Businesses expect AI to increase productivity and efficiency, boost customer relationships and improve customer service. And they are looking to their MSPs to deliver on those promises.
MSPs know this, and the most proactive are investing in AI training and tools. One survey of more than 1,500 MSPs and MSSPs found that more than 92% plan to invest in AI in some way over the next year.
That’s a lofty goal, since many MSPs simply aren’t experienced enough with AI to meet customer needs. According to another survey, 87% of MSPs fall into that camp, despite 77% feeling under pressure to offer customers AI insight and tools.
Wayne Hunter
“Where the market is today, you can’t ignore it. It’s here,” said Wayne Hunter, CEO of AvTek Solutions. The question is, he added, is how will MSPs take advantage of AI to help both their own processes and those of their customers?
For many MSPs, the ultimate goal is to be able to offer AI as a Service to their customers. That means being familiar enough with AI to provide AI-based services for customers that would enable them to enhance decision-making, optimize resource utilization, and predict problems on their own.
First things first
But jumping directly to providing AI as a Service is putting the cart before the horse. Most MSPs are still learning about the capabilities of AI and how to use it. To that end, they are watching YouTube videos, going to workshops and lunch-and-learns, and taking classes.
“If MSPs can’t use it themselves, they can’t learn how to use it for their clients,” said Adam Bielanski, CEO of MSP+, an MSP consulting firm.
Adam Bielanski
There are plenty of ways to take that first step. Organizations offering AI learning options include ChannelPro, IT By Design, MSP Summit, Managed Service Providers Association of America, and more. Many vendors also offer AI workshops for MSPs.
Following these initial courses, Bielanski recommends having consistent training experiences with technicians, engineers and support team, up to and including the customer service and finance teams.
Once the MSP is up to speed, the next step is enhancing the MSP’s own services, from streamlining processes to optimizing workflows. That in turn can improve internal processes to, for example, increase customer acquisition success or prioritize service calls.
Doing this work internally first provides much-needed practice and eventually makes the MSP experts, while improving internal processes. This in turn increases profits internally and will eventually provide a path to productize those services for customers.
Actionable AI Advice for MSPs
- Invest in AI training and tools
- Apply AI to internal processes first
- Start small with specific AI implementations
- Leverage AI functionality you’re already paying for
- Develop AI-as-a-Service offerings
- Self-educate to stay competitive
- Check out the ChannelPro AI Resource Center
Bielanski recommends starting slowly, using AI in one particular area for one thing, like marketing. With that under your belt, the next step might be tier one support or process automation. In the area of tier one support, adding an AI component might prompt the user with questions like, “Have you rebooted?” or, “Try taking these steps.” It will then escalate the support call to a human when necessary.
Some MSPs may choose to get help in the form of platforms. One example is ConnectWise’s Asio, a platform-as-a-service model whose Sidekick component incorporates an AI engine. Used with Sidekick for Security, for example, an MSP can more quickly understand their or their customers’ security posture and prioritize actions.
Selling AI as a Service
Although some in the industry see AI as a Service as just another buzzword, the term immediately conveys what many customers are asking for: a comprehensive solution that leverages the latest technology.
- Consider all of the areas that clients can use AI and plot out services: AI usage guides, LLM configuration and user training, AI-related security consulting, chatbot implementation, etc.
- Bundle those services together into a managed service.
- Ask qualifying questions that help you identify pain points that can be solved with AI.
- Mention AI as part of your standard sales pitch.
- Don’t be afraid to set an aggressive price point since competition is currently limited.
But if clients are asking for new or highly customized AI-embedded applications, that’s likely a dealbreaker for many MSPs.
That’s where innovators like Hatz AI and its competitors come in. Hatz AI’s low-code AI-as-a-Service platform gives MSPs the tools to quickly build customized applications for themselves and their clients like automated customer service chatbots, AI-powered sales assistants to identify qualified leads, content creation assistants, and tools to analyze documents.
Hunter, who has partnered with Hatz AI to develop an AI platform that enables MSPs to deliver AI services to end customers, explained it this way:
“Approach it as a subscription-based service, just like apps you get from Microsoft,” he said. “Use the platform to build apps and resell them as part of your AI-as-a-Service package.”
Whatever it takes to get there, MSPs that succeed in getting to the point where they can provide AI-as-a-Service solutions to their customers stand to do well over time, while those that don’t may eventually fall behind.
“You’ve got to continually evolve. If you rely on one revenue chain, that revenue chain will eventually become a commodity item. And basic MSP services are almost to that point,” Hunter noted.
Image: iStock
