Microsoft's Cloud Growth Faces Partner Blame, Cynet's New CEO, and AI's Role in Healthcare Shift

[00:00:02] It's Thursday, February 6th, 2025 and I'm Dave Sill. Four things to know today. Microsoft's cloud keeps growing, so why the finger pointing at partners? Cynet brings in a heavy hitter, Jason McGee. What's next for this rising cybersecurity star? MSP 360 automates fixes and TeamViewer joins meetings and AI is learning to think harder, IT is leaning in to diversify, and healthcare is learning to let go.

[00:00:30] This is the Business of Tech. Listeners probably recognize that I often group by theme or by topic, market conditions, security, and the like. Today, I'm clearing the decks of stories I think are impactful despite not fitting cleanly into a bucket. While I covered Microsoft's earnings earlier, I'll give a quick recap. In its second quarter of 2025, Microsoft reported a revenue of $69.6 billion, marking a 12%

[00:00:58] increase from the previous year. What I noted this time and wanted to highlight was challenges in Azure sales were highlighted by Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, who attributed these difficulties to partner sales execution and foreign exchange rates. Despite these setbacks, the Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, saw revenues of $25.5 billion, a 19% increase year-over-year.

[00:01:24] Additionally, Microsoft's artificial intelligence business exceeded a $13 billion annual revenue run rate, more than doubling from the previous year. Now, why do we care? I feel like blaming your partners for your sales miss is a cheap move. Blaming partners for that sales miss is weak, especially for a company of Microsoft's scale. If partner sales execution is a problem, that reflects on Microsoft's enablement strategy,

[00:01:49] training, or incentive structures. Microsoft's partner ecosystem is massive and influential, but it also operates under Microsoft's rules. If execution is lacking, the company should be looking at how it's supporting and managing that network rather than shifting blame. The fact that Microsoft is pointing to partner execution as an issue suggests that organic Azure growth isn't as strong as they'd like. If demand were overwhelming, execution wouldn't be the headline issue. It would

[00:02:17] be keeping up with it. Instead, this suggests customers may be hesitating, possibly due to cost concerns, multi-cloud strategies, or broader economic uncertainty. Microsoft's cloud business is still growing in a strong clip. 19% year-over-year in this economy isn't exactly a disaster. Blaming partners feels like a red flag for broader Azure sales challenges, not just an execution hiccup.

[00:02:42] IT providers in the Microsoft ecosystem should be watching for shifts in partner strategy. Are incentives changing? Is Microsoft prioritizing direct sales over channel growth? This could impact long-term opportunities for service providers relying on Microsoft as a key vendor. Are your customers getting the most from their Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscriptions? Are you

[00:03:07] delivering maximum value while ensuring best-in-class margins? Nerdio's new modern work features let you streamline the management of Microsoft technologies like Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Intune, and Defender. Reduce the need for multiple tools, consolidate your vendor stack, and deliver greater value to your customer. Help your customers maximize their investments, free up your team for strategic tasks,

[00:03:32] and drive meaningful business outcomes. With Nerdio Manager for MSP, a single flexible platform with mix-and-match plans ensures a flexible perfect fit for you and your customers. Deliver solutions that achieve real business impact. Visit GetNerdio.com to find out more. Signet appointed Jason McGee as its new Chief Executive Officer, taking over from the founder Eli Grunder, who will now

[00:04:00] serve on the Board of Directors. McGee, previously the CEO of ConnectWise, brings two decades of leadership experience and a proven track record, having increased ConnectWise's annual recurring revenue by 300% and profitability by over 500%. He expressed excitement about leading Signet during a critical growth period, especially as demand for managed cybersecurity services rises. Under Bruner, Signet achieved significant milestones, including a

[00:04:26] perfect score in the 2024 MITRE attack evaluation, detecting 100% of threats tested and blocking all simulated attacks. Why do we care? Bringing in Jason McGee signals that Signet is shifting from a founder-led growth strategy to a more structured and scale-focused approach. His track record at ConnectWise, tripling recurring revenue and significantly boosting profitability, suggests Signet is preparing for aggressive expansion, possibly eyeing

[00:04:55] new markets, acquisitions or even a future exit. McGee's background at ConnectWise is notable because it suggests Signet may be looking to deepen its engagement with managed service providers and managed security service providers. Signet has historically positioned itself as an easy-to-deploy security solution for mid-market companies, so expect more MSP-friendly offerings, integrations or even new pricing models.

[00:05:23] MSP360 announced the launch of RMM version 2.2, including smart alert profiles that automate issue resolution for its remote monitoring and management platform. These new profiles allow users to manage alerts efficiently across organizations and trigger automatic remediation actions, addressing problems before administrators even notice them. The enhancements include three levels of configuration,

[00:05:47] global, company and computer, providing greater control over alert management. Notably, the platform now supports executing custom scripts automatically in response to alerts, such as cleaning up disk space without manual intervention. CEO Brian Helwig emphasized that this upgrade marks a significant shift from passive monitoring to proactive incident response. TeamViewer announced a new integration with Google Meet that enhances remote support capabilities,

[00:06:15] aiming to improve collaboration for hybrid workforces. As businesses rely on Google Meet for communication, the integration allows IT teams to troubleshoot technical issues in real-time without leaving the platform. The TeamViewer remote control add-on enables seamless support sessions directly within Google Meet, requiring no installation for users. By streamlining the support process, businesses can resolve technical disruptions instantly, making meetings more efficient.

[00:06:42] TeamViewer emphasizes users' convenience and security in the integration, which is now available through the Google Workspace marketplace. Why do we care? So both MSP360 and TeamViewer are making moves to streamline IT management, but in different ways. MSP360 is advancing automation in RMM, while TeamViewer is embedding itself into everyday business collaboration tools.

[00:07:05] It's the evolution of the proactive story, now with automation and accessibility. Automate away as much as you can so that the system solves it, to be available for support within the productivity tools a customer uses. The integration with Google Meet removes a common friction point. Users don't want to leave a meeting to get IT help. This makes support more immediate and less disruptive. So consider this directional.

[00:07:31] What if an AI agent is there to also solve the problem? This area intrigues me, and providers should be paying attention. And some big ideas to ponder. One useful thing highlights the convergence of reasoning models and autonomous agents.

[00:07:51] The article discusses how OpenAI's new Reasoner models have improved AI's problem-solving capabilities, allowing them to tackle complex issues in mathematics and logic more effectively than previous chatbots. One key finding is that reasoning models can enhance AI performance by simply allowing them to think longer before responding.

[00:08:11] The graduate-level Google-proof Q&A test indicates that even experts struggle outside their speciality, with a mere 34% success rate for PhDs. Meanwhile, the article introduces OpenAI's Deep Research, a specialized research agent that effectively engages with academic literature, producing high-quality analysis in a fraction of the time it would take a human.

[00:08:35] The author contrasts this with Google's recent offering, which, while generating more citations, lacks the depth and engagement of OpenAI's system. And with all the talk recently of platforms in the MSP world, I was drawn to an article by Rajat Vragava, a Forbes council member, the growing risks of IT monoculture being highlighted as a significant threat to organizations.

[00:08:58] Rajat Vragava points out that relying heavily on a single platform or technology can expose companies to systematic vulnerabilities. For instance, Microsoft holds an estimated 85% share of the Office productivity software market in the U.S. government, illustrating the potential fallout from a single point of failure. He references a vulnerability affecting 400 million users of Office 365 that allowed for a two-factor authentication bypass,

[00:09:24] underscoring the urgency for organizations to diversify their IT infrastructure. Vragava advocates for a flexible, mixed-platform approach to build resilience and foster innovation, urging companies to embrace diverse technologies and promote collaboration between IT and business units. The strategy not only mitigates risks, but also enhances organizational adaptability in an evolving technological landscape.

[00:09:50] And in a bold prediction in medical economics, Jock Putney, founder of WUWTA, suggests that by 2026, the majority of front-desk workers in healthcare will be replaced by artificial intelligence, which is evolving rapidly and can outperform humans in efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and communications. With AI systems now capable of managing hundreds of inquiries simultaneously, healthcare practices can enhance the patient experience while reducing operational costs.

[00:10:19] Concerns about losing the human touch and data security are addressed, with modern AI systems complying with stringent regulations like HIPAA. As the healthcare landscape shifts towards a digitally-driven experience, practitioners are encouraged to adopt these technologies to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world. Now, why do we care? Just as I present an idea of AI agents handling user needs directly, our colleagues in the medical field are considering the same approach.

[00:10:48] That's the question to ponder. And connecting the dots from the techniques I highlight here, and the outcome that may be quickly becoming the norm. Thanks for listening. Today is National Chopsticks Day, and National Frozen Yogurt Day, which absolutely do not go together. Nerdy Ocon will be held in Palm Springs, California from April 7th through 9th. Visit NerdyOcon.com to learn all about it.

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