For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), the key to success with Artificial Intelligence (AI) lies in delivering business results for customers, according to a panel of channel executives. The panel, which included Jennifer Roy, CEO of Nucleus Networks, emphasized that MSPs must focus on delivering business results for customers, rather than just pushing AI tools.
From Technology to Business Outcomes
Jennifer Roy noted that the conversation around AI should be about business outcomes, not technology outcomes. “It’s not a technology outcome. It’s a business outcome. Having those conversations, understanding their business and how AI can really optimize their business is where you have to lean in,” she said. This shift in focus requires MSPs to rethink how they run their own businesses and advise customers.
Carolyn April, vice president of research and market intelligence at GTIA, moderated the panel and pointed out that the channel is experiencing a familiar pattern, similar to the uncertainty faced when cloud computing emerged. “We said this about the cloud too, right? The cloud came out, and everyone was asking, ‘Do we really want to do this? What’s our value statement going to be if we move people to the cloud now?’ There was a lag,” she said.
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Trust and Data Governance
Carolyn April advised MSPs to resist the temptation to transform everything at once. “I would focus on improving your customer experience,” she said. “Put AI in your service delivery teams so they can respond faster, get through things faster. You can scale your business, deliver a better experience and grow without having to bring more resources in.”
Craig Fulton, M&A advisor at Evergreen, noted that the shift to outcome-based methodology is changing what customers expect from MSPs. “The challenge I think that we’re all facing with the channel is how do you evolve into this outcome-based methodology where the customers are actually asking for SLAs versus what’s the cost of a renewal?” he said. This change puts a premium on specialization, with more customers wanting partners who understand their businesses, not just deploy technology.
Jennifer Anaya, SVP of global marketing at Ingram Micro, believes that the channel should view this moment as an opportunity to think big and reduce friction, lower costs, and provide resources that MSPs cannot maintain themselves.
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Building or Buying AI Tools
Jonathan Philipsen, EVP of channel and alliances at Thrive, said that his company is approaching AI through two lenses: what it can purchase off the shelf to improve its own efficiency, and what it can develop into a differentiated capability. “That’s one of the use cases where people buy from us,” Philipsen said. “It’s not just that we have the platform. It allows us to have visibility into the larger clients, into their service desk and their backlogs. We have developers on staff, so we’re leveraging AI to develop transparent work streams back and forth.”
As AI continues to evolve, MSPs must adapt and provide value to their customers. By focusing on delivering business results for customers, MSPs can succeed. According to the panel, the next phase of AI adoption will not be won by the MSPs that push the most AI tools, but by the partners that can turn AI into business results for customers.
