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PODCAST

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis

MSP Radio, Dave Sobel, Managed Service Provider (MSP) Industry Analyst

Vendors are rewriting the rules on MSPs faster than anyone can track — pricing, partner programs, liability, and now AI. Business of Tech is the daily MSP news briefing that tells you what changed and what it means for your business. Every weekday, channel veteran Dave Sobel picks the MSP and IT services news that actually moves your margins, contracts, and risk, and answers the one question that matters: Why do we care? No vendor cheerleading and no press-release rewrites — independent analysis

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All Episodes

00:36:22

Jay McBain on Why AI and SaaS Marketplaces Are...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/17

The dominant structural shift outlined is an accelerating concentration of market power and operational control within a handful of large technology companies and platforms, exacerbated by aggressive vendor channel consolidation and a move toward marketplace-based service delivery. This concentration is evidenced by recent actions such as Broadcom’s decision to cut roughly 90% of VMware’s partners and take top-tier accounts direct, as well as the increasing tendency of hyperscalers and major

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00:13:49

Loss of Vendor-Free MSP Spaces: ASCII Acquisition...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/16

The core structural shift analyzed is the consolidation of service provider-only peer communities into trade associations representing the entire technology channel, including vendors, distributors, and service providers. This shift is illustrated by the acquisition of the ASCII Group, a 42-year-old peer network for independent IT businesses, by the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA), which counts vendors such as Sophos and Pax8 among its leadership.The transaction led to about 1,000

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00:12:36

AI Channel Programs Shift Forecasting Risk to MSPs as...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/15

The episode reveals a structural transfer of forecasting and adoption risk from AI vendors to managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service organizations. Five companies—CyberFOX, Intezer, Sophos, Flamingo, and Charles IT—have taken distinct strategies to expand AI capabilities within the channel, underscoring a coordinated attempt to shift the uncertainty of AI demand, usage, and revenue forecasting off vendors’ balance sheets and onto service providers.A central data point comes from Gartner’s

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00:13:26

Reseller, MSP, Services Merged: Structural Risks and...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/14

Barracuda’s recent unification of its reseller, MSP, and services programs into a single partner success structure highlights a continuing trend toward channel consolidation and streamlined partner management among technology vendors. This realignment is designed to provide partners with a unified interface and consistent experience, moving away from segmented, product-specific engagement and instead centralizing processes, portals, and incentives under one program.The most consequential operational

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00:15:29

What MSP Operators Overlook in Operations Before...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/12

The episode highlights the ongoing consolidation of the MSP sector, driven by acquisition-focused entities like Evergreen Services Group. This structural mechanism centers on long-term acquisition strategies and the operational integration of MSPs, with Evergreen positioning itself as a permanent holder rather than a market aggregator intent on short-term profit. The discussion underscores how private equity-backed firms operate within multi-market IT services, spanning managed services, application

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00:12:28

Silent Disqualification Risks Rise as UK Platforms...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/11

The episode reveals a structural shift toward eligibility thresholds and silent disqualification in the managed services sector, driven primarily by large vendors and regulatory buyers. Companies now establish non-negotiable numerical thresholds—such as cloud revenue minimums or cryptography certifications—as criteria that MSPs must meet to maintain channel access or bid eligibility. Key organizations shaping these dynamics include Microsoft, which has reduced its global distributor base by

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00:11:32

Sharon Florentine on Why Most SMBs Deploy AI Without...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/10

The episode highlights a pronounced governance gap in how small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services. New research from GTIA, discussed by Sharon Florentine, identifies that while AI use has become nearly universal among SMB end customers of IT service providers, most lack formal policies, leadership, and budgeting structure around their deployment of AI. This reflects a foundational misalignment between AI adoption rates and organizational

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00:12:44

DMARC Adoption Exposes Organizational Gaps: Controls...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/09

A central structural shift discussed is the acceleration of security risk and remediation cycles driven by AI-powered tooling available to both attackers and defenders. The episode highlights that the difference between offensive and defensive capabilities now depends less on underlying technology and more on access controls and permission settings, as demonstrated by offerings and incidents involving Anthropic, OpenAI, Cloudflare, and tool vulnerabilities in products from Connectwise and

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00:21:36

Slide’s Flexible Contracts: Balancing Client...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/08

A central structural shift discussed is the growing pressure on margins and operational risk, driven by the competing models of vendor platform integration versus modular, best-in-breed solutions for managed service providers. Slide, a backup and disaster recovery vendor with roughly 1,000 partners, serves as an example of a company resisting long-term, bundled contracts and instead favoring a highly flexible, monthly engagement model. This approach reflects a broader industry debate over contract

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00:23:41

Syncro’s AI Shift: How Model Costs and Adoption...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/07

The episode details a structural shift toward increased automation and integration of AI layers within managed services platforms, raising questions of risk management, transparency, and economic models. Syncro’s integration with Anthropic’s AI, positioned as a native connector in the Anthropic ecosystem, exemplifies how platform providers are embedding AI to automate routine technical work and streamline technician workflows.Syncro’s leadership claims their platform is targeting up to 30%

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00:12:57

Accountability Shifts to Deployers as EU Sets...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/04

A structural shift in regulatory accountability now places incident notification and liability directly on the operators or deployers of AI-powered and software tools, rather than on technology vendors or model developers. This mechanism is made explicit by the requirements of the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), Digital Services Act (DSA), and the upcoming Machinery Regulation. Incidents such as the Cursor AI coding agent breach at a Belgian chemical company underline that compliance timelines and

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00:22:26

Greg Jones: How Vendor Policy Shifts and AI...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/03

The episode highlights a structural shift in the MSP sector characterized by consolidation at the top and fragmentation at the low end, driven by a rise in niche MSPs entering the market and ongoing acquisitions by larger providers. This shift is outlined in discussion of industry data sourced from the Kaseya State of the MSP report, as well as Greg Jones’ observations regarding both market entry trends and the increased prevalence of hyperscale consolidation activity.According to the Kaseya

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00:14:34

Adoption, Not Hardware: Voya Financial Shows AI Value...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/02

A disconnect between technical capability and end-user adoption is driving current decision-making in AI and infrastructure among managed service providers and IT leaders. While companies like Broadcom, Perplexity, Apple, and NVIDIA are introducing hardware and platforms for on-premises and local AI processing, the primary lever for value remains organizational adoption rather than available technology. Costs and infrastructure investments are being shaped by how—and whether—users engage with these

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00:14:09

AI Results in Service Agreements: Why Providers Hold...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/09/01

A structural transfer of liability and risk is reshaping industry engagement models, with outcome-based contracting increasing across service agreements. This shift is being driven by buyer demands for accountability in technology solutions, notably in artificial intelligence deployments, and is illustrated by recent unpublished but credible reports that OpenAI is quietly allowing select large enterprise customers to pay only when AI tasks are successfully completed. Supporting research from Gartner

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00:17:25

When AI Outpaces Humans: Jason Kemsley on What...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/31

The episode reveals a structural shift away from indiscriminate adoption of AI tools toward targeted deployment based on business needs within the MSP sector. According to Uptime Global, a channel-only outsourcing provider, premature or hype-driven implementation of AI frequently results in incomplete projects and missed operational gains. The review of AI execution within MSP ticketing environments shows that sustainable value emerges when organizations align AI initiatives with clearly identified

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00:16:17

Hollie Whittles on Why Incomplete AI Governance...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/29

A growing gap between artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and effective data governance is reshaping the operational landscape for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service providers. Industry data cited by GTIA’s Data and AI Interest Group indicates that while 97% of providers have adopted AI, only 20% have implemented governance frameworks sufficient to extract value or mitigate risk. This structural mismatch is driving increased scrutiny from regulatory authorities and forcing MSPs to

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00:14:39

“Pricing Not Disclosed” Becomes a Risk as AI Screens...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/28

The episode centers on a structural shift driven by the falling cost of AI-assisted insight extraction and its impact on how buyers assess technology providers. Referencing companies such as OpenAI and Google, as well as research from the AI Revenue Institute and Gartner, Dave Sobel highlights how lowered model prices enable automated systems to rapidly analyze vendor documentation and shape procurement decisions, fundamentally changing the basis of competition from persuasion to transparent,

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00:41:01

Per-User Pricing Under Strain: Rich Freeman Explains...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/27

The central structural shift discussed is the repricing and erosion of the MSP business model as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation impact service delivery, pricing models, and margin structures. Analysis referenced recent polling and reporting, including the Omnia poll of 22,000 MSP partners and Service Leadership’s financial benchmarking. The integration of AI is reducing direct labor requirements and shifting traditional cost structures—posing both short-term increases in service margins

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00:13:58

When AI Operates with User Credentials:...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/26

A persistent governance gap is evident in current IT operations, as credential management and authorization checks fail to keep pace with increased automation and AI integration. This is visible in incidents involving major vendors such as N-able (through Passportal), Anthropic’s Claude, AI-based retail management at Andon Labs, and legacy industrial controllers monitored by agencies like the NSA, CISA, and FBI. The episode highlights how systems are increasingly reliant on automated actors and

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00:15:04

Readiness vs Reliability: Most AI Gains in MSPs...

Business of Tech: Daily MSP News & IT Services Analysis ·

2026/08/25

The core structural shift highlighted is the disconnect between service reliability gains from AI automation and readiness for strategic change among IT service providers and their clients. Reports from SolarWinds, Corsica Technologies, and Deloitte reveal that AI is delivering measurable productivity benefits, but those time savings are consumed by ongoing reliability work rather than being directed toward governance, process redesign, or workforce adaptation. This leaves most organizations with

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2,058 results

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