In this interview with Pax8 AI leader Chance Weaver, we discussed the opportunities AI brings to MSPs and what it takes to become a managed intelligence provider.
“I like to say MSPs are sitting on a goldmine and they don't even know it,” said Weaver, who is Pax8’s global VP of AI adoption.
Pax8 has led the charge urging MSPs to become managed intelligent providers. Weaver said this change is necessary in this AI age, but it doesn’t mean the traditional MSP will cease to exist.
“First of all, I don't think MSPs will go away,” he said. “The services that an MSP provides are going to be just as relevant as they've always been. I do think there is going to be a need to add managed intelligence as part of the portfolio. I think it's another arrow in the quiver. It's another tool that an MSP can use to strengthen the relationship with their client and also do some amazing things with their client.”
Weaver said working with a partner such as Pax8 relieves MSPs of the heavy lifting of AI development required to become a managed intelligence provider.
“Understanding and discovering how to sell the solutions becomes critical for all MSPs,” he said. “But that's as far as they really need to go. They can work with another partner to do implementations. They can buy things from the Pax8 agent store. They can work with partners that exist now to just manage agents if they want to resell the management of agents, or they can do it themselves. It's not a very linear progression. They can kind of pick and choose where they want to play, but you don't have to be a full-on builder to make money off of AI today.”
The golden opportunity for MSPs often comes when a customer asks about AI – as many are doing.
“When a customer says, ‘I want AI,’ it's a golden opportunity to start the conversation,” Weaver said. “’OK great, you want AI. Well, let's talk about your business first. Like, what are you trying to achieve? What are your goals with your business, and what's preventing you from getting there?’ And ask questions like, ‘what are the repeatable things that you do? What is the annoying work that you don't like to do on a daily basis?’ And start having those conversations with your client … have conversations across your client's organization.”
Weaver is a former MSP, having held executive positions at New Charter and IT Responsive. He even won MSP 501 Lifetime Achievement award in 2023. He maintains that for MSPs to build durable managed intelligence practices, they must do more than bolt on AI services.
“I think what makes a managed intelligence provider different is that you're actually working towards an outcome for the client,” Weaver said. “It doesn't mean that you can't deploy a horizontal or vertically focused solution across a large part of your customer base. What it means is you're going to work with your client to understand the outcome they're trying to achieve and make sure that you're applying the right technology solution to it.”
There's a lot more in the full video at the top of the page.