth leader within firms, which raises post-sale continuity risks. While questions were raised about the possibility of acquisitions inadvertently generating new competition in local markets—through staff departures and new businesses—no substantive evidence was cited that this has impacted consolidation effectiveness or market saturation. The dialogue also explored Evergreen's investor structure and commitment to transparency about backend ownership and fund relationships with sellers, with claims of a high earnout payment rate and seller satisfaction.For MSPs and IT leaders, the practical implications involve heightened scrutiny of operational maturity, especially in finance and client management roles, to realize sustained valuation and minimize deal-related risk. Vendor dependency deepens post-acquisition, as Evergreen leverages consolidated contracts to meet earnout targets. Owners not seeking to sell are advised to reassess account management practices, explore targeted AI integration for client engagement, and maintain competitive EBITDA performance, as independently managed firms continue to demonstrate strong profitability metrics. Supported by: GuardzTimeZest

Many MSPs already have the technical talent to deliver strong cybersecurity services, and the market demand is clearly there. But turning that expertise into meaningful recurring revenue is a different challenge, especially when vCISO offers lack clear positioning, a repeatable sales process, or the right delivery model. In this episode, we'll explore what separates MSPs that successfully scale vCISO services from those that struggle to gain traction and where AI is creating both opportunities and costly mistakes. You will walk away with a clear picture of how to build a cybersecurity offering that clients understand, value,and are willing to buy. >>> Whenever you are ready, here are 4 ways we can help you reach your revenue goals faster...#1 Unlock the full potential of your marketing engine. We'll provide you and your team with the direction, insights, and tools necessary to excel in the complex landscape of modern marketing. - Marketing Advisor On Call#2 Discover the marketing strategies & tactics that will guide your next quarter and unlock explosive growth in 90 minutes. - Quick-Start Marketing Strategy Game Plan#3 Discover a tailor-made strategy for unprecedented growth to transform your marketing in 30 days. - Unlock Your Growth Opportunities#4 If you need guidance on the most effective direction for your marketing, then schedule a call with us today! - Get Your Free Discovery Call Now

The episode reveals a structural shift toward eligibility thresholds and silent disqualification in the managed services sector, driven primarily by large vendors and regulatory buyers. Companies now establish non-negotiable numerical thresholds—such as cloud revenue minimums or cryptography certifications—as criteria that MSPs must meet to maintain channel access or bid eligibility. Key organizations shaping these dynamics include Microsoft, which has reduced its global distributor base by two-thirds, and regulatory buyers who increasingly rely on FIPS 140-3 cryptography validation as a procurement gate.The most consequential development discussed is Microsoft's reduction of its distributor partners from approximately 180 to roughly 60, based on a $30 million annual cloud solution provider revenue threshold per region, or $1 million for direct bill partners, according to Scott Frew of iAsset. Concurrently, regulated buyers are disqualifying MSPs whose tools lack FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography, a certification that requires third-party verification and is referenced by procurement officials as a hard requirement. The Managed Services Journal and vendor press releases provide evidence that this filtering mechanism now operates prior to any sales engagement, largely outside the control or even awareness of affected MSPs.Supporting developments reinforce this threshold-driven landscape. CompareIT in the UK has launched an AI-driven platform to assess over 8,000 MSPs on up to 197 criteria, allowing buyers to shortlist providers before direct interactions. Vendors are responding by integrating compliance features (such as Datto RMM adding FIPS 140-3 support) without extra cost, turning compliance into a baseline rather than a differentiator. Third-party products and partnerships are emerging—like RYTHMz' SCOUTz or the Senteon and SPECTRA alliance—to supply objective evidence of eligibility, making attestation a commodity and part of a burgeoning industry.For MSPs and IT leaders, the operational implication is a shift from sales-driven competition to eligibility-driven access. Risks arise from losing channel relationships, not keeping up with compliance requirements, or being silently excluded from consideration in regulated deals. Ensuring a clear owner for validation data, maintaining up-to-date records of distributor status, and proactively verifying the business's public profile now represent concrete governance requirements. Eligibility is becoming a precondition for market participation—those who manage it systematically maintain market access while others are removed without notification.00:00 Three Thresholds, Three Weeks 03:42 Cheaper Than A Conversation06:06 You'll Never Get The No09:12 Why Do We Care?Supported by:WebPros(CometBackup)HaloPSA

The episode highlights a pronounced governance gap in how small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services. New research from GTIA, discussed by Sharon Florentine, identifies that while AI use has become nearly universal among SMB end customers of IT service providers, most lack formal policies, leadership, and budgeting structure around their deployment of AI. This reflects a foundational misalignment between AI adoption rates and organizational preparedness.According to the GTIA study, 97–98% of surveyed SMBs are already using AI to some extent, yet only 20–25% do so strategically. Strategic usage is defined by having AI under a leadership role, with established policies and procedures. In addition, only around one-quarter of respondents reported having a dedicated AI budget. This suggests that despite broad AI integration, most spending is ad hoc or drawn from unrelated IT priorities. The research surveyed 520 SMBs across 11 verticals, reinforcing the generalizability of the findings.Supporting discussions emphasized that this misalignment is both an opportunity and a risk for MSPs and ITSPs. Unaddressed gaps in governance, budgeting, and cybersecurity may undermine value delivery and create liability issues. Practical challenges—such as unclear funding sources, lack of proactive customer engagement, and potential cybersecurity risks tied to unmanaged AI use—were described as persistent pain points. It was also noted that shifting to a proactive approach is essential for building trust and effective client partnerships.For MSPs and IT leaders, the operational implications center on the need to address governance and budget planning for AI while maintaining a focus on established IT infrastructure. Relying solely on existing processes may introduce unmanaged risk, particularly as customers expand AI use without adequate oversight. Providers are advised to prepare by developing frameworks for AI budgeting, security controls, and policy development, rather than diverting focus from foundational IT services. Neglecting core infrastructure and data practices in pursuit of unstructured AI integration was identified as a critical operational miscalculation. Supported by: Pax8 ScalePad

A central structural shift discussed is the acceleration of security risk and remediation cycles driven by AI-powered tooling available to both attackers and defenders. The episode highlights that the difference between offensive and defensive capabilities now depends less on underlying technology and more on access controls and permission settings, as demonstrated by offerings and incidents involving Anthropic, OpenAI, Cloudflare, and tool vulnerabilities in products from Connectwise and Enable.Primary evidence of this shift includes the use of advanced AI models and agent frameworks, which have enabled attackers to compress the timeline for successful ransomware intrusions to under 10 hours, according to Unit 42 and The Register. On the defense side, Cloudflare and OpenAI announced an early access service leveraging Daybreak models (including GPT 5.6 Cyber) for vulnerability detection and suggested patching, subject to human review. Meanwhile, Microsoft implemented a policy throttling unpatched Exchange servers until remediation occurs, rather than relying on voluntary patching, marking a move towards enforced maintenance in vendor ecosystems.Supporting developments underline the blurred line between offense and defense: Anthropic's simultaneous release of two AI models (Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1) with identical capabilities but different access restrictions based on user vetting, and OpenAI's promotion of its GPT-6 Astra model's security testing performance, while applying safeguard layers to limit exploit generation. Reports from Hack the Box and Red Sift, citing increased enterprise adoption of AI for both security assessment and attack surface discovery, reinforce that automation now exposes vulnerabilities faster than traditional remediation processes can keep pace.The operational implication for MSPs and IT service providers is that speed of decision-making—particularly client approval for emergency remediation—has become a critical risk control point. The analysis underscores that technical controls and cyber insurance arrangements are frequently untrusted or unused, leaving actual exposure governed by change management logistics. Providers are advised to formalize rapid approval clauses and escalation contacts in contracts, shifting from hypothetical scenarios to incorporating real vendor disclosures as triggers. This adjustment is positioned as a necessary response to a landscape in which exploits and mitigations move at comparable velocity, and traditional maintenance rhythms no longer align with risk movement.00:00 The Intruder Left A Report 04:17 Same Model, Different Door06:44 Configured, Never Turned On09:47 Why Do We Care?Supported by: Proofpoint Guardz

A central structural shift discussed is the growing pressure on margins and operational risk, driven by the competing models of vendor platform integration versus modular, best-in-breed solutions for managed service providers. Slide, a backup and disaster recovery vendor with roughly 1,000 partners, serves as an example of a company resisting long-term, bundled contracts and instead favoring a highly flexible, monthly engagement model. This approach reflects a broader industry debate over contract structure, integration depth, and the risk of vendor dependency.Slide argues that month-to-month agreements offer MSPs operational agility, while conceding these contracts heighten vendor-side financial unpredictability and require more proactive account management. The company acknowledges consistent partner requests for longer-term deals, mainly to secure better pricing or manage risk, but maintains that flexibility takes precedence. The result is a dynamic in which vendors bear greater short-term churn risk in exchange for heightened accountability.Secondary discussion critiques the “single pane of glass” approach found in many vendor stacks. Slide claims current market consolidations mostly deliver superficial integration—such as unified login—while failing to address the operational inefficiencies of managing backup across multiple platforms. True interoperability remains limited, and MSPs often pay a process penalty, with searches and recoveries split across separate product silos. Attempts to automate recovery and search using AI offer partial relief but can introduce new risks if processes are not robust.For MSP organizations, these developments reinforce the importance of scrutinizing vendor contracts for embedded risk, especially as flexibility increases exposure to abrupt churn. The tradeoff between interoperability and platform lock-in demands attention to operational readiness, governance, and resource planning. Smaller providers, in particular, should weigh the support and integration limits of their partners against the risks of fragmented tooling and short-term agreements.Supported by:TimeZestScalePad

In this episode of MSP Business School, host Brian Doyle sits down with technology consultant and advisor James Davis to discuss the evolving landscape of the MSP industry. They dive deep into the transition from traditional break-fix models to the more integrated role of technology partners. Davis reflects on his own journey through various facets of the MSP world, offering rich insights into the shifts and transformations necessary for survival in the current digital age. Throughout the conversation, Brian and James explore the changing expectations of the modern client, emphasizing the need for MSPs to move beyond just infrastructure management to a more consultative role in business growth. They navigate the complexities introduced by AI and cybersecurity, advising MSPs to not merely add these as cosmetic changes but to fundamentally reimagine their business models. Davis stresses the importance of understanding clients' business challenges and aligning with their strategic objectives, a notion he refers to as becoming a "Technology Solutions Partner" rather than remaining a traditional MSP. Key Takeaways: Evolving Roles: MSPs need to transition from break-fix models to a comprehensive consultative role, focusing more on data, workflow, and clients' business needs. Vertical Specialization: Emphasizing the importance of specialization, MSPs should consider vertical or horizontal approaches to better align with client industries. Client-Centric Approach: Prioritizing client conversations and understanding their challenges is crucial for developing relevant technology solutions. Skepticism of Industry Hype: Davis encourages skepticism of industry trends without real insight, urging MSPs to focus on client-specific needs over generic industry advice. Transformative Opportunities: Viewing modern challenges as opportunities for transformational growth, with a focus on advisory services, strategic conversations, and rising above infrastructure management. Guest Name: Brian Davis LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejamesdavisaus/ Company: The TSP Adivsory Company Website: https://thetspadvisory.com/ Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Host Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylevciotoolbox/ Sponsor vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com

The episode details a structural shift toward increased automation and integration of AI layers within managed services platforms, raising questions of risk management, transparency, and economic models. Syncro's integration with Anthropic's AI, positioned as a native connector in the Anthropic ecosystem, exemplifies how platform providers are embedding AI to automate routine technical work and streamline technician workflows.Syncro's leadership claims their platform is targeting up to 30% autonomous handling of Level 1 and Level 2 technical tasks by the end of the year and 50% by 2027, according to internal projections. Current reported outcomes show between 15% and 25% of tickets resolved autonomously via guided ticket resolution, with ticket summarization reportedly improving time to action and resolution speeds by up to 50% for some ticket types. The company indicates that economic models are in flux, as large language models are being run at a loss and cost recovery is being managed via credit-based usage tied to task volume.Supporting developments include the persistent gap in adoption: only 5-10% of Syncro partners—primarily larger, more mature MSPs—are actively leveraging these AI-driven features, according to company estimates. There is also ongoing debate about the continued necessity of tickets as a unit of work, with Syncro's product team emphasizing the importance of visibility, measurement, and audit traceability amidst increasing automation.For MSPs and IT leaders, these shifts signal increased vendor dependency and exposure to evolving cost structures related to AI model consumption. There are governance considerations regarding transparency and audit trails for AI-driven operational decisions, and practical questions around adoption readiness, as the efficiency gains are not automatic and depend on proactive enablement. Operators should monitor changing license and consumption models, scrutinize audit and accountability processes, and reassess how automation may alter labor and cost dynamics.Supported by:GoTo(LogMeIn)Proofpoint

Don’t miss this massive ecosystem shift! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ Host Vince Menzione sits down with industry leaders Nicole Dziedzic, Erwin Visser, and Mira Ayad to uncover the critical transformations happening across the technology ecosystem and marketplace. The panel explores the impact of Reseller Enabled Offers (REO), the changing role of distribution into aggregation, and the immense opportunities surrounding agentic AI. They also dive into why MSPs need to ruthlessly simplify their technology stacks to make room for business value selling, and how data tools like ASPX are changing the game for proactive channel strategies. https://youtu.be/4Ox507-0l_8 Key Takeaways The marketplace has completely transformed software procurement and is now rapidly expanding into the SMB sector. Reseller Enabled Offers (REO) allow partners to own private offers on behalf of ISVs while maintaining their trusted advisor status. Ingram has introduced the MCP server to help partners automate and pull necessary distribution data seamlessly. The next few years represent a “golden age” for MSPs if they can successfully adopt, build, and operationalize AI agents. Microsoft’s ASPX platform gives partners critical usage and marketing signals to proactively target customer opportunities. MSPs must simplify their bloated technology stacks to create space for selling true business value with agentic AI. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags agentic AI, Reseller Enabled Offers, MCP server, marketplace syndication, ASPX data, Agent 365, precision velocity, managed service providers, hyperscaler enablement, technology stack simplification, Ultimate Partner Experience, cloud solutions strategy, customer zero, ISV go-to-market. Transcript Nicole – Erwin – Mira Podcast [00:00:00] Mira Ayad: I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer. Where they act is not just a generic cliche state statement. [00:00:10] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel. And what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host. And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology, partnerships and outcomes, the voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:53] Vince Menzione: We’ve got some word friends of ultimate partner coming up now, and then I’m gonna have them come up and introduce themselves. Uh, most of these people I’ve had the opportunity to meet Nicole, come on up. Come on. Good to meet you. I’m gonna have everyone introduce themselves. This guy, I never know. I’ve never met this guy before. [00:01:12] Vince Menzione: Mira, great to see you again. We gotta be on stage about a month ago. Yes. And we get to do this again while a different panel conversation. So, terrific. [00:01:22] Vince Menzione: Nicole, we’re gonna start with you on from the far end and come this way. So I’ll have you introduce yourself to, to our audience. [00:01:27] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. So, uh, so I lead our, uh, US business for Ingram, uh, really focused on our customer success and renewals across our vendor stack. [00:01:36] Vince Menzione: Thank you for being here. [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: Okay, [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: thank you. I’m excited. Awesome. [00:01:39] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, great to be here again. Thanks, uh, fin for, for having us and a lot of familiar faces. So, uh, Erman, Viser, uh, I recently changed roles, so four weeks ago, uh, in Microsoft. I’m, uh, I just, uh, started to, uh, to lead the, uh, the Cloud Solutions Strategy team, uh, still in GCPS, so our global channel organization. [00:02:01] Vince Menzione: And Mira, great to see you again. [00:02:03] Mira Ayad: Same here. Yes. I’m looking forward for this conversation. We had so much fun last time. [00:02:07] Vince Menzione: Yes, [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: so [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: good. [00:02:09] Mira Ayad: My name is Mira Ayad . I’m the GM for a global Microsoft marketplace. My team leads the strategy and operations. I’ve been with Microsoft for seven months, I think, but this is not my first rodeo. [00:02:21] Mira Ayad: This is my fourth time boomeranging to Microsoft. Yeah. [00:02:26] Vince Menzione: And for context for people, we have talked about marketplace quite a bit, but the conversation has expanded at Microsoft in, in bigger ways. Uh, before, was it November that. REO was announced. [00:02:39] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:02:40] Vince Menzione: Yes. We’ll talk about that. But maybe you, you talk a little bit about the reseller enabled, uh, offers and, uh, and maybe we’ll take, we’ll take us through that and then how Ingram has been a great partner, and of course, Erwin’s organization has been really front and center with some of this. [00:02:55] Vince Menzione: So let’s go there for, let’s go first tell us, tell us about, about REO. Sure. For those and, and your, your role is, um, we had Cy on stage yesterday. But your role is front and center with the channel, with the with the reseller community. Right. Taking marketplace into the resellers. [00:03:12] Mira Ayad: Sure. So, uh, Cyril is my partner in crime. [00:03:16] Mira Ayad: He leads the marketing for marketplace. Um, my team focus across all personas that hits marketplace from an ISV to channel partners, buyers, and even the Microsoft sellers themselves. Like how can we bring that vibe and that energy? To bring marketplace, to be front and center. Um, REO is, um, a feature that we’ve launched back in November and it’s, it was a very strong statement from Microsoft of how we’re bringing the channel partners into that marketplace journey. [00:03:45] Mira Ayad: With RE Reseller enabled offers, we allow partners to own the private offer that they can extend to their customers on behalf of the SDCs. So kind of bring that scale mechanism for SDCs to access that channel community and for the channel partner to remain the trusted advisor and provide not only marketplace, um, products, but Microsoft services their own professional services. [00:04:12] Mira Ayad: And wrap that and provide a one-stop shop for customers. [00:04:17] Vince Menzione: And it’s really lit up organizations like Ingram. Nicole, I like, it’s been a maybe a minute here, like talking about the evolution of Ingram. ’cause I think back at the old role of the DTI credit, availability of product and delivery, right? Yeah. The kind of the three things. [00:04:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, and those are still really, really important to the core of how we go to market. ’cause I think we heard yesterday, every dollar of software, uh, requires a dollar of hardware. So it’s not anything that we’re getting away from. But I think, you know, the marketplaces and the automation, and really where we’ve been transforming our business over the last six to 10 years is how do we take some of that transactional work away from our partners? [00:04:57] Nicole Dziedzic: Make it simpler so that you can really focus on more strategic areas. Marketplace has been a, a heavy part of our go-to-market and something that we’ve been embracing for many years now, um, and seen a lot of success in helping the partners on that journey and helping the vendors really accelerate that with the partner community and the end customers. [00:05:15] Nicole Dziedzic: But it’s also really enabled us to look at how do we wanna show up into our partners differently, right? So as we automate our business. Help our partners automate their business. We have the opportunity to upskill our own resources. And so some of the key areas that we’ve really been focused on is our post-sales motions, and how do we really ensure that the partners customers are leveraging the technology, optimizing it, and adopting it in a much faster pace. [00:05:45] Nicole Dziedzic: So that the investments that they’re making are netting an ROIA lot quicker. Those, uh, those have been things that we have accelerated across our vendor stack. Um, and I think it’s gonna become much more important as we continue to see technology evolve, especially around AI and co-pilot’s. A huge part of what we’ve been really focused on for the last year. [00:06:05] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, the biggest thing that we’re really seeing in the market today. Not just within the MSPs, but within our end customers is that they struggle in terms of how they really get the ROI out of it quickly. Um, and so our team is very human first. Uh, we do have digital motions, but really human first to really dive into the different personas. [00:06:25] Nicole Dziedzic: How do we help them attack that from an end customer perspective? How do we really help them drive value out of those solutions? [00:06:32] Vince Menzione: So what does enablement look like for them? [00:06:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so, um, I loved the quote, uh, from some of the folks in the last session because it’s really about meeting our customers where they are. [00:06:42] Nicole Dziedzic: And so it is a, I always call it we play in the gray and we love to play in the gray all day. Um, because our partners and our our partners customers wanna interact differently. And so we wanna make sure that we have, um, ways to interact with them across. Stack both from a digital standpoint where you can really drive efficiency through digital messaging and marketing, um, all the way up to high touch. [00:07:03] Nicole Dziedzic: So those larger customers can get, uh, hands-on training and enablement. We can do it on behalf of our partners or with our partners to really drive that into the end customer, and then that enables us to really customize it. So what personas are we going to engage with? What are the key features we’re looking to get out of it? [00:07:20] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, and largely what are the outcomes that that company is driving towards over the next 1, 2, 3 years, so we can always stay ahead of what their needs are. [00:07:29] Vince Menzione: Nice. So Erwin, what is Microsoft doing to enable this distribution channel to be more effective with partners? [00:07:36] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, it’s a great question. And, and Nicole, I I love how you, uh, and, and Ingram is, is kind of really leaning in mm-hmm. [00:07:43] Erwin Visser: In driving these customer outcomes and, and helping your partners that even if needed, kind of working with your partners or stepping in front of your partners to help drive these outcomes. ’cause I, I think that’s, uh, we’re. Uh, it clearly ev you, you need to meet the customer where they is. But, uh, having helping customers adopt ai, adopt these new AI solutions agents, I think that is going to be super important for partners to drive, uh, incremental value and also the ROI for themselves as well as for the, for the customers. [00:08:14] Erwin Visser: But Microsoft is, have we, um, one of the things that we are heavily investing in at this moment is our skills platform, our scaling platform. So we, we, if, if people have followed us, we kind of revamped it in the last three, four months. Uh, and we are really not just investing now heavily in technical skills, but also project readiness skills for partners as well as sales skills. [00:08:37] Erwin Visser: Uh, like how do you sell in this new world of, uh, of ai. So where you can see, uh, uh, incremental, uh, ongoing investment in our scaling platform. Um, the other thing that we’re, we’re really working on at this moment, uh, with our. Tech team is, is building more helping partners to build like standardized service offerings and also understand this what’s, what is the capability they need to be successful in and, and become ed themself. [00:09:05] Erwin Visser: And, and we’re doing that also in partnership with the, with income. So income can use kind of some of these, these frameworks than to, to leverage them for their partners and then help with, uh, with that enablement. [00:09:18] Vince Menzione: So Mira when we think, so we think about it from a couple different lenses here, right? [00:09:22] Vince Menzione: Because we’ve got the Microsoft first party products that are, that are being offered through distribution channel to customers, and then we have what I call third party, right? Mm-hmm. Which is a lot of what the marketplace does. It does both. But I think about the marketplace, I think about ISVs, I think about agentic ai. [00:09:40] Vince Menzione: How do we, how do you bring it all together? [00:09:43] Mira Ayad: Um, the way I think of marketplace, and you and I talked about this before, yes, it’s that intersection where SDCs ISVs services and solutions meet. First party solutions meet professional services provided by system integrator and all wrapped up to provide that complete solution for customers. [00:10:04] Mira Ayad: So marketplace, kind of that perfect intersection for all of those parties to meet, um, from a customer perspective depends on the segment. We all know that marketplace is born and raised to be an enterprise tool. Now we’re seeing more and more s and b customers coming trying to leverage marketplace. [00:10:20] Mira Ayad: Yeah, [00:10:20] Vince Menzione: very much so. [00:10:21] Mira Ayad: So the role of enablement and how we activate the channel to really be front and center, more proactive as they go and talk to their SMB customers. Find the ways to monetize their solutions and their services for the SMB customers so they can adopt that marketplace. Because with everything that’s happening in the industry, one thing we know for sure that marketplace transformed how procurement of software happens. [00:10:46] Mira Ayad: Yes. And it’s here to stay. [00:10:48] Vince Menzione: Very much so. Very much so. And Nicole, I’m interested too on, on this side because we, we have, this is the first year that we’ve invited quite a few MSPs into the room as well. Right. We were very much ISV and reseller and, and SI focused. Uh, this time has changed like no other. [00:11:05] Vince Menzione: Right. We’ve been talking all morning about all this agentic ai. As an as an MSPI, my my sense is like I need to have my hands on the steering wheel for my customer at all times. And how are you thinking through it? How are you working with those organizations on driving some of that? [00:11:22] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so again, it’s about meeting even our partners where they are. [00:11:26] Nicole Dziedzic: And so one of the things that we’ve recently released at Ingram is our MCP server. And so how do we enable our partners to then connect their agent capabilities that they’ve built internally to grab the data from Ingram so that they can interact with us how they want to, you know, we have our platform and, and. [00:11:43] Nicole Dziedzic: We don’t wanna force everybody to go into a platform. And so that server is gonna enable you to build capabilities internally in the tools that you’ve already invested in so that you can, again, refocus your energies and your teams, um, on selling on these new go-to markets that enables you to grab the data that you need and. [00:12:03] Nicole Dziedzic: Essentially a snapshot of your account when you’re buying through distribution, all with a really simple click of a button. I know I, I oversimplify it, but I’m not that technical. Um, but it is really a click of a button. And so as we continue to release capabilities, API feeds, if you’re connected via that server and you have those agent capabilities already internally, then it’s as simple as us just continuing to release and you’ll continue to be able to grab that information. [00:12:28] Vince Menzione: Mira’s gram’s approach, what you’re starting to see across most of the distribution channel. Yeah, [00:12:34] Mira Ayad: more or less, yes. Like we, we’ve seen, we’ve partnering with Ingram on, on multiple fronts. Uh, there’s another feature that we bring and Ingram has been our, uh, partner in crime, which is syndication, which we push the marketplace listings into the Ingram portal to support what Nicole just said. [00:12:52] Mira Ayad: So partners get to use the tools that they are using today. We’re meeting them where they are. We’re not forcing them into one platform over the other. Um, I think enablement. The role of enablement and the distributor as an enabler is going to grow even more. Uh, switching that message of how can you sell a task oriented agent versus a solution [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Um, is a, is a game changer. And we also see, I I like to say this, like distribution are now becoming an aggregation and a distributor. Yes. So they get to aggregate all that solution between all hyperscalers marketplaces. And find that core enablement so partners can be a plug and play and use their core competency to sell and be that trusted advisor for their customer instead of wasting time trying to figure out where to get enabled or how to get enabled. [00:13:44] Mira Ayad: Mm-hmm. So absolutely a hundred percent the aligned. [00:13:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Enablement seems to be a big theme here, right, Nicole? And, and, and you’ve got some new products is MCP server and. Some of the things you’re doing there as well. [00:13:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, I would say even above and beyond the, the MCP server for the automation, you know, enablement enable is kind of our core function of our enablement strategy and enable ai, enable MSP are two of the most recent ones that we’ve released to market. [00:14:10] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, one of the things that we’ve really identified. Especially within the M-S-P-S-M-B and mid-market partner community is that there’s still a struggle in what does AI actually mean for my strategy and out to my end customers. And so we’ve created paths to enable our partners, MSPs, their end customers on how do you build that strategy for AI that’s both going to create outcomes for your end customers, um, but also be safe and secure as you kind of bring it to market. [00:14:39] Vince Menzione: Erwin on your side, on the marketing side, and you just shifted roles. You were [00:14:43] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Know. Yeah. Piece. Well, I didn’t forget everything that I did. Okay, good. No, I, it was only last week. Right. I’m, I’m getting older, but I still have a little bit of memory. Last year, uh, the, the, um, yeah, I wanted, uh, react quickly on the, on MSPs, especially think it’s incredible time. [00:14:59] Erwin Visser: And, and, uh, and, and so you, I think most people probably know that Microsoft, this, uh, our fiscal year start on July 1st. So May, uh, uh, April, may up to June is like really our crunch time for planning. So we’re in the middle of it. But, and, and without seeing, like giving you too much like insights or details, but. [00:15:18] Erwin Visser: We, we believe there, uh, is an in significant opportunity, almost like the golden age for MSPs in the next years. [00:15:25] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:15:26] Erwin Visser: Uh, if they are able, the, the partners that are able to embrace ai, and we, we kind of think about it in, in maybe in three different like steps or, or framework of clearly, uh, being a customer, zero. [00:15:41] Erwin Visser: And I assume a lot of people, or a lot of people talked about it in the last day and a half, so I don’t have to go in deep here, but hey, you have to adopt the technology itself to be able to deliver and sell it to customers. But then the, the other two steps that we believe one is, uh, uh, built an an agents or an agent accelerator and, uh, that can mean that. [00:16:02] Erwin Visser: Uh, leverage, uh, marketplaces for finding and customizing agents or having competency in-house to build agents for your customers. And then the third step is, is operationalize agents. And I think pe the partners that have experience at this moment with managed services probably have a step ahead. ’cause we had the in. [00:16:24] Erwin Visser: For more and more customers in the future, we’ll rely on a partner to manage and to help support their, their, uh, agent infrastructure. And so, uh, MSPs that can really, uh, jump into that and can help customers to manage, protect, secure, uh, uh, uh, their, uh, their agent in, uh, infrastructure, uh, that will be an an significant opportunity. [00:16:49] Erwin Visser: Um, one of the products that, you know, I’m, I’m not gonna do a product pitch yet, but still, I’m gonna mention you can, [00:16:55] Vince Menzione: and you can also share things that are gonna be announced with us as well. [00:16:58] Erwin Visser: Well, this is, uh, this is, this is announced already, but hey, we, uh, one of the technologies we are very excited about that’s, uh, hopefully can also support MSPs is, uh, agent 365. [00:17:10] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:17:10] Erwin Visser: Which, uh, which really can help partners to, to kind of like secure and manage and, and drive governance around [00:17:17] Vince Menzione: agents. Still, still very new product by the way. [00:17:19] Erwin Visser: Yeah, it’s, uh, uh, [00:17:20] Vince Menzione: makes a big difference. [00:17:21] Erwin Visser: Awesome. [00:17:23] Vince Menzione: So, Mira, this is very, you know, it’s funny because initially when you would think about what you, what you’re doing with REO as being like big ISVs, selling big solutions through marketplaces, we, we now brought the channel in. [00:17:38] Vince Menzione: But now the ag agentic has really changed the things dramatically. Right, right. Let’s talk about that. How does it, how does it fit into your strategy as you go into the SMB market as well? Right. [00:17:48] Mira Ayad: Great question. And um, I’d like to tell a story in a little [00:17:52] Vince Menzione: bit. Please, please. [00:17:53] Mira Ayad: So, one of my greatest mentors, um, I was just having a chat with him a couple of days ago, and I’m just like, the market is changing faster than anyone can catch up. [00:18:02] Mira Ayad: And he told me, Mira. It’s not a chess game anymore, it’s a squash game. So it’s all about being agile, beating the ball with it, what it is, uh, and moving fast. And I think the strategy for marketplace and for the channel, Microsoft has always been a channel first company, so this is not a news for anyone. [00:18:20] Mira Ayad: Next year we’re focusing more into bringing the channel into marketplace. We are having, and I’m sure Sarah talked about it, uh, yesterday a little bit. We’re having very targeted approach to bring. Agents that customer actually wants into marketplace. So not just a, a traffic jam of agents. Uh, we’re being very precise about it from a channel perspective. [00:18:44] Mira Ayad: Alex? Agree. My colleague, she has a, an a a session later. She [00:18:48] Vince Menzione: does for having Alex on stage here. [00:18:50] Mira Ayad: Yes. And she’s gonna talk more about this channel strategy overall, but being customer zero. Is big for us and precision velocity is something else. Like how can we help the partners [00:19:00] Vince Menzione: precision velocity. I like That’s [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: right. [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: And she’s gonna talk a lot about it. I’m [00:19:04] Vince Menzione: not gonna say [00:19:04] Mira Ayad: her thunder. [00:19:05] Vince Menzione: I wanted to hear, I wanna hear more about it. So it’s, it’s compelling. [00:19:08] Mira Ayad: I know. Just, uh, a under session today, [00:19:11] Vince Menzione: well, I think I’m gonna be leading it, but come in this afternoon. Absolutely. [00:19:16] Mira Ayad: Absolutely. Yes. So moving from being a scale player to actually know what you’re really good at and have that precision. [00:19:23] Mira Ayad: To sell and get your customer where they want to be. I think it’s, it’s all how the strategy is aligned, yet shifting a little bit to reflect what’s happening in the industry. [00:19:33] Vince Menzione: And you’re no stranger to marketplace. Right. Um, we talked about your career journey, but you start off in Microsoft. We sort of knew each other back in the day, right? [00:19:43] Vince Menzione: Yes. Public sector. [00:19:44] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:19:44] Vince Menzione: And then you left and you went across the river or across, across the lake. It was a lake or river? The lake. Lake. Yeah. You can tell I don’t live here, but [00:19:53] Mira Ayad: it’s a pond. [00:19:53] Vince Menzione: It’s a pond, yeah. [00:19:55] Mira Ayad: Um, so yes, I did start in, uh, Microsoft as a PDM for public sector focusing on education partners. [00:20:00] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:20:01] Mira Ayad: Um, [00:20:01] Vince Menzione: Anthony Salcito. [00:20:02] Mira Ayad: Anthony STO was the GM back then. And then I spent some time in an ISV. Um, it was a startup. I think I’ve, I had like my MBA on how to start businesses there. Which I boomerang to Microsoft to be part of the architecture team of a tiny program. I’m not sure if you guys are familiar with it. [00:20:23] Mira Ayad: It’s called CSP. So I launched CSP for the channel partners hosting telco’s, distribution. And then, um, our neighbors across the pond called the pond, me to come and help them build a channel program. Um, and then for, for three years, and then I spend the next seven. On AWS marketplace, uh, helping with, uh, channel adoption and strategy and enablement. [00:20:50] Vince Menzione: Nice. Very nice. Okay. And, um, the perspective on that as well. Bringing you, you talking about being precise. I think I heard what I, what I gleaned from your last set of comments is it can be so overwhelming to have all these agents, thousands and thousands of agents out there, how do, how do I decide, what do I go do and do the agents conflict with one another in terms of how they, how they react, and how they maybe start procuring on my behalf. [00:21:18] Mira Ayad: Um, I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer where they at is not just a generic cliche state statement. Customers are gonna lead our MSPs, our channel, our distribution, and our hyperscalers with their marketplaces or what needs to be built and how fast they want it. [00:21:37] Mira Ayad: And we should not lose sight of that. Um, just. Customer win is a win for everyone. That’s the, that’s, I think that’s the simple formula. And across all, uh, hyperscaler marketplaces, I think everyone is trying to win the heart and the mind of the customer first. [00:21:52] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:21:53] Mira Ayad: And then we, as the platforms and the channel community, we need to work very closely, um, with precision, with high level of, um, depth of knowledge to bring customers faster and make that customer zero. [00:22:10] Mira Ayad: From our perspective as an internal customer first and our first customer that we’re gonna build the case studies around to build that flywheel so we can accelerate that. So the first five offer becomes, the second, becomes the hundreds. Um, and this is how we bring it on. But always start from the customer. [00:22:26] Vince Menzione: I’m thinking about Jay’s slide yesterday, Jim McBain slide about the 28 moments [00:22:31] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:22:32] Vince Menzione: And all the, all the partner types that are involved in that process. Right. The ISVs. Uh, CSPs, I mean actually lay out more partner types, ISPs, CSPs, distributor, uh, reseller, all all aligned in that customer journey and all. [00:22:49] Vince Menzione: And so just that coordination and that effort. I just wanna get everybody’s point of view on that maybe. [00:22:53] Erwin Visser: Yeah. [00:22:54] Vince Menzione: Or [00:22:54] Erwin Visser: you want start, Nicole? [00:22:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think it takes an army, right? And I think it’s about how does each. Each kind of persona simplify the process for the next person. And I think that’s probably the key piece of it. [00:23:06] Nicole Dziedzic: And I’ll, I’ll talk from a distribution lens, is that our goal is that we wanna make sure it’s simpler for our vendors, for our partners to be able to transact in the marketplaces. Um, and also be that conduit, right? To provide that feedback back to vendors around what’s working, what’s not working, so we can go faster, right? [00:23:23] Nicole Dziedzic: And so the partners can go faster, um, but also be super sound in how they bring it to market. [00:23:30] Vince Menzione: And I, and I think what I also got outta that conversation, I want to get your point of view on this, is because again, I go back to ISV thinking, direct selling model. [00:23:39] Mira Ayad: Yeah. [00:23:40] Vince Menzione: And oh, there’s this thing called the channel and oh, we have to go do this. [00:23:42] Vince Menzione: But I think what that illustrated, that slide illustrated to me yesterday. Was how important to have all the multiple touch points involved because the deal is happening before you were entering the room. Right. So how, how are you, how and again, why, why do ISVs? I think, I think the answer is right there. [00:24:00] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I, it’s about how do we scale you and how do we simplify. For the partners. Um, I think the biggest challenge that young ISVs really run into is that they do forget about the channel. And the channel is massive. Um, and the channel gives you reach and it gives you scale by leveraging MSPs and better communities. [00:24:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Distribution comes into the fold because we are that scale for the partners themselves. We are that scale for the MSPs, right? And so there has to be a connection between the two to really enable the ISVs that are direct today, um, to scale to probably the levels that they wanna scale, and a trusted partnership where we can bring in. [00:24:46] Nicole Dziedzic: What works, what doesn’t work? Best practices. ’cause we have worked with a lot of vendors and we continue to work with a lot of vendors, um, on how to continue to scale their business. [00:24:55] Vince Menzione: What’s it, what do they get wrong? You mentioned the younger ISVs. Mm-hmm. The newer is more startup ISVs and the startup doesn’t take long. [00:25:02] Vince Menzione: You can get to a billion dollars. Yeah. Pretty quickly these days. What do they get wrong? And then how do you solve for that for them? [00:25:08] Nicole Dziedzic: I, I think what they get wrong at times, um, is building out a true partner program that makes sense for the MSPs, for traditional VARs, um, for sis to actually wanna participate, right? [00:25:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Because there’s a lot of competition out there, and you have to differentiate yourself. And part of that is making sure you’re not forgetting about what you’re. Partner program is gonna be to bring to market. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. The, the other piece is that, you know, there is a lot of solutions out there and so what’s your compelling event, compelling reason, right, for a partner to wanna bring you into their stock, into their end customers. [00:25:47] Nicole Dziedzic: And that is something that we, at times are missing as well, is, is what’s differentiating you from the person next to you. [00:25:55] Vince Menzione: Mira, anything to add to that? [00:25:57] Mira Ayad: Um, I think working with ISBs for the past, I don’t know how many years in my career, um, I always get asked the same question, how can I utilize marketplace? [00:26:06] Mira Ayad: How can I do the pricing? And I listed on marketplace, how come the deals are not falling from the sky? Yes, exactly. And um, my answer has always been. Listing a marketplace is the first step, not the last, right? What is your go-to-market strategy? How are you going to go to market? What’s the role of the channel that they want them to play? [00:26:28] Mira Ayad: Do you want them to become just a reseller and an extended Salesforce arm? Do you want them to take that to implementation and take your support? I think Microsoft kind of between all of the partner types that we have and the great distributors that we partner with, we kind of unlock that for guys because we can have that conversation and help them with their go-to market strategy. [00:26:49] Mira Ayad: But I think first is marketplace need to be in the beginning of the deals, not at the end. So they can always be like, okay, I’m going to be listed to the marketplace when they pitch that to the customer. Bring the marketplace philosophy and the channel into the deal making. Not on the 11th hour. Yeah. [00:27:06] Vince Menzione: Yeah. I liked what an ISV said earlier about actually unlocking their sales organization by putting incentives out there. Yes. To be marketplace first. Erwin, you, you’re the accelerant. Yeah. Go to markets. You’re the marketing guy in the, in this conversation. [00:27:21] Erwin Visser: Yeah. So I, I’m, I’m maybe, uh, I was thinking on the other side, it’s like, and there’s a clearly a role for the ISV. [00:27:26] Erwin Visser: Yeah. And opportunity through marketplace. I also think there’s an opportunity on the MSP side to really, uh, be proactive around, uh, the ISV solutions that you can deliver to your customers. And, and one of the things that, uh, I, I still see is that, uh, some of our partners are not using just the data that is available and that we also have, uh, as Microsoft and with Ingram give to our partners to really see what the opportunities are out there. [00:27:52] Erwin Visser: And, uh, a new, uh, platform that we released, uh, a few months ago. A SPX. Uh, I would kind of be curious to see, uh, hands up like, uh, of the MSPs in the room. Have you heard of a SPX? A few. Okay. So we still have a little bit more eventually to do here, but, uh, yeah. So we we’re, uh, bringing, uh, data sources to our partners, uh, that combine like usage data and marketing signals, other information that we have, licensing data that that really helps our partners also because. [00:28:24] Erwin Visser: To be, to understand where your customer is. Yeah. You first have to understand also the data of your customer and, and the signals that they are giving in the marketplace so you can help understand where the, the next opportunity is. And so we’re, uh, we have another great partnership with, uh, with Ingram around this data sources and in income enriches them and brings them to their resellers. [00:28:45] Erwin Visser: But I think that’s still, uh, uh, clearly if I saw the hands, an opportunity for us to, uh, to bring that more to the market. Yeah. [00:28:53] Vince Menzione: And let’s not forget the MSPs in this conversation, right? Because they are like at, at all, at all levels, whether it be first party, third party, cross marketplace. They are the instrumentation in front of the customer. [00:29:05] Vince Menzione: And I think there’s a great opportunity and know you talk about how you and enabling them. Um, maybe some last comments about how MSPs in this room could be more successful in the coming year, working with your organizations. Yeah. [00:29:18] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think for us it’s challenge us, um, bring forward things that you want and need, even if they seem outlandish from a distribution standpoint, right? [00:29:28] Nicole Dziedzic: We wanna continue to make sure we’re meeting you guys where you are with what you need and how you wanna be interacted with. Um, so I think that would probably be my biggest thing. I do. Before we, I just wanna go back to the as PX data real quick. I do wanna give a plug on the as PX data, because I do work with all of our vendors within Ingram and, and I will say the data. [00:29:46] Nicole Dziedzic: Availability that you guys have released has been above and beyond what we’ve seen from most of our vendors. We hear a lot of can’t share that it’s legal, can’t share that it’s legal. Um, this really enables us and the MSPs to, to see not just where their customer needs to go, but where they’ve been. [00:30:04] Nicole Dziedzic: Right. And so how do you really frame a conversation that’s really strategic by leveraging data and data that will intake and be made available for everybody that, um, purchases through distribution so that you can have that ready at your hand. So I just wanna reverse back to that ’cause it is a really great data set, um, and something we don’t see a lot of vendors actually released to the masses within the partner community within distribution to leverage. [00:30:29] Erwin Visser: Yeah. I, I love that quote, by the way, but it’s, thank you, Nicole. Uh, so the, but, uh, uh, your question is around how we are enabling MSPs, correct? Yes. Yeah. Right. So I had the, um, there, there’s a, there’s a few things here. Uh, I think that, am I, if I’m being honest, there’s still some points that we need to improve on our technology and our roadmap Yeah. [00:30:53] Erwin Visser: Of our technology. So this is clearly well understood within Microsoft and there’s areas that we are, uh, that we’re working on and, uh, we’re taking very serious, uh, at this moment. Good. Uh, to help you like, manage, uh, uh, our technology across, uh, uh, significant numbers of, uh, of, of tenants. Um, the, the second thing I would say is that clearly we talked about scaling. [00:31:16] Erwin Visser: We talked about enabling, uh, added technology to help you build out your managed services from, I would say from the, the, or the, the infrastructure to security to also agents. Now with some of the new technology that we, uh, that we have released. The, the third thing, and this is maybe more of an ask to the MSPs, is that, uh, when I talk to MSPs, when I see the research, uh, I believe that still at this stage, uh, you mo uh, the average Ms. [00:31:44] Erwin Visser: P has like 30 different products in the technology stack. That’s crazy. And, uh, and so I, I simplify. Simplify. Yes, I understand how you got here. Uh, it’s a lot of like, uh, best of breed, maybe selection through, through history. But I think, uh, my advice to MSPs is like, if, if, if you wanna create space for selling business value and for building out like an an AI accelerator for your customers, you need to find a also space to simplify your technology stack. [00:32:15] Erwin Visser: ’cause that’s what we believe. That’s not where the, the opportunity sits in the future. Uh, and that’s also not where I think the, uh, the, the margin sits for, for our partners in the future. So simplify your technology stack. We have ideas about that simplification clearly, but, uh, happy to talk to you about it. [00:32:33] Erwin Visser: But, uh, yeah, simplify and then create space for, uh, for really selling business value with, uh, with agenda ai. I think that’s a, a huge opportunity. [00:32:42] Vince Menzione: There any last comments before we start? [00:32:44] Mira Ayad: Um, a very short comment. So from an enablement perspective, we have a very intentional, proactive focus on enabling the MSP and FY 27 and the remaining of FY 26. [00:32:55] Mira Ayad: Um, yes, last year was the year of the channel. I think next year is going to be the year of, uh, marketplace Channel and MSPs. Um, but I do have an ask. We build marketplace. For you and with you, and you are the closest to the customer. So please be the voice of the customer. Bring us that feedback. Let us know how we can build a marketplace that meets your customer needs so it makes your life easier instead of having to spend time figuring out how to incorporate marketplace in your strategy. [00:33:24] Vince Menzione: I love that we had Jose Gomez. K. Uh, with us yesterday and he spent a lot of time with the partners to getting that feedback, so it was wonderful. [00:33:32] Mira Ayad: Another big guy. [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: Thank you so much. [00:33:34] Vince Menzione: Thanks for listening to The Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s [00:33:38] Vince Menzione: conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:33:42] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the ultimate partner.com. For show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live Event in Reston, Virginia, October 26th through October 28th. Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, I sit down with Adam Monks, group director for technical services at Academia Technology Group, to unpack the mindset shift that helped him build a ten million pound co-managed MSP. Adam Monks started his career on the help desk over twenty years ago and worked his way up through service delivery, customer success and professional services before deciding to build something of his own alongside his co-founder Chris. What makes Adam Monks' story so valuable for MSP owners is that his business, SmartDesc, grew almost entirely through a co-managed model, working with organisations of three hundred and five hundred staff from the very beginning, rather than starting small and scaling up gradually.     We talk about the early days, where trust and reputation carried everything. Adam Monks explains that in the beginning, clients are buying you, not your accreditations or vendor badges, because those simply take time to earn. Doing what you say you will do, delivering safely and quickly, and building a reputation for getting things done became the foundation for growth. That same principle stayed true even as the business scaled into the millions, though the accreditations and credibility markers mattered more as the deals got bigger.     One of the most interesting parts of the conversation covers the middle years, where Adam Monks describes the frustration of being seen as too small for the bigger contracts, even with strong references and a track record of results. He shares how sector focus, particularly within the charity and nonprofit space, gave SmartDesc an edge because those organisations were more open to sharing recommendations with each other. We also discuss the nervous moments, including a year when two founding customers, who made up around seventy percent of revenue, were both due for renewal at the same time. Adam Monks recalls standing in the street with his co-founder weighing up what could happen if neither renewed.     A turning point for the business came when growth stopped being reliable. Adam Monks talks candidly about the year the numbers flattened, and how that pushed him to bring in proper marketing support for the first time. Working with a specialist agency, SmartDesc introduced a monthly newsletter, quarterly round tables, webinars and events hosted through their Microsoft Elevate Partner status. Adam Monks is clear that round tables delivered the strongest results, not through instant leads but through consistent, senior level conversations that built trust over nine to twelve months. Alongside this, becoming a direct Microsoft CSP opened an entirely new revenue stream.     We also get into the leadership challenge that so many MSP owners will recognise. Adam Monks describes the awkward middle stage of twenty five to forty staff, where you are too big to stay hands on with everything, yet too small to have a fully structured leadership team. Bringing in a fractional finance director helped SmartDesc break through that stage, giving visibility into which parts of the business, MSP services, fractional leadership, cybersecurity and procurement, were genuinely profitable, and allowing accountable leaders to own each area.     Adam Monks also shares his honest view on running fully managed and co-managed services side by side, including the margin differences between the two models and why choosing fewer, bigger customers made sense for his business. The conversation closes with the story of SmartDesc's merger with academia technology group in October 2024, a deal that took the combined business to around two hundred and seventy five staff and gave Adam Monks a seat on the board.     If you are an MSP owner who has ever felt boxed in by size, or you are wrestling with the leadership gap that comes with growth, this conversation with Adam Monks will give you plenty to think about and apply straight away.    Connect with Adam Monks through LinkedIn and website.     Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy.    Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK    And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads.    If you're serious about growth and want to explore what this could look like for your MSP, you can book a Right Fit Clarity Call with us HERE.  OR   To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE  Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

A structural shift in regulatory accountability now places incident notification and liability directly on the operators or deployers of AI-powered and software tools, rather than on technology vendors or model developers. This mechanism is made explicit by the requirements of the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), Digital Services Act (DSA), and the upcoming Machinery Regulation. Incidents such as the Cursor AI coding agent breach at a Belgian chemical company underline that compliance timelines and regulatory scrutiny target the entity deploying the technology.CrowdStrike and Okta both reported that increased enterprise security spending is being driven by heightened AI-generated attacks, according to their quarterly results. Gartner forecasts AI security spending will reach $4.8 billion by 2027, up 68.7% from this year, with usage control as the most dynamic segment. A public letter signed by over 100 vendors—including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, and Microsoft—warns of urgent defensive needs but does not shift responsibility to software suppliers.Recent breaches and vulnerabilities illustrate how accountability remains with the service provider or end-user implementer. The Cursor breach assigned notification duties to AnySphere (the product vendor) and the breached organization, not to upstream model providers. Likewise, after N-able's Passportal bug, MSPs were accountable for client-facing remediation. In each case, the “accountability line” lands on the party deploying the tool.For MSPs and IT service providers, these trends require updating agreements, operations, and client communications. Service structures must prioritize regulatory response timelines, documentation, and clear reporting obligations. Providers serving EU clients, or those linked to global supply chains, will encounter business risk if they do not proactively address these regulatory demands before mandated deadlines.00:00 Prevention Got A New Price 03:25 The Half That Doesn't Move05:50 Where The Call Lands09:27 Why Do We Care? Supported by: Proofpoint GoTo(LogMeIn)

“The biggest misconception is that SMBs are not using AI or benefiting from it.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Sharon Florentine, Manager Research Analyst at GTIA, discusses new research showing that small and midsized businesses are already seeing meaningful benefits from AI—and creating a growing advisory opportunity for MSPs and IT service providers. GTIA, the Global Technology Industry Association, is a nonprofit membership organization serving IT service providers around the world. Its new research, End-User AI Adoption: How ITSP Customers Are Really Using AI, is based on responses from 520 SMB and microbusiness decision-makers. Florentine says the research challenges the idea that AI adoption is primarily an enterprise phenomenon. “The majority of SMBs are using AI, and they are seeing a lot of positive benefits from it,” she says. According to the study, 84 percent of respondents reported positive outcomes from AI. Businesses are using AI to improve productivity, move faster and support areas including marketing, sales, IT and security. Many are starting with tools already embedded in platforms such as Microsoft and Google, along with standalone services such as ChatGPT. Governance becomes the next priority As AI use expands, however, governance and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly important. Florentine says security risks were among the biggest concerns identified by respondents. Attackers are using AI to improve phishing and other threats, while defenders are using it for threat intelligence, vulnerability management and other security functions. “You cannot have AI without governance and cybersecurity,” Florentine says. That creates a significant opportunity for MSPs and ITSPs. Respondents specifically identified AI advisory services as something they would like from their technology providers. Those services could include identifying AI opportunities, evaluating risk, creating acceptable-use policies and helping customers expand successful AI projects. Florentine says the organizations seeing the greatest value tend to take a deliberate approach. They assign responsibility for AI to an executive, team or council, establish guidelines, monitor results and proactively address risks. For MSPs, one of the best places to begin may be their own AI journey. “Take your own experience and use that as an example for guidance,” Florentine says. “Show customers how you have solved problems using AI and help them do the same.” The broader message is that SMBs do not necessarily need to be convinced to use AI. Many are already there. What they increasingly need is trusted guidance on how to use it safely, strategically and at scale. GTIA members can access the full End-User AI Adoption research at GTIA.org.

Is it time for an IT assessment at your nonprofit? Maybe you need an assessment for a grant requirement, a change in leadership, or a switch to a new IT provider. In part 1 of this two-part episode, Carolyn talks with CEO Johan Hammerstrom and Senior IT Consultant Nuradeen Aboki about what a comprehensive, nonprofit-focused IT assessment actually involves, and how to tell a genuine, agnostic assessment from one that's really just a sales pitch.This episode covers:What Community IT means by a "comprehensive" IT assessment, and how that differs from the free evaluations many MSPs offer as part of a sales processHow to vet an assessment provider: what to ask about methodology, sample reports, and referencesCommon objectives and scenarios that prompt nonprofits to get an assessment done, including leadership transitions and preparing for growthThe four categories every assessment should cover: infrastructure and core systems, data and digital platforms, security and compliance, and governance and strategyAn inside look at the discover, evaluate, align, and plan approach Community IT uses to turn findings into a strategic roadmapPart 2 continues next week with assessment deliverables, what a healthy nonprofit IT environment looks like, and next steps if it's time to change your IT support. _______________________________Start a conversation :)Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening. 

Findings from Box's State of AI in the Enterprise survey show 83% of enterprises are now running agents in some capacity.These bots are enabling teams to drive productivity and efficiency, but as with any new technology, smooth integration can be a challenge - and security risk.Recent agent-related incidents in the tech industry have sparked concerns about long-term security implications.In this week's episode of the ITPro Podcast, Ross Kelly and Bobby Hellard speak with Box CISO Heather Ceylan to discuss how Box is using agents internally, and how enterprises can adopt the technology in a safe and secure manner.Highlights“I think for security teams, we can finally, you know, start having the capacity to outpace these attackers. So we've got five core areas of investment for agents for our security team in particular that we've invested in over probably the last year, and we're starting to measure ROI on those right now.“So the first one is in the SOC. I think that's probably the most obvious choice where we've got a lot of operational work. We see the same kinds of incidents. We're automating the triage, we're automating the enrichment, the log correlation, things like that that take a lot of human effort.“But there's still human judgment in the end in terms of what gets escalated to be an incident and what doesn't.”“We're not going to be able to move fast enough. So, we have agents kind of built throughout our software development process, doing those security design and architecture reviews, and if you think about it, it's way more powerful than a human can be because those agents don't just necessarily call out design flaws; they can enforce fixes for those flaws.”“Things are changing quickly. Sometimes it feels like you take two steps forward and then you read something in the news and you're like, oh my gosh, we need to rethink everything.“So I think a lot of security teams are really feeling that now and getting a little bit of fatigue from that.““One of the things that we're trying to carry across all of these that I wasn't really thinking about a year ago, but I'm thinking a lot about now is having that multi-model approach.“We're not in a place where most of the work we do, we can't be reliant on a single model. If you look at vulnerability discovery, we're moving away from being tied to any one specific vendor or any one specific model because you're going to get better results when you take a multi-model approach.”LinksAI is getting better at security – and it's doing it faster than expectedTop security teams use AI agents, says Hack The BoxAI is changing team structures in cybersecurity and creating new roles – here are the jobs in hot demandCan AI fight AI? Where the security gap still exists in cybersecurity, and how MSPs can help

The episode highlights a structural shift in the MSP sector characterized by consolidation at the top and fragmentation at the low end, driven by a rise in niche MSPs entering the market and ongoing acquisitions by larger providers. This shift is outlined in discussion of industry data sourced from the Kaseya State of the MSP report, as well as Greg Jones' observations regarding both market entry trends and the increased prevalence of hyperscale consolidation activity. According to the Kaseya report, there has been a reduction in the proportion of clients spending $25,000 a year or more with MSPs—from three quarters of the market to four in ten within a year—indicating a trend towards smaller client engagements. In parallel, 48% of surveyed MSPs identified AI as their clients' top need, but only 13% reported being able to charge for AI, pointing to a significant value capture gap. These figures were referenced during a discussion on monetization challenges and the changing expectations around AI service delivery. Further supporting this structural change, the episode details Kaseya's shift towards more transparent contract terms and new commercial offerings such as FLEXSpend and catastrophic loss prevention. These policy changes are described by company leadership as attempts to address longstanding provider grievances and increase flexibility, but the discussion also reinforces the persistence of operational risks related to contract renewals and alignment between vendor strategy and MSP needs. For operators, the implications center on growing exposure to contract risk, complexity in billing and service models, and the challenge of capturing new sources of value such as AI services. The evolving mix of small and consolidated players in the MSP landscape puts further pressure on vendor selection, contract diligence, and process accountability, especially where new technologies are marketed ahead of proven monetization strategies. Supported by:ProofpointGoTo (LogMeIn)

A primary development addressed is the increasing scrutiny and demands from cyber insurance providers on MSPs and their clients. Amy highlighted a case where an insurer canceled a client policy after the MSP could not produce comprehensive reports and logs verifying device management for all endpoints, including BYOD and personal devices. This incident underscores rising expectations from insurers for documented security controls covering all systems interacting with sensitive data, and the risk of coverage denial when undisclosed devices or unmanaged endpoints are discovered following a breach. Supporting discussion featured the operational gaps many MSPs face, especially regarding the management of BYOD and personal devices. Amy and James both emphasized that insurance companies are increasingly insistent on verifiable evidence that data protection policies apply to every device with data access. Failure to comply with these mandates, or misrepresenting coverage in pre-insurance questionnaires, may not only result in claim denials but also expose the MSP to downstream liability and litigation risk. They also stressed the need for clear contractual exclusions and robust internal insurance for the MSP to mitigate risk transfer. A secondary theme centered on the competitive pressure local and regional MSPs face from consolidation through roll-ups and the expansion of national firms. Both speakers identified differentiating on local presence and community engagement, such as sponsoring local events or supporting local causes, as key strategies for smaller providers. Additional discussion covered the new NSITSP accreditation and CE program, designed to establish a credentialing framework for MSPs, analogous to existing models in law and accounting. Amy suggested that the ability to market accredited status would address client needs for objective quality comparison between providers. Takeaways for MSPs, IT service providers, and decision-makers include the importance of establishing precise, documented security controls aligned with insurance requirements, especially for unmanaged or BYOD endpoints. Clear, detailed contractual language is necessary to define service boundaries and liabilities. Maintaining up-to-date accreditations and engaging in ongoing staff education were discussed as foundational to both risk management and market differentiation. Finally, operational alignment with insurance, accreditation, and community expectations represents both a risk-reduction tool and a practical framework for navigating consolidation and regulatory scrutiny in the current environment.How do I protect my MSP from roll-ups and national firms? Question of the Week: How do I protect my MSP from competition from roll-ups and big national firms? Lean into being local, unique, and personal. NSITSP CE Program: NSITSP launches CE-accredited programs, with Bigger Brains, IT Services University, and Karl Palachuk among the first providers. What does this mean for MSPs, and who is leading education in our industry?https://nsitsp.org/education/ Cyber Insurance Controls: Insurers are demanding more than security controls—they want a complete inventory of every device touching client data, including BYOD and contractor devices. What MSPs need to know.https://www.channelpronetwork.com/2026/08/26/cyber-insurance-device-requirements-what-msps-need-to-know/ Tales from the Field: The computer that turns itself off — a story from Nathan Fay. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this special episode of Reimagining Cyber, Tyler Moffitt hosts the podcast for the final time — looking back on 15 years in cybersecurity, the lessons he's learned from speaking with security practitioners, researchers, MSPs and incident responders, and how dramatically the threat landscape has evolved.Tyler and incoming host Keelin Conant explore the shift from early malware and ransomware to double extortion, data theft and increasingly sophisticated nation-state activity. They also discuss how AI is accelerating the speed at which new exploits and attacks move from proof of concept into the wild.The conversation covers why organizations should report cybercrime to law enforcement, the role cryptocurrency trails can play in investigations, and the increasingly blurred line between financially motivated ransomware groups and nation-state operations.Looking ahead, Tyler shares some practical advice for defenders: treat identity as part of the security perimeter, limit privileges, protect administrative accounts, prepare for AI agents with excessive permissions, test backups, run tabletop exercises and focus on the fundamentals.But this episode is ultimately about more than technology. Tyler and Keelin discuss the importance of people, curiosity and human experience in cybersecurity — and why, despite changing technology and evolving attackers, there will always be a need to understand what is really happening and what defenders should do about it.As Tyler hands over the hosting role to Keelin, the next chapter of Reimagining Cyber begins.In this episode:15 years of cybersecurity lessonsHow ransomware has evolvedAI and the acceleration of cyber threatsWhy organizations should report cybercrimeNation-state attacks and ransomware-for-hireIdentity as the new security perimeterAI agents, permissions and OAuth tokensIncident response and tabletop exercisesWhy cybersecurity fundamentals still matterThe human side of cybersecurityTyler's final episode and Keelin's new chapter as hostAs featured on Million Podcasts' Best 100 Cybersecurity Podcasts  Top 50 Chief Information Security Officer CISO Podcasts Top 70 Security Hacking PodcastsThis list is the most comprehensive ranking of Cyber Security Podcasts online and we are honoured to feature amongst the best!Follow or subscribe to the show on your preferred podcast platform.Share the show with others in the cybersecurity world.Get in touch via reimaginingcyber@gmail.com

Many MSPs and businesses believe they're prepared for an outage because they have backups, redundant internet connections, or cloud-based applications. In reality, most recovery strategies fall apart when tested in real-world scenarios. In this episode of MSP 1337, Chris Johnson sits down with Charles Love of Showtech Solutions to explore the dangerous gap between perceived resilience and actual preparedness. They discuss why incident response plans must come before tabletop exercises, how internet redundancy often fails under scrutiny, and why MSPs should treat their own operational dependencies with the same rigor they apply to clients. From protecting the "core four" business applications to safeguarding documentation, passwords, and recovery keys, this conversation delivers practical guidance for building recovery plans that work when systems fail and chaos begins.

In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, TD SYNNEX's Nick Such discusses how the MSP Evolve™ framework helps Managed Service Providers scale recurring revenue and navigate growing market pressures. The episode addresses key industry challenges, including security threats, talent shortages, and rapid technology changes.Episode HighlightsTailored Support: How MSP Evolve™ meets MSPs where they are rather than using a one-size-fits-all model.Core High-Growth Technologies: Leveraging resources across cybersecurity, hybrid cloud, and Destination AI.Six-Pillar Framework: Practical support to streamline operations, gain certifications, and drive measurable business outcomes.

A structural transfer of liability and risk is reshaping industry engagement models, with outcome-based contracting increasing across service agreements. This shift is being driven by buyer demands for accountability in technology solutions, notably in artificial intelligence deployments, and is illustrated by recent unpublished but credible reports that OpenAI is quietly allowing select large enterprise customers to pay only when AI tasks are successfully completed. Supporting research from Gartner and CIO Dive highlights a growing disparity: while 19% of service buyers seek outcome-based payment models, only 13% of agreements from sellers currently accommodate them. The core development spotlighted is the disconnect between expectations for measurable AI-driven business outcomes and the lack of empirical evidence that such technologies are delivering on those promises at the organizational level. A large-scale survey by the National Bureau of Economic Research, encompassing nearly 6,000 senior executives across four countries, found that over 89% reported no observable improvement in employment or labor productivity from AI investments during the past three years, despite substantial organizational changes and budget reallocations. Additionally, research by Thomson Reuters found that 91% of 1,800 professionals reported their organizations were not realizing expected AI value, identifying a gap in demonstrable returns even while the technology is being deployed. Supporting data from Techaisle reveals partner capability thins dramatically as customers progress into advanced AI adoption stages. Most channel providers retain capacity only for basic "estate" work, with capability dropping to near zero for the most advanced client needs. Forrester has also identified persistent barriers to reliable measurement, such as fragmented and inconsistent data baselines, as well as dependencies on customer-side decisions. These factors magnify contract risk and reinforce the liability shift toward providers, who become responsible for defining, measuring, and underwriting outcomes without always possessing necessary levers or data. The operational implication for MSPs and IT service providers is heightened exposure to contractual and financial risk when agreeing to outcome-based terms, especially without mechanisms to price or control every relevant input. Providers are often unable to flow contract risk upstream to vendors or technology manufacturers, as their own agreements typically exclude outcomes. The episode concludes that early engagement and proactive definition of acceptable, controllable outcomes is essential, as outcome-based demands are likely to appear pre-baked in future client agreements, shifting bargaining power away from providers unprepared to quantify their exposure. Using data from their own worst-performing months, documenting client dependencies as contract conditions, and piloting outcome-based lines in otherwise standard agreements are outlined as practical tactics to mitigate downside risk before broader market adoption. 00:00 Four Numbers, One Cause 03:45 What You Ask For When You Can't Tell 06:45 Nobody Underneath You 10:20 Why Do We Care? Supported by: Guardz ScalePad

In this insightful episode of MSP Business School, host Brian Doyle welcomes esteemed guest Dave Sobel to discuss the hot topics circulating at the recent GTIA event, ChannelCon, in San Diego. The conversation dives into the prevailing discourse around artificial intelligence (AI) within the Managed Services Provider (MSP) space. Both Brian and Dave reflect on the parallels between the current AI boom and historical tech transformations, like the Internet and cloud computing. The episode focuses on the need for MSPs to thoughtfully engage with AI, recognizing both the hype and the genuine business applications it brings forth. The dialogue progresses to address the delicate balance MSPs must maintain between educating and collaborating with clients on AI strategies, avoiding a stance that might come across as overly risk-averse. With AI consumption models evolving rapidly and differently, insights about navigating these changes are provided, emphasizing a strategic approach that aligns technology with business outcomes. Dave Sobel points out that deliberate action is more critical than ever, particularly as the MSPs' advisory role grows in importance to help clients harness AI's full potential while managing costs proficiently. Key Takeaways: Evolution of AI in MSPs: Understand the AI journey, drawing parallels with past innovations such as the Internet and cloud computing, while planning deliberate and thoughtful integration strategies. Strategic Positioning: MSPs should continue to position themselves as partners in AI's progression, providing expertise in selecting right tools and technologies that benefit businesses, without succumbing to the pressure of moving too hastily. AI's Economic Impact: The economic dynamics of AI differ from traditional software; increased AI usage may lead to higher expenses. Thus, understanding consumption billing and its implications is crucial. Customer Engagement: Proactive, collaborative conversations with clients about AI adoption and governance are essential, moving beyond fear-based tactics to foster innovation. Profitability Focus: Rather than rushing, focus on sustainable, profitable growth, aligning technological advancements with clients' specific needs and risk tolerances. Guest Name: Dave Sobel LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesobel/ Company: MSP Radio Company Website: https://businessof.tech/subscribe/ Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Host Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylevciotoolbox/ Sponsor vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com

The episode reveals a structural shift away from indiscriminate adoption of AI tools toward targeted deployment based on business needs within the MSP sector. According to Uptime Global, a channel-only outsourcing provider, premature or hype-driven implementation of AI frequently results in incomplete projects and missed operational gains. The review of AI execution within MSP ticketing environments shows that sustainable value emerges when organizations align AI initiatives with clearly identified business issues, rather than searching for use cases to justify a technology already acquired. Concrete evidence from Uptime Global's experience indicates that approximately 25% of their MSP partners have deployed notable AI solutions beyond ticket triage functions in the past 18 months, according to Jason Kemsley, Chief Revenue Officer. Outcomes vary: roughly half saw ticket volume reductions of 10–25%, while the remainder experienced limited value or customer dissatisfaction tied to inadequate human involvement in support processes. Uptime's operational model uses a confidence threshold for AI-driven actions, where only outputs above 98% confidence automatically execute—mirroring human engineer accuracy rates—and anything below triggers human review. Supporting developments further highlight the shift's operational impact. Uptime Global has eliminated dedicated triage and dispatch roles due to increased AI efficiency, resulting in a role blend where “first responders” now handle both traditional triage and basic technical support tasks within set time limits . The company's pricing structure is affected by AI efficiency, creating margin pressure as contract models based on per-ticket or per-device pricing are exposed to declining ticket volume and shifting customer expectations around service value and outcomes. For MSPs and IT service providers, the operational implications center on increased pricing pressure, the erosion of certain labor-based roles, and the requirement to redesign governance and accountability models to accommodate both automated and human ticket outcomes. Vendor dependency grows as MSPs rely on AI-driven platforms to triage, allocate, and resolve tickets, increasing exposure to platform-specific risks and necessitating clear thresholds for AI confidence and human intervention. Contract structures that do not account for dynamic efficiency gains may create pricing misalignment and customer dissatisfaction over time, emphasizing the need for providers to actively manage and transparently communicate both the tradeoffs and limits of AI-enabled support. Supported by:ProofpointScalePad

A growing gap between artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and effective data governance is reshaping the operational landscape for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service providers. Industry data cited by GTIA's Data and AI Interest Group indicates that while 97% of providers have adopted AI, only 20% have implemented governance frameworks sufficient to extract value or mitigate risk. This structural mismatch is driving increased scrutiny from regulatory authorities and forcing MSPs to revisit internal decision-making, especially regarding data integrity and platform selection. Supporting this trend, a Federation of Small Businesses report found 86% of organizations in the UK are struggling with AI and data governance adoption, often uncertain about where to begin. Hollie Whittles, co-founder of Purple Frog Data, described practical barriers: many businesses believe their data is clean and structured but are routinely confronted with evidence of significant inconsistencies and errors during implementation. The cost of remediation and governance, including board-level buy-in, can climb to tens of thousands of pounds, highlighting the substantial upfront investment required before AI can deliver reliable business value. Operational vulnerability is further magnified by ease-of-use pitfalls and vendor relationships. MSPs lacking in-house data engineering or readiness tools frequently misjudge the scale and complexity of cleaning and securing client data estates. Whittles warned of scenarios where consultants, through careless or uninformed data modelling (such as over-exposing HR data in reporting tools), inadvertently increase both cyber and confidentiality risks. Some firms approach the problem by retaining all data and tooling within clients' own cloud tenants, shifting data residency and associated risks directly to clients, but raising new questions of contractual clarity and due diligence. For MSPs and IT leaders, these developments reinforce the need for explicit governance structures, clear contractual provisions regarding data handling, and internal upskilling rather than relying solely on third-party expertise. Short-term revenue can be lost to competitors willing to bypass governance, but there's an increased long-term risk of error, replacement, or regulatory sanction. Effective governance not only requires financial investment, but also consistent participation from leadership to avoid operational blind spots and to ensure client obligations—and liabilities—are clearly defined and managed. Supported by: ProofpointGoTo (LogMeIn)

The episode centers on a structural shift driven by the falling cost of AI-assisted insight extraction and its impact on how buyers assess technology providers. Referencing companies such as OpenAI and Google, as well as research from the AI Revenue Institute and Gartner, Dave Sobel highlights how lowered model prices enable automated systems to rapidly analyze vendor documentation and shape procurement decisions, fundamentally changing the basis of competition from persuasion to transparent, retrievable data. A recent AI Revenue Institute study, as cited by Dave Sobel, found that over half of surveyed decision-makers had removed a vendor from consideration after an AI assistant highlighted a documented shortcoming. Simultaneously, OpenAI and Google have reduced their top-tier AI model pricing, with OpenAI dropping costs by more than 20% and Google offering a temporary 50% cut before reverting. Analysis from TD Cowen and Business Insider shows that such price cuts have driven up both usage and revenue, with OpenAI's low-cost models experiencing a 14-fold usage increase post-reduction. These developments are reinforced by Gartner's identification of the “inference paradox,” where greater AI capabilities and lower per-query costs actually raise overall spend due to increased volume and complexity of tasks. Supporting data includes Google's reported 50x annual increase in tokens processed and a Deloitte case of a healthcare provider with unplanned AI costs rising as much as 3x in a year. Alongside this, Pew Research identifies that a third of new web content on commercial sites is machine-generated, leading platforms like LinkedIn to introduce AI-detection and downranking measures. For MSPs and IT leaders, the implications are direct. Automated buyer research now prioritizes concrete, extractable data over marketing language; any absence or non-disclosure—especially around pricing—can result in removal from consideration without notice. Publishing specific, measurable facts (service boundaries, pricing logic, response times with dates) increasingly determines whether a provider is surfaced or omitted by AI agents assembling comparative analyses. Failure to clearly define offerings and exclusions results in unfavorable inferences or comparisons, increasing operational risk and transfer of accountability away from the provider. 00:00 The Buyers Brought a Machine 03:45 Cheaper Made It Bigger 06:49 Your Website Is a Deposition 10:06 Why Do We Care? Supported by: Proofpoint HaloPSA

“Hybrid used to be a transition strategy. It shouldn't be anymore. It should be the strategy.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Tim Mandell of Leaseweb continues an ongoing discussion about infrastructure strategy and why MSPs should think workload-first rather than defaulting every application to the cloud. Leaseweb is a private and sovereign infrastructure-as-a-service provider offering colocation, public cloud, private cloud, bare metal and other infrastructure options. Mandell says the company's technology-agnostic model makes it a natural fit for MSPs because Leaseweb can provide the underlying infrastructure without competing for the MSP's customer relationship. The key shift, Mandell says, is moving from a cloud-first mindset to a workload-first strategy. Different workloads have different requirements. A predictable, repetitive workload may be more cost-effective on dedicated infrastructure. Applications that need to scale rapidly may belong in public cloud. Sensitive workloads may be better suited to private cloud, while latency-sensitive applications may require edge infrastructure. “Not everything is optimized from a performance or cost standpoint in a cloud environment,” Mandell says. That makes hybrid infrastructure more than a temporary stop on the way to public cloud. MSPs should instead treat public cloud, private cloud, bare metal, dedicated servers and edge infrastructure as tools that can be combined according to the customer's actual business needs. Choice can also become a competitive advantage. Mandell warns against placing every customer into the same stack simply because it is familiar. “If you start looking under the hood, you may find opportunities to improve performance and significantly reduce cost,” he says. “That creates better margins and better value for the customer.” Start with the workload Mandell recommends that MSPs begin with a workload assessment rather than a technology discussion. Ask what the workload does, what success looks like, what performance is required, and what business outcome the customer is trying to achieve. MSPs should then document why each workload is placed where it is, establish measurable financial and performance benchmarks, and revisit those decisions regularly. Quarterly business reviews can provide a natural opportunity to determine whether the original placement still makes sense. Regulatory changes, data sovereignty requirements, AI workloads and new customer demands may all require workloads to move over time. The larger goal is to become a long-term trusted adviser rather than simply selling a particular infrastructure stack. “Ask better questions, listen more and understand what the customer is actually trying to accomplish,” Mandell says. Visit Leaseweb.com to learn more.  

“We work for you—the partner.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Mark Sher, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing at Intermedia, discusses how the company's embedded Microsoft Teams solution can help MSPs simplify business communications, strengthen customer relationships and create new recurring revenue. Intermedia is an intelligent communications provider serving small and midsized businesses primarily through the channel. More than 80 percent of the company's revenue comes through partners, shaping how Intermedia develops, deploys and supports its products. Sher says businesses ultimately need communications technology to accomplish two things: enable employees to collaborate internally and connect the business with customers, vendors and other outside parties. Microsoft Teams has become highly effective at the first. Intermedia's embedded Teams solution is designed to bring voice and broader external communications into the same environment. “To the extent that someone is already using Microsoft Teams for collaboration, we can bring in that second piece in a really cohesive way,” Sher says. Intermedia embeds its communications capabilities directly inside Teams while running voice on Intermedia's own network. Customers therefore do not need to purchase a separate Microsoft Teams Voice license. That architecture also provides an additional business continuity option. If Teams becomes unavailable, users can access Intermedia's communications services through the web and continue working until Teams returns. The offering extends beyond basic voice. Intermedia supports SMS, AI-powered call recap, archiving and broader customer experience capabilities, including omnichannel CX, AI agent assist and AI supervisor assist. Partners can also tailor the communications package at the individual-user level, allowing customers to pay for the capabilities particular employees actually require. For MSPs, Sher says the larger opportunity is economic. Many Intermedia partners operate as true resellers, purchasing services wholesale and reselling them under their own customer relationships. That enables partners to recognize top-line revenue, establish their own pricing and retain the customer relationship rather than functioning simply as agents. “The partner owns the customer relationship,” Sher says. “Our customer is the partner.” That model also allows MSPs to bundle communications with security, desktop support, networking and other managed services, creating a more differentiated offering than simply reselling another Teams license. Visit Intermedia to learn more about its embedded Teams solution and partner program.

The central structural shift discussed is the repricing and erosion of the MSP business model as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation impact service delivery, pricing models, and margin structures. Analysis referenced recent polling and reporting, including the Omnia poll of 22,000 MSP partners and Service Leadership's financial benchmarking. The integration of AI is reducing direct labor requirements and shifting traditional cost structures—posing both short-term increases in service margins for top-tier MSPs and complex, longer-term risks to the per-user pricing paradigm. Vendors, such as ConnectWise and RapidScale, are central to these developments, as their platforms, pricing models, and reporting mechanisms increasingly determine downstream MSP economics. Supporting evidence from Service Leadership's recent profitability report shows top quartile MSPs achieved a service multiple of wages (SMW) of 3.01—a level reached previously only during periods of wage collapse. The report also highlights that this margin growth is isolated: while the best-in-class are realizing sharply higher service margins, the median and bottom quartile remain flat. Reporting and analysis attributed this phenomenon to the earliest and most effective adopters of automation, particularly service desk automation aligned with AI, according to theories discussed with Service Leadership and ConnectWise representatives. However, there is a notable lack of definitive causation, as Service Leadership states the link between AI adoption and observed margin increases remains a working theory pending further data. Additional developments reinforce the risk environment. Nearly 43% of surveyed MSPs are actively considering alternatives to per-user pricing, with another 17% acknowledging a need to change their pricing but lacking a defined direction. Industry analysis notes that consumption-based models—such as token-based or outcome-based pricing—present challenges, including unpredictable vendor cost structures and difficulties in measuring actual results achieved. Meanwhile, the risk of vendor-driven reenactment of break-fix economics and cost volatility increases, with some vendors already raising prices significantly to offset their own AI-related costs, pointing toward future margin compression downstream. For MSPs and IT service providers, the operational implications are immediate and material. Providers face growing exposure to pricing and margin risk, especially as clients begin to recognize and challenge efficiency gains achieved by automation. Structurally, there is rising accountability for justifying service costs and delivering new forms of value outside commoditized support. Continued reliance on legacy pricing models without adaptation to AI-driven changes increases the risk of eroded margins or adverse contract negotiations. The most resilient operators will need to stabilize internal cost structures, reconsider client contracts, monitor vendor behavior closely, and prepare for increased customer scrutiny on both cost and deliverables. Supported by: GuardzScalePad

“We built CueTime to make stage timing cleaner, faster and more efficient—for both the production team and the presenter.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Eyal Simko, founder of CueTime, discusses how the company is modernizing stage timing and presenter communication for live events, corporate environments, education, government and AV integration. CueTime combines a confidence monitor with an integrated stage timer, giving presenters a single line of sight for notes, timing and messages from the production team. The system can display count-up and countdown timers along with discreet instructions such as “speak louder” or “roam the stage,” allowing offstage teams to communicate with presenters without interrupting the audience experience. Simko says the platform was developed from more than two decades of experience in event production, where traditional timer systems can create unnecessary cabling, setup time and stage clutter. CueTime can be deployed in as little as 26 seconds from its flight case to an operational system. “It's about streamlining the process for the people behind the scenes while enhancing the experience for the presenter,” Simko says. The company offers several configurations, including its Elite, Elite LP low-profile model and standalone Pro timer. Devices support touchscreen operation, Power over Ethernet, HDMI output and over-the-air firmware updates. CueTime can also integrate with platforms including Crestron, Q-SYS and Bitfocus Companion, opening opportunities beyond traditional event production. Universities can use the system for classroom timing and examinations. Government organizations can deploy it for meetings and voting sessions, while enterprises can use CueTime in conference rooms, auditoriums and executive presentation spaces. The platform can operate over wired networks, Wi-Fi or its own internal hotspot, enabling use even where internet connectivity is unavailable. Simko says that flexibility also makes CueTime an opportunity for AV integrators, MSPs and other channel partners looking to expand into collaboration and presentation environments. “Any space being used for meetings or presentations needs some way to stay on track,” Simko says. Visit CueTime.io to learn more and try the platform.  

Send us Fan MailSaurabh Sandhir, CEO and Co-Founder of Kipling Secure, joins Joey Pinz for a sharp conversation on AI risk, MSP opportunity, and the personal journey from India to Silicon Valley leadership. Saurabh shares how his early exposure to engineering, Atari BASIC, IIT Delhi, Purdue, Juniper, Ericsson, Nokia, and Nuage Networks shaped the way he thinks about technology, business, and leadership.The conversation moves into one of the most important issues facing businesses today: unmanaged AI. Saurabh explains how AI adoption is creating new risks around shadow AI, sensitive data exposure, AI-specific attacks, and misleading content. His message is clear: AI should not be blocked, but it must be governed.For MSPs and MSSPs, Saurabh sees a major opportunity. Kipling Secure helps service providers turn AI risk into a new recurring revenue stream through AI Detection and Response built for multi-tenant MSP workflows.The episode closes with a thoughtful discussion on discipline, identity, humility, and why lasting consistency comes from who you are—not just what you force yourself to do. Top 3 Highlights

A persistent governance gap is evident in current IT operations, as credential management and authorization checks fail to keep pace with increased automation and AI integration. This is visible in incidents involving major vendors such as N-able (through Passportal), Anthropic's Claude, AI-based retail management at Andon Labs, and legacy industrial controllers monitored by agencies like the NSA, CISA, and FBI. The episode highlights how systems are increasingly reliant on automated actors and credentialed assistants, while foundational questions of access rights and accountability remain unresolved. The most consequential case centers on a vulnerability in N-able's Passportal browser extension, disclosed by security researcher James Arnott. The flaw allowed any website—or embedded ad—to request and obtain session tokens, enabling decryption of entire password vaults. This affected approximately 2,500 MSPs and 165,000 SMBs, with each stolen token remaining valid for 100 days. N-able patched the issue quickly, but Dave Sobel emphasizes that the responsibility for checking permitted actions within such systems is often misattributed or left unaddressed. Supporting developments reinforce this governance gap. An AI assistant exploited poor authorization in an Australian gym reservation system, canceling another user's booking without hacking or unauthorized login. Similar risks persist in industrial environments, where controllers for energy, water, and agriculture often lack basic authentication—exposing them to AI-generated exploitation scripts, according to joint agency warnings. Additionally, retail automation at Andon Labs revealed AI-driven policy lapses, where systems cannot reliably document or enforce their own rules, highlighting operational weaknesses. Operationally, MSPs face increased risk from both their own service infrastructure and client environments. The practical recommendation is to issue discrete, revocable credentials tailored to each system agent, limiting their scope and ensuring traceable accountability. Providers are advised to formally define and document their responsibility boundaries regarding access and permissions in third-party applications. These steps shift the focus from attempting to control every client-side variable to clear documentation and compartmentalization, reducing dispute risk and speeding incident investigations. 00:00 The Gym Class and the Vault 03:39 The Check Was Always a Person  06:37 Your Tools Ask the Wrong Question 10:27 Why Do We Care?    Supported by:  GoTo(LogMeIn)Proofpoint 

Buyers treat your month-end close as a maturity test. Closing inside two weeks reads as a well-run business. Taking two months invites questions, no matter how good the underlying numbers turn out to be. In part 4 of the CEO Optional series, Mike Harvath, Ryan Barnett, and Matt Lockhart look at what happens when the real financial picture of an IT services firm lives only in the owner's head or their inbox, and what it takes to get it out into a system the whole team can see. They cover the accounting foundations buyers actually check, which operating numbers belong in front of the sales and delivery teams, and the review cadence that makes it stick. This is a conversation about IT services M&A readiness rather than day to day bookkeeping. Financial visibility is one of the things that separates a business a buyer can underwrite from one that carries an obvious founder dependency discount. CHAPTERS 0:00 Show open 0:23 Where this sits in the CEO Optional series 0:59 Why founder-led firms end up CEO dependent 3:12 The cost of keeping the numbers in the owner's head 4:29 Month-end close speed as a maturity test 5:51 The opposite failure: outsourcing too far 7:24 Push the KPIs out to the organization 8:40 What good enough looks like: cash to accrual 11:24 Documented policies and review by outsiders 12:54 Which numbers to put in front of the team 16:50 Teaching the team how the levers add up 21:09 Transparency as a lubricant for the business 23:53 Building a cadence around the numbers 27:23 Forecasting rigor and why it adds value 28:46 Sign-off KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. A month-end close inside two weeks reads as mature to a buyer. A close that takes two months raises questions before the diligence conversation even starts. 2. The CEO should know revenue and profitability off the top of their head. The bookkeeping and the financial strategy grind belong to a CFO, a fractional CFO, or a strong outsourced partner. 3. Outsourcing too far is its own failure. A founder who cannot demonstrate command of their own numbers in front of a buyer looks just as bad as one who never delegated. 4. Moving from cash to accrual accounting is the key first step toward a GAAP standard, and it usually starts to matter in the three to five million dollar revenue band. 5. Push the operating levers, utilization, realization, and gross margin, out to the sales and delivery teams who can actually move them. LINKS Read the companion article: https://www.revenuerocket.com/it-services-ma-financial-transparency-ceo-optional/ What is your IT services business worth: https://www.revenuerocket.com/ev-2-0-2/ Schedule a confidential conversation: https://www.revenuerocket.com/contact-us/ All Shoot the Moon episodes: https://www.revenuerocket.com/series/shoot-the-moon/ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shoot-the-moon-with-revenue-rocket/id1478519505 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6y7u9KuOjaplhScHtINGZU Questions on measuring utilization versus realization: info@revenuerocket.com ABOUT REVENUE ROCKET Revenue Rocket is a sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on IT services companies, including MSPs, cybersecurity, cloud, custom application development, and VARs. Based in Bloomington, Minnesota, we have spent 25+ years helping technology services founders buy, sell, and grow. If you are weighing an exit, an acquisition, or simply what your company is actually worth, schedule a confidential conversation: https://www.revenuerocket.com/contact-us/ #ITServicesMA #MergersAndAcquisitions #MSP #ExitStrategy #ShootTheMoon #RevenueRocket #CEOOptional Listen to Shoot the Moon on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Buy, sell, or grow your tech-enabled services firm with Revenue Rocket.

The core structural shift highlighted is the disconnect between service reliability gains from AI automation and readiness for strategic change among IT service providers and their clients. Reports from SolarWinds, Corsica Technologies, and Deloitte reveal that AI is delivering measurable productivity benefits, but those time savings are consumed by ongoing reliability work rather than being directed toward governance, process redesign, or workforce adaptation. This leaves most organizations with improved operations but unprepared to leverage AI for broader business transformation, creating a gap between what clients say they want and what providers are set up to deliver. SolarWinds' 2026 State of ITSM report found that 84% of IT teams report AI meeting or exceeding their return on investment expectations, with teams recovering roughly three hours per week in several core areas, such as issue detection and ticket triage. However, almost the same amount of capacity is then redirected to keeping those new AI systems running—83% of teams spend three or more hours weekly maintaining AI reliability. Simultaneously, Corsica Technologies' Censuswide research among 600 IT and security leaders at U.S. mid-sized businesses found that 96% claim to trust their MSP, yet two-thirds are considering switching within 12 months, citing limited AI or automation support as one of the top reasons. Additional research contextualizes the readiness gap. According to a PwC survey, only 5% of organizations report their business processes as highly prepared for AI agents, and a Cloudera study found that 95% of large companies delayed or canceled at least one AI project in the past year due to governance, compliance, or regulatory concerns. The episode also notes a public sentiment shift, citing a Pew Research poll in which over half of American adults express more concern than excitement about AI—a trend particularly strong among people under 30. Vendor product launches from companies like Kaseya and Syncro are described as offering only superficial differentiation in this environment. For MSPs and IT leaders, this dynamic presents operational risks. The default allocation of AI-driven productivity gains toward reliability tasks undermines investment in strategic readiness, reinforcing dependence on vendor offerings without improving meaningful differentiation. Most clients lack a specific benchmark for “AI readiness,” creating an open but temporary competitive opportunity for providers willing to define and document it for them. However, unless time and resources are explicitly earmarked for readiness activities—in governance, process adaptation, and client education—MSPs risk being evaluated on ill-defined criteria or commoditized platforms, increasing contract risk and exposing gaps in internal accountability. 00:00 The Two Numbers Don't Fit  04:52 Only One Half Can Take the Hours  08:02 Everyone Buys the Same Platform 11:20 Why Do We Care?  Supported by:  Pax8 TimeZest 

The core structural shift addressed in this episode centers on the unbundling and modularization of vendor platforms in the MSP technology market. This shift is exemplified by ThreatCaptain's launch of its Gen 4 product, which transitions from an all-encompassing platform to discrete modules aligned to specific MSP business challenges—lead generation, sales enablement, and ROI/risk analytics. The move is designed to align product structure and pricing more closely to the diverse operational maturity levels of MSPs, as described by Brad Powell, co-founder of ThreatCaptain. ThreatCaptain's Gen 4 is available in three modules priced at $199, $399, and $599, most notably a move away from the earlier $1,499 per month pricing reported in March. According to Brad Powell, this change was driven by limited adoption among smaller MSPs, with the prior model better suited to larger firms already equipped with mature sales teams. He cites customer Novus Insights as an example, attributing $80,000 in professional services revenue over three months and more than $1 million in expected ARR, but acknowledges this reflected a highly mature CISO-led operation. The vendor currently reports approximately 65 active paying MSP partners, intending to scale significantly. Supporting developments include the influence of insurance risk modeling and industry threat intelligence frameworks on new MSP toolsets. ThreatCaptain originally built its risk engine leveraging data from the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report and the Verizon DBIR, adapting these for SMB scenarios. The episode also highlights the role of information sharing organizations (ISAOs), with Brad Powell noting the challenges of translating technical threat data into actionable intelligence for SMB-focused MSPs and illustrating ongoing coordination and separation of threat feeds between vendor sales processes and industry sharing mechanisms. Operational implications for MSPs include increased need for prudent selection among modular product offerings, clarity around the scope and accountability of vendor-delivered analysis, and awareness of potential misalignments between vendor risk models and actual business outcomes. The trend underscores cost versus capability tradeoffs, especially for smaller providers balancing limited resources against the operational benefits of specialized tools. For MSPs participating in threat intelligence programs, there is also an ongoing requirement to maintain clear boundaries around shared data to prevent unintentional exposure or misapplication in commercial contexts. Supported By: ScalePad Pax8

The episode highlights the structural shift toward platform consolidation in security services, illustrated by Coro's unified security platform and its positioning for lean IT teams and MSPs. The mechanism involves the bundling of diverse security tools—email protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), DLP, security awareness, backup, and cloud app integrations—into a single, managed service. This reduces the operational overhead associated with managing multiple vendors, products, and contracts, a trend now pursued by both established enterprise providers and emergent channel-focused companies. The most significant development cited is Coro's integration of AI and automation within its platform, claiming, according to the company, that 92% to 96% of alert tickets generated by security modules are closed automatically by machine intelligence, depending on the month. The conversational AI integrations such as ChatGPT and Claude are presented as front-end layers through which practitioners can execute mundane security tasks—ticket management, host isolation, incident correlation—without direct console interaction. The claim of offloading 95% of workloads to automation is specified as relating to ticket processing volume, as clarified in the discussion. Supporting evidence centers on the operational layering of AI, with commentary on new risk profiles introduced by integrating large language models (LLMs) into security workflows. Concerns raised include rising exposure to prompt injection, shadow AI (untracked AI usage by end users), and unmanaged cost escalation linked to token-based billing models for third-party AI platforms. Coro's approach distinguishes between AI-related costs incurred internally (absorbed by the vendor) and those incurred when practitioners interact with external AI tools (borne by the MSP or their clients). The need for visibility into AI usage and structured user training is highlighted as a risk mitigation measure. Operationally, MSPs and IT providers face both increased efficiency and new complexity. Vendor dependency consolidates, reducing contract sprawl and administrative burden but raising questions about single-point-of-failure and stack lock-in. Billing risk shifts with AI consumption models, introducing liability for unexpected operational cost surges if token limits are not enforced. The requirement for effective governance intensifies as traditional security controls are extended by AI-managed processes and the detection of unauthorized AI activity becomes part of standard oversight. Providers are advised to scrutinize stack overlap, evaluate whether platform consolidation minimizes genuine operational friction, and remain cautious about over-relying on automated outcomes without maintaining direct accountability. Supported by: Pax8Proofpoint  

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