RMM Vendor Space Analysis and AI Trends in the Tech Industry

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Business of Tech Lounge,

[00:00:15] the live version of the Business of Tech podcast.

[00:00:18] It's Wednesday, May 15th,

[00:00:20] 2024 and I'm Dave Sobel.

[00:00:22] Today on the show, some use cases

[00:00:24] for AI to consider for customers.

[00:00:27] Palo Alto Networks, Cisco,

[00:00:29] and CloudFlare all have

[00:00:30] new offerings as we come off the RSA conference.

[00:00:33] A look at my interview with Rob Begin on how to

[00:00:36] partner with Microsoft and a preview of

[00:00:39] this coming weekend's interview with

[00:00:41] Alcyon CEO, Niraj Tullia.

[00:00:43] Plus your comments and questions.

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[00:01:19] so make sure to put them in chat.

[00:01:21] There's a dedicated question section in

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[00:01:26] and we'll save questions for them,

[00:01:27] but chat comments will take throughout the show.

[00:01:31] Now, our top story.

[00:01:34] Let's start with a recent analysis of the RMM vendor space.

[00:01:40] The analysis starts with

[00:01:42] Kaseya's announcement of a bundled product strategy

[00:01:44] called Kaseya 365,

[00:01:46] offering remote monitoring and management,

[00:01:48] cybersecurity, and backup products for MSPs.

[00:01:51] This move could change the way MSPs buy from

[00:01:53] their core vendors and has the potential to

[00:01:55] commoditize managed detection and response.

[00:01:58] Competitors in the RMM space such as Connectwise Enable,

[00:02:01] will need to adapt quickly or risk

[00:02:04] becoming irrelevant.

[00:02:06] Now let's dive into the report with a series of quotes.

[00:02:11] The first, one can easily see a future in 10 or 20 years

[00:02:15] where as long as MSPs and endpoints still exist,

[00:02:18] Kaseya becomes the Microsoft of small business RMM,

[00:02:22] if Microsoft has not already done that first,

[00:02:24] and where its main rivals have been decimated

[00:02:27] or forced to shift into niche areas.

[00:02:30] It's happened time and again in different markets,

[00:02:33] and there are countless examples of companies

[00:02:35] dominating or even monopolizing markets,

[00:02:38] despite lower levels of product

[00:02:39] and or service capability and investment.

[00:02:42] For competitors like Connectwise Enable,

[00:02:44] Ninja One, Atera, or Syncro,

[00:02:46] there's a real danger that they could become

[00:02:49] completely irrelevant.

[00:02:51] Not because Kaseya is doing anything unprecedented

[00:02:54] or outstanding,

[00:02:55] but because its investors are willing to go all in

[00:02:58] to win the market and have the money to do so.

[00:03:01] Connectwise's investors have been trying to sell it

[00:03:04] for a long time and recover their investment,

[00:03:06] but are struggling to get the price they want.

[00:03:09] And then this segment,

[00:03:11] looking further into the future,

[00:03:12] it's clear that Kaseya is on a path to dominate

[00:03:15] the small business managed services market,

[00:03:17] not because it offers great products or services,

[00:03:20] its feedback from MSPs is legendarily bad,

[00:03:24] but because it and its investors have decided

[00:03:26] now is the time to start playing hardball

[00:03:29] and get into some classic market economics.

[00:03:32] The key for all vendors right now

[00:03:34] is to look deeper into their customer data.

[00:03:37] The opportunities for AI models

[00:03:38] and analyzing customer data to build demand profiles

[00:03:41] and then mapping this existing customer data

[00:03:44] to new customers are massive.

[00:03:46] Creating a much more in-depth profile

[00:03:48] of existing and potential new customers will be vital

[00:03:51] as we move into a heavily regulated era of data privacy.

[00:03:54] Partners regularly list new customer acquisition

[00:03:58] as one of their greatest business challenges.

[00:04:00] Any vendor that helps its partner ecosystem

[00:04:03] crack this code will be hugely successful.

[00:04:07] So a quick summary of the Enable earnings call to compare.

[00:04:13] Enable reported strong first quarter performance

[00:04:15] with revenue of $113.7 million,

[00:04:18] representing approximately 14% year over year growth.

[00:04:23] The company exceeded the high end

[00:04:25] of its top and bottom line guidance,

[00:04:28] showcasing the success of its product strategy.

[00:04:31] Enable's expanded product portfolio,

[00:04:33] including COVID data protection

[00:04:35] and its security product group resonated with customers.

[00:04:38] The company also highlighted the positive feedback

[00:04:41] received from its annual customer conference, Empower,

[00:04:44] where MSPs expressed optimism about their prospects

[00:04:47] and the growing opportunities in managing the cloud

[00:04:49] and addressing security challenges.

[00:04:51] Enable's financial outlook for the second

[00:04:53] and full year 2024 is positive

[00:04:56] with expected revenue growth of approximately 10%

[00:04:59] and adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 35%.

[00:05:03] I'll note that having analyzed the transcript,

[00:05:05] there was no AI focus.

[00:05:07] A disclosure, I'm a shareholder in Enable.

[00:05:10] And let's note that ConnectWise has appointed Rick Thorbeck

[00:05:14] as its new CFO, who brings experience with IPO readiness.

[00:05:18] Thorbeck will play a key role

[00:05:20] in shaping the company's financial strategy

[00:05:23] and his appointment has sparked speculation

[00:05:25] about the potential IPO for ConnectWise.

[00:05:27] Thorbeck's background includes strategic finance,

[00:05:30] mergers and acquisitions and enterprise software.

[00:05:34] So why do we care?

[00:05:37] First, Canalys has some data on the breakdown

[00:05:40] of the RMM and PSA vendor market

[00:05:43] on market share that I wanted to break down.

[00:05:46] And I'm putting it on screen for those on YouTube

[00:05:48] and we'll talk about it now.

[00:05:50] ConnectWise and Kaseya slash Datto

[00:05:52] represent over half the market.

[00:05:55] In theory, we can use Enable's value from their earnings

[00:05:58] to extrapolate the overall market

[00:06:00] as well as each individual company, should that be useful.

[00:06:03] Another quick view of the data,

[00:06:05] there are four players of size

[00:06:07] and another four who would see substantial gains

[00:06:10] just by acquiring customers from the larger players.

[00:06:15] Now I'll tease an upcoming interview with Michael George,

[00:06:17] the new CEO of Syncro, who observed he's in the game

[00:06:21] of acquiring from legacy players.

[00:06:23] He only has to target three.

[00:06:25] I will also observe that ConnectWise's hiring

[00:06:27] out of a new CFO likely points

[00:06:30] that need to drive to some market event,

[00:06:32] sale, IPO, something.

[00:06:35] So as for Canalys' take,

[00:06:37] the willingness of Kaseya investors to go deep

[00:06:40] is the game of chicken that matters.

[00:06:42] Their advice to vendors is spot on.

[00:06:45] So I'm gonna flip it here and interpret this for MSPs.

[00:06:49] MSPs, you essentially have two options.

[00:06:52] For this market, first, ride the investor wave

[00:06:55] and leverage price pressure to maximize your value

[00:06:59] while trying to ensure your needs are met.

[00:07:01] Or vote with your dollars

[00:07:03] and know that you're gambling that smaller players

[00:07:06] can be disruptive to drive to the end state

[00:07:09] and you will likely pay more now.

[00:07:12] It's up to you.

[00:07:13] So what do you think?

[00:07:14] Are you encouraged by these moves or wary?

[00:07:18] I'd certainly like to hear from you in the comments.

[00:07:21] And you got a question or a comment live,

[00:07:22] put it in the chat if you're watching us

[00:07:24] right as we stream.

[00:07:26] Now I got a couple of stories I wanna cover

[00:07:28] to talk some AI use cases.

[00:07:30] First, Sam's Club is using AI technology

[00:07:33] to combat shoplifting by analyzing photos

[00:07:37] of customers' carts and verifying them against the receipts

[00:07:40] as they exit the store.

[00:07:41] The solution has significantly reduced the time

[00:07:44] it takes to exit the store

[00:07:45] and improve customer experience.

[00:07:47] It's an example of how AI is being deployed

[00:07:49] in big organizations to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

[00:07:53] As AI evolves, it's expected to benefit smaller businesses

[00:07:57] as well in the coming years.

[00:08:00] And the New York Times dove into how airlines

[00:08:03] are utilizing AI to improve the flying experience.

[00:08:07] Tools like Connection Saver help airlines

[00:08:09] wait for delayed passengers

[00:08:11] while AI systems assist in planning efficient flight routes,

[00:08:15] saving fuel and time.

[00:08:16] Smart gating technology optimizes gate assignments,

[00:08:20] reducing the taxiing time.

[00:08:22] AI is also enhancing customer service

[00:08:24] by providing specific and timely information to passengers.

[00:08:28] And despite some limitations,

[00:08:30] the industry is expecting to be revolutionized by AI

[00:08:33] in the coming years.

[00:08:36] So why do we care?

[00:08:38] There's a lot of hype in the market right now

[00:08:40] and I'm covering a lot of rapid fire AI stories on the show.

[00:08:44] We've seen tons of announcements

[00:08:47] and amidst all the hype, I'm trying to focus on use cases.

[00:08:51] I'm trying to look for specific business cases

[00:08:54] that make you think about what others are using it for

[00:08:58] and how it can be relevant.

[00:09:00] But the theme we keep seeing is data management.

[00:09:04] That's the bit that really keeps mattering.

[00:09:07] And I keep focusing on how data management is working.

[00:09:11] And in fact, Rob, I'm right there with you in the comments,

[00:09:14] the ability to leverage AI and customer data

[00:09:16] to better service the MSP will be critical

[00:09:19] to the success of MSPs going forward.

[00:09:21] That's why we keep hitting on this space

[00:09:24] is because we wanna understand

[00:09:26] not only where it's going to be used

[00:09:28] and what those use cases are,

[00:09:30] but also the data analysis itself.

[00:09:32] And let me remind everyone

[00:09:34] that preparing your customers for it is part of the job.

[00:09:38] Most have not done a really good job

[00:09:41] of managing data for your customers

[00:09:44] and preparing it for AI.

[00:09:46] Even if you're not leaning into using AI

[00:09:49] or bringing out assistance or leaning into co-pilot,

[00:09:51] you've still got a role right now

[00:09:54] in preparing customers with data management.

[00:09:56] More than anything, making sure their data is ready

[00:09:59] for AI consumption, should they choose to do it,

[00:10:02] is a key element.

[00:10:03] And by the way, that work alone on its own

[00:10:07] is useful for analytics

[00:10:08] regardless of the way that you do it.

[00:10:10] Rob, thanks for being there with you.

[00:10:11] And we are taking questions and comments,

[00:10:14] put them in the chat if you've got something to say.

[00:10:16] Now, Rob joined me last week on the show

[00:10:20] and we talked about Microsoft and the way that you engage.

[00:10:23] Here's a piece of that interview.

[00:10:26] One of the things that I found really fascinating

[00:10:29] about the way that you work

[00:10:30] is you've got a very particular journey

[00:10:32] that you actually map out

[00:10:34] for helping partners work with Microsoft.

[00:10:37] Give me a little bit of an overview of how that all works.

[00:10:41] Yeah, and over the years I've developed this framework

[00:10:45] and I've went through it multiple times

[00:10:48] and really refined it down to four key steps

[00:10:51] or four key phases.

[00:10:53] And I'll kind of give you first the high level

[00:10:55] and then we can dive into each of them if you like.

[00:10:58] So first out, and we alluded to this earlier,

[00:11:01] was your messaging.

[00:11:02] Understand what you're great at

[00:11:04] and how to communicate that to Microsoft.

[00:11:08] In line with that is also understanding

[00:11:11] who inside of Microsoft is going to care about that message.

[00:11:13] So, you talked about Azure sellers,

[00:11:15] Microsoft has a whole team of people

[00:11:17] focused on selling Azure

[00:11:19] and then a separate team focused on Microsoft 365.

[00:11:22] So it makes sense to know, okay,

[00:11:24] who are the right people to talk to?

[00:11:26] And so that's first and foremost

[00:11:28] is get your messaging right

[00:11:29] and understand who's going to want to share it.

[00:11:31] Then the next thing is really just start to think about

[00:11:34] the sales team alignment.

[00:11:37] Microsoft has a journey

[00:11:39] they take all their customers through

[00:11:41] and they want to know that you as a partner

[00:11:43] understand what that journey looks like.

[00:11:45] So first, educating your sellers

[00:11:48] on what a Microsoft sales journey looks like.

[00:11:51] Even if it's different from yours,

[00:11:53] Microsoft just wants to know

[00:11:55] that you're going to hit the sort of hot buttons

[00:11:57] of things they want to be done during a sales process.

[00:12:01] And then more importantly is connecting your sales teams

[00:12:05] with the Microsoft sellers.

[00:12:07] So if whether you're geographically based

[00:12:10] or you're industry based,

[00:12:12] finding out who are the right people

[00:12:13] for you to connect with inside of Microsoft is critical

[00:12:17] because if Microsoft doesn't know about you,

[00:12:20] leads aren't just going to fall from heaven

[00:12:21] in terms of landing in your lap,

[00:12:24] you're going to have to connect with the people

[00:12:27] that this is that your superpower is going to resonate with.

[00:12:30] So that's key, that's one and two is first the message

[00:12:34] and the sales alignment, the third component.

[00:12:37] And I think one that people underestimate is partner center.

[00:12:41] So Microsoft does a ton of work

[00:12:44] or has done a ton of work in partner center

[00:12:46] to make it much more partner friendly

[00:12:49] to allow us as partners to access more programs,

[00:12:53] more dollars, more funding to get designation.

[00:12:56] So they've done a lot of this inside of partner center now.

[00:13:00] So it's a much more robust and sort of center

[00:13:05] for us as partners to build our practice

[00:13:09] and to ensure that Microsoft knows who we are, what we do,

[00:13:13] how our certifications are laid out

[00:13:15] and what certifications we have.

[00:13:17] So that's the third component is partner center.

[00:13:21] And then finally, there's an overarching program now

[00:13:25] called the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program

[00:13:27] which is absolute mouthful.

[00:13:29] The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program

[00:13:31] covers all the different types of partners.

[00:13:33] So managed services providers,

[00:13:36] independent software vendors, systems integrators,

[00:13:41] distributors, they're all under that program

[00:13:43] or that umbrella and it allows you

[00:13:46] to access different resources including funding

[00:13:49] and including dollars.

[00:13:50] So really understanding that.

[00:13:51] And so that's the four key components

[00:13:54] of working with Microsoft in my mind.

[00:13:56] Get your message right, get the salespeople

[00:14:03] So what I really love about the conversation with Rob

[00:14:06] was his systematic approach to managing with Microsoft.

[00:14:11] And in fact, we talk a lot about vendor management

[00:14:13] in this space all the time.

[00:14:15] And one of the offerings that you can offer

[00:14:17] to your customers is the idea of managing customers

[00:14:20] and helping them with their vendor management peaks.

[00:14:23] But you too as a solution provider

[00:14:26] have got to embrace how you're doing the management

[00:14:30] and how you're managing your relationship with vendors.

[00:14:33] And think about the fact that you have so many to manage.

[00:14:36] A typical solution provider is managing anywhere

[00:14:38] from 10 to 40 different vendor relations at any given time.

[00:14:43] And likely Microsoft is among the most important

[00:14:47] that you have to do.

[00:14:48] So being systematic about it

[00:14:50] is a really key element to success.

[00:14:54] Now, the good news is most managed services providers

[00:14:57] are really good at systems.

[00:15:01] So applying a system to an organization

[00:15:03] that is good at systems,

[00:15:05] this should be a match made in heaven.

[00:15:07] It's why I liked Rob's approach an awful lot

[00:15:10] and I wanted to highlight that.

[00:15:11] So I would really encourage you

[00:15:13] if you missed the interview on the weekend

[00:15:15] to go back, dig into that

[00:15:17] because Rob walks through a number of different strategies

[00:15:20] of the way that you can engage, what's successful,

[00:15:23] what in particular Microsoft is looking for

[00:15:25] and how they work with you,

[00:15:27] how you get attention

[00:15:28] and thus how you can be successful with them ongoing.

[00:15:33] It was really a great experience to have him on the show

[00:15:35] and I wanna encourage you to dive in further

[00:15:38] into that interview to learn more.

[00:15:41] So we are continuing to take questions.

[00:15:42] Remember, you can submit them anytime in the chat window

[00:15:46] or submit it for next week if you're watching the recording

[00:15:49] sending it to question at mspradio.com.

[00:15:53] Now, next up, I wanna cover three quick stories

[00:15:56] coming out of the RSA conference.

[00:15:58] Palo Alto Networks has introduced three powered co-pilots,

[00:16:03] Strata Co-Pilot, Prisma Cloud Co-Pilot and Cortex Co-Pilot

[00:16:08] that leverage generative AI

[00:16:10] and high precision cybersecurity technologies

[00:16:13] to assist security analysts in identifying

[00:16:15] and mitigating threats more efficiently.

[00:16:18] These co-pilots integrated

[00:16:19] into Palo Alto Networks flagship security platforms

[00:16:23] offer guided automation, actionable insights

[00:16:26] and natural language interfaces.

[00:16:28] The company envisions these co-pilots evolving

[00:16:31] into learning assistants that enhance capabilities

[00:16:34] with each interaction aiming to provide faster

[00:16:37] and more accurate knowledge and insights

[00:16:39] for those security teams.

[00:16:41] Cisco has introduced AI powered tools

[00:16:43] to enhance its app dynamics on premises solution

[00:16:47] providing improved application observability

[00:16:51] and security for self-hosted environments.

[00:16:53] The new features include anomaly detection,

[00:16:56] root cause analysis, application security

[00:16:59] and SAP monitoring.

[00:17:01] These enhancements enable faster performance issue detection,

[00:17:04] proactive security measures

[00:17:06] and optimal application performance.

[00:17:09] Cisco also offers AppDynamics Flex licensing

[00:17:12] for a transition to SaaS based models

[00:17:15] and extends observability solutions to AWS and Azure.

[00:17:19] The virtual appliance for Cisco AppDynamics on-premises

[00:17:22] will be available this month

[00:17:24] with further enhancements planned for Q3, 2024.

[00:17:29] CloudFlare announces CloudFlare for Unified Risk Posture

[00:17:33] a suite of risk management solutions

[00:17:35] that streamline the process of identifying, evaluating

[00:17:38] and managing cyber threats.

[00:17:41] The suite powered by CloudFlare security suite

[00:17:44] and partnerships with leading endpoint

[00:17:45] and identity management providers

[00:17:47] allows customers to gain a comprehensive view of cyber risks

[00:17:51] and effectively remediate them from a single platform.

[00:17:55] CloudFlare for Unified Risk Posture

[00:17:57] simplifies the journey to locking down risk

[00:17:59] by customizing policies based on unique risk scores

[00:18:03] providing a holistic view of the threat landscape

[00:18:05] and enabling global control.

[00:18:08] So why do we care?

[00:18:10] There was a ton of buzz coming out from last week

[00:18:14] and every vendor wanted to have their stake in it.

[00:18:18] What I'm noticing is more and more of these AI tools

[00:18:21] that are doing that co-pilot role

[00:18:24] that are joining with administrators

[00:18:26] to provide better insights

[00:18:27] and ideally help them simplify the management.

[00:18:30] In fact, on today's regular show

[00:18:32] I'm gonna be talking about stuff coming out of Red Hat

[00:18:35] which will be dropping at 5 p.m. today

[00:18:37] where they too are embracing this trend.

[00:18:40] That's the piece that I'm looking for.

[00:18:41] I'm not necessarily looking for new solutions.

[00:18:44] I'm looking for existing providers

[00:18:46] and I'm looking for what they're doing.

[00:18:47] And I think that's the most interesting trend

[00:18:49] that we're seeing is this infusion of intelligence

[00:18:52] into products that didn't previously have it.

[00:18:56] That's what we're looking for.

[00:18:57] And I wanna hear more from you about what you think.

[00:19:00] Put those questions in chat.

[00:19:01] We're gonna start taking questions here in a moment.

[00:19:04] I really do love taking them.

[00:19:06] If you bring questions live, you'll get a live response.

[00:19:10] Of course, you can always submit them ahead of time

[00:19:12] but Q&A gets you a chance to get involved with the show.

[00:19:16] So let's take our first submitted question.

[00:19:22] We hired an engineer to achieve compliance

[00:19:24] with a major client standards.

[00:19:26] However, a senior contact at the client's company

[00:19:28] seems to personally dislike the engineer

[00:19:30] leading to unresponsive behavior on tickets

[00:19:32] and negative reviews.

[00:19:34] How should an engineer handle a senior contact

[00:19:36] at a client's company who is challenging

[00:19:38] and negatively impacts job performance and satisfaction?

[00:19:43] Oh, this is a really good one

[00:19:44] because it speaks to the value of management.

[00:19:47] So what I'm gonna say is first off,

[00:19:49] you want the engineer to let management get involved.

[00:19:52] And in particular, this is important to show support

[00:19:56] to that engineer in the field.

[00:19:58] And you're gonna emphasize to the engineer

[00:20:01] not taking it personally.

[00:20:03] Understanding that oftentimes there's more to the situation

[00:20:07] than we know about.

[00:20:08] And in fact, the grace that we can give

[00:20:11] for most customers who are reacting badly

[00:20:13] will go a long way toward building that value.

[00:20:17] Now, you wanna dig into why.

[00:20:20] Why is this customer reacting in the way that they are?

[00:20:24] Do they potentially see the MSP as competition?

[00:20:28] The more you can understand their thinking, the better.

[00:20:31] And the best way to do this

[00:20:33] is schedule a face-to-face meeting to address the concerns.

[00:20:36] Even if they seem ridiculous,

[00:20:39] sitting down with the customer as management,

[00:20:41] both supporting your engineer to make sure

[00:20:43] that you are empowering them to be successful,

[00:20:46] but also probing the customer to find out what's going on.

[00:20:49] Address each of the individual concerns,

[00:20:52] even the ridiculous ones,

[00:20:54] to make sure that you are showing the emphasis and empathy

[00:20:58] to the customer to make sure you get there.

[00:21:01] Now, draw a line, a zero tolerance for abuse.

[00:21:05] That's not allowed.

[00:21:07] We cannot have clients abusing our engineers.

[00:21:11] But the more you can invest in a face-to-face meeting

[00:21:14] to walk the customer through

[00:21:16] so you can address all of the concerns,

[00:21:19] then working them through to find solutions,

[00:21:22] the better you will do.

[00:21:23] Now, make sure that you are supporting your staff member

[00:21:27] by being involved from a management perspective.

[00:21:30] I'm looking to the chat window.

[00:21:32] If you've got any last minute questions,

[00:21:33] make sure to throw them in.

[00:21:35] Of course, you can always submit them ahead of time

[00:21:38] and you can send them at question at mspradio.com.

[00:21:42] I do love having the interactions

[00:21:43] and taking the comments live.

[00:21:45] So feel free to continue to throw them into the chat window.

[00:21:49] Now, I want to give you a preview

[00:21:51] of what's coming up this weekend.

[00:21:53] I had the opportunity to talk to the CEO of Alcyon

[00:21:56] and his thoughts on the coming changes to backup solutions.

[00:22:00] Niraj Tolian joined me

[00:22:02] and here's a preview of that interview.

[00:22:05] One of the things I keep talking about

[00:22:06] on the show all the time

[00:22:07] is all of the various approaches around AI

[00:22:11] and what we're seeing.

[00:22:11] And obviously, that's everyone's buzz.

[00:22:13] But what I think is interesting

[00:22:15] is that there's lots of different approaches

[00:22:17] about making AI specific,

[00:22:21] similar, our audience of IT services companies,

[00:22:24] the ISPs, and how we translate that into what users do.

[00:22:28] Tell me how you specifically think AI is important

[00:22:32] and is going to impact this space.

[00:22:35] My vision about AI,

[00:22:39] in particular for the channel, for MSPs,

[00:22:42] has always been the same

[00:22:43] over the last few years that we've been doing this.

[00:22:46] But when I rewind the clock a year ago,

[00:22:48] I think there was some concern in the channel.

[00:22:50] Is AI going to replace us?

[00:22:51] Is AI going to impact our business, et cetera?

[00:22:54] I'm glad that's gone away.

[00:22:57] To answer your question,

[00:22:58] I think AI is an amazing opportunity for the channel,

[00:23:01] the MSP, for the service provider out there.

[00:23:04] Because the way we look at it,

[00:23:06] the modern MSPs, what they're trying to say is,

[00:23:10] how do I replace my legacy tools with AI-enabled tools

[00:23:15] so that I can do a better job

[00:23:18] and focus on the things that I really care about,

[00:23:20] which is my end customers,

[00:23:22] my professional services, their digital transformation.

[00:23:26] Because AI, it is giving me new features,

[00:23:29] but it's taking away operational quality from me.

[00:23:32] And so the way I look at our channel partners today

[00:23:35] who are at the forefront of implementing AI,

[00:23:38] it is about how do I both deliver a better experience

[00:23:43] for the end user,

[00:23:44] elevate my position and reduce all my operational file

[00:23:47] to focus on those value-added things that I...

[00:23:51] And that is the consistent message

[00:23:53] we've been hearing over and over again.

[00:23:58] Now, I'm really excited for you to get into this interview,

[00:24:00] and it drops this weekend

[00:24:02] so you'll get a chance to listen to it.

[00:24:03] We'll answer next week, the why do we care on this show.

[00:24:07] Now, a reminder for listeners,

[00:24:09] my Patreon supporters already have this video

[00:24:11] and you can get all my interview content

[00:24:13] as a supporter early.

[00:24:15] Visit patreon.com slash MSP radio and sign up now.

[00:24:19] That interview is already available.

[00:24:22] I wanna thank Sales Builder, our Patreon sponsor

[00:24:25] whose support makes this show possible.

[00:24:27] Focus on your IT sales workflow

[00:24:29] with the power of automation

[00:24:30] and visit them at salesbuilder.com.

[00:24:32] That's B-U-I-L-D-R.com.

[00:24:36] And vendors, you too can get your name mentioned

[00:24:38] on the live show.

[00:24:39] It's a simple monthly subscription.

[00:24:40] Visit patreon.com slash MSP radio for more.

[00:24:44] And listeners, thank you for your support.

[00:24:46] And here's the best ways you can help me out.

[00:24:48] First, like, share and follow on your favorite platforms.

[00:24:52] Or if you're so inclined,

[00:24:54] support directly on Patreon

[00:24:56] with our give what you want model.

[00:24:58] You set what you think the content is worth.

[00:25:01] And if you have a question or are listening to the recording,

[00:25:03] send it in at question at MSPradio.com.

[00:25:06] Next week, this show is on Wednesday.

[00:25:09] So catch us live on Wednesday, 3 p.m. Eastern.

[00:25:12] Thanks for joining me for the Business of Tech Lounge

[00:25:14] and I will see you next time.

[00:25:16] ♪