Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights

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In 10 minutes daily, The Business of Tech delivers the latest IT services and MSP-focused news and commentary. Curated to stories that matter with commentary answering 'Why Do We Care?', channel veteran Dave Sobel brings you up to speed and provides resources to go deeper. With insights and analysis, this focused podcast focuses on the knowledge you need to be effective, profitable, and relevant.

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  1. 2 days ago

    Automation's Cost Curve: Why AI Usage Is Squeezing Profits Across IT Services

    Margin pressure driven by AI adoption and automation is fundamentally altering the economic model for IT service delivery and software. Trend Micro’s disclosure that operating margins fell from 19% to 15% while cloud and AI token costs nearly doubled, despite strong AI security product sales, highlights how AI-related expenses grow in step with usage. This shift breaks from the historical software margin structure, where scaling incurred negligible incremental costs, and signals a new landscape in which AI service operation continuously consumes resources. A significant development underscoring this trend is the $2 billion capital raise by Thrive Holdings at a $12 billion valuation, backed by SoftBank and OpenAI. Thrive’s business model centers on acquiring professional service firms—across IT and accounting—then reorganizing their operations around AI to reduce labor costs while maintaining service levels. According to Dave Sobel, this is not speculative, but reflects direct, substantial financial bets on the ability to remove a portion of service labor without customer disruption, with over 70 acquired service companies already undergoing this transition. Additional evidence comes from channel segment data and shifts in partner economics. The Techaisle Global Channel Partner Survey found service providers under $10 million in revenue project 8.4% growth, while those above $500 million expect 16.8%. AI-related cloud spending continues to climb, with Gartner projecting $42 billion primarily moving from training to ongoing inference operations. The resulting cost structure affects everyone, from increased hardware component prices—such as memory for GPUs—and service desk automation tool adoption, to the fact that most organizations now monitor AI spend as a named line item but struggle to forecast it reliably. Only 11% of organizations can predict their AI bills, down from 15% the prior year. For MSPs and IT leaders, these developments indicate rising operational complexity and increasing pricing competition. Automation drives down service delivery costs, but savings will quickly pass to clients as competitors implement similar solutions. Providers must quantify and communicate their impact on client outcomes, translating delivered value into client financial terms rather than relying solely on traditional metrics like licenses or labor hours. Failing to do so exposes providers to rapid commoditization and margin erosion, as clients grow more able to audit, benchmark, and bid out both cost savings and revenue enablement. 00:00 Two Billion Against Your Labor  04:10 Software Got a Cost of Goods 06:56 Get On Their Income Statement 10:29 Why Do We Care?  Supported by:  ScalePad  Proofpoint   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Automation's Cost Curve: Why AI Usage Is Squeezing Profits Across IT Services

  2. 3 days ago

    Lexful’s AI-Native Documentation: New Accountability and Risk for MSPs – With Pinar Ormeci

    The episode highlights the shift toward AI-driven knowledge management within the MSP sector, revealing increased operational dependency on structured data and sophisticated integrations. Lexful, an AI-native documentation platform designed specifically for MSPs, represents this trend by positioning itself not as a simple add-on but as a replacement for legacy documentation tools—controlling critical record-keeping functions and interfacing with principal PSA and RMM systems. This development signals greater infrastructure dependence on AI-based documentation and the implications of technical integration across diverse operational tools. According to Lexful’s CEO and statements made during the episode, the platform has completed integrations with major PSA and RMM tools and now handles data by employing a “context-engineered” large language model tailored specifically to the MSP context. Lexful claims its engine minimizes LLM hallucinations, supports record-level access control, and functions as a system of record rather than a direct action platform. Socializing its compliance trajectory, Lexful has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 and shipped its MCP server, but its listing in marketplaces like Pax8 and SureWeb has been delayed, with current status characterized as “coming soon” and full integration targeted before the end of 2026. Supporting developments underscore the complexity and risk of deploying AI-native platforms into MSP environments. The absence of public customer or partner counts persists, with the company attributing constrained accessibility to pending integrations rather than lack of market uptake. Pricing structures diverge from incumbents, moving from per-user to per-client models and establishing minimum contract terms—raising questions about justification of cost versus legacy alternatives. A key operational risk centers on access control and human-in-the-loop governance, with sensitive systems such as password vaults only accessible through layered permissions, and Lexful emphasizing the necessity of robust accountability frameworks to minimize harm from potential automation failures. Practical implications for MSPs include heightened need for rigorous governance of AI systems, especially around data access, role management, and auditability. Vendor dependency deepens as platforms like Lexful supplant multiple existing tools and drive uptake via deeper integration with distribution marketplaces and SaaS ecosystems. Pricing and contract structures require MSPs to reconsider value calculations, as cost is no longer purely user-driven but tied to client volume and operational breadth. The tradeoff is between purported efficiency gains from automation and the risk profile associated with delegating documentation and knowledge management to AI-based infrastructure, particularly as human oversight remains essential to mitigate errors and ensure regulatory compliance. Supported by: ScalePad   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Lexful’s AI-Native Documentation: New Accountability and Risk for MSPs – With Pinar Ormeci

  3. 4 days ago

    N-able’s Security Revenue Faces Decline as License Portability Undercuts MSP Margins

    The episode details a structural shift for MSPs and IT service providers: the separation of security license resale from the value of human-led security services, and the resulting pricing and margin risks. Companies like N-able, SentinelOne, and SonicWall exemplify how technology offerings and delivery mechanisms are forcing providers to re-examine what differentiates their services beyond the products they resell. N-able’s financial results illustrate the risk of relying on product-based security revenue. The company reported a drop in annual recurring revenue, driven by lower renewal rates in Unified Endpoint Management and Endpoint Detection and Response lines—both of which relied on reselling portable licenses, notably SentinelOne’s product. In contrast, revenue from services tied to human expertise—through the acquired Adlumen’s managed detection and response (MDR)—grew, according to both N-able management and analysts. The episode states that when customers can move licenses without losing service continuity, price becomes the only differentiator, undermining provider margins. Related developments reinforce this dynamic. SonicWall launched a combined antivirus and EDR solution available as both a product and a managed service—explicitly marketed for MSP resale—where SonicWall's analysts handle detection and response. Additionally, Proofpoint expanded its managed services platform, providing security, backup, and compliance through an MSP-oriented, multi-tenant console. These offerings blur the line between manufacturer-managed services and traditional MSP-delivered security work, increasing vendor competition at the service layer. For MSPs and IT leaders, these shifts expose the risk in revenue models that bundle security services with third-party product resale, particularly when those products are easily substitutable. The transcript urges providers to re-evaluate their pricing strategies: separating human service from license cost, justifying it independently, and moving away from device- or seat-based billing. The clear risk is that failing to articulate and defend the value of human-led activities will leave providers vulnerable to vendor undercutting and margin erosion, as seen in recent N-able outcomes. 00:00 Recurring Revenue Went Backwards  03:24 They Stopped Saying RMM 06:04 You Already Own It 09:18 Why Do We Care?  Supported by:  Guardz    💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    N-able’s Security Revenue Faces Decline as License Portability Undercuts MSP Margins

  4. 5 days ago

    Vendor License Loopholes Shift Breach Liability to MSPs

    The episode identifies an acute shift in liability and accountability across the software and AI supply chain, where risk increasingly moves from vendors to service providers and operators. This dynamic is illustrated through incomplete vendor patches, AI tool output, and changing regulatory structures. Companies like N-able experienced authentication bypass flaws in widely used remote monitoring platforms, while industry-standard software licenses continue to disclaim warranties and cap or exclude liability, leaving providers responsible for the consequences. A key development is N-able’s N-central authentication flaw, wherein a patch issued for an earlier vulnerability proved incomplete according to the Federal Vulnerability Database, enabling attackers to exploit the same vector. The finalized fix arrived days after exploitation began, but all previous builds — including those labeled patched — remained exposed. Simultaneously, research from Anthropic and disclosures by OpenAI revealed AI models acting outside intended boundaries, with incident response often lagging behind real-world impact. Notably, neither affected vendor assumed material liability, and disclosure of the incidents was voluntary, not compelled by contract or regulation. Meanwhile, IBM’s annual cost of data breach report found AI-driven attacks up 56% with average breach costs nearing $6M, further emphasizing financial exposure. These incidents exemplify a structural trend: vendors disclaim output, while client agreements with IT providers warrant monitoring, maintenance, and remediation, resulting in providers accepting risk not assumed upstream. Regulatory responses differ by geography — in the U.S., CISA’s only binding obligation was for operators to remediate vulnerabilities by a set deadline, not for vendors to prevent or report them. The EU’s forthcoming Cyber Resilience Act will require reporting of exploited vulnerabilities within 24 hours and is expanding product liability to software, but these rules benefit consumers and regulators rather than business buyers and still stop short of assigning financial obligations to vendors. The operational effect for MSPs and IT service providers is increased contract risk, as provider promises to clients typically outpace the limited, warranty-free commitments of vendors. The rate and scope of vulnerabilities, amplified by AI-driven development and remediation, add volume and complexity without increasing the rate of effective outcomes. Providers are advised to reconcile their own service agreements with the actual commitments of software suppliers, clarify for clients where their true responsibilities lie, and prepare for a procurement environment where scrutiny of vendor warranties becomes the norm rather than the exception. 00:00 The Ones Who Patched Got Hit 04:16 Sold As Is, All The Way Down 08:02 The Only Enforceable Promise 11:47 Why Do We Care?  Supported by:  Pax8 LogMeIn   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Vendor License Loopholes Shift Breach Liability to MSPs

  5. 6 days ago

    Consortium for Responsible IT Services: Cole Knuth Outlines New Path for MSP Accountability

    The dominant mechanism addressed is the development of a self-regulatory framework for IT service providers, specifically as Texas A&M University's Global Cyber Research Institute (GTIA) launches the Consortium for Responsible IT Services (CRITS). This signals a move toward organized self-governance and standard-setting within the MSP sector, in contrast to direct government-imposed regulation. The initiative is designed to shift the industry from fragmented standard adoption toward collective risk and professional accountability, using academic infrastructure and industry funding as its operational backbone. According to statements from Cole Knuth, GTIA’s facilitation of CRITS involves university-hosted development and company funding, with the intention to produce a publication outlining operational and cybersecurity standards for IT service providers. The university has committed both its name and financial resources, making CRITS a formal legal construct enabled by Texas A&M’s research arm. The initial executive sponsors are large industry players—New Charter, Pax8, and The 20—but there is not yet independent MSP participation under 25 employees. The first member meeting is scheduled to occur alongside the GCRI Summit in October. The episode contrasts CRITS with prior efforts to establish industry standards, noting previous initiatives by the MSP Alliance, NSITSP, and GTIA’s own Cybersecurity Trustmark, none of which achieved broad acceptance or regulatory recognition. Cole Knuth attributes this lack of traction to fragmented grassroots approaches or top-down lobbying, asserting that CRITS aims for a “middle out” model by aggregating MSP voices to build legitimacy and influence before external regulation is enacted. The consortium’s design includes the possibility of recognizing existing certifications rather than displacing them, and emphasizes eventual inclusion of smaller and independent MSPs in governance. For MSPs and IT leaders, the practical implications include increased pressure to participate in the development and adoption of industry standards to mitigate liability risk and avoid externally imposed rules. Operational challenges are likely to include the need for resource allocation to compliance initiatives, cost uncertainties regarding participation and auditing, and navigating evolving governance requirements as standards are defined. Smaller MSPs face the risk of exclusion unless explicit mechanisms are created for their input and representation, and the structure of CRITS may lead to new layers of compliance complexity and scrutiny, particularly as the consortium transitions from initial large-member funding to broader industry engagement. Supported by:  ScalePad   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Consortium for Responsible IT Services: Cole Knuth Outlines New Path for MSP Accountability

  6. 5 Aug

    CMMC Pause Exposes High Compliance Costs for Small Defense Contractors — Jeremiah Jensen

    The core mechanism discussed is the regulatory pressure and resulting operational risk created by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) abrupt suspension of the CMMC Level 2 third-party certification mandate. IntelliGenesis, led operationally by Jeremiah Jensen, illustrates how rapidly shifting compliance expectations can expose defense contractors and their MSP partners to unrecoverable sunk costs, increased governance complexity, and unclear accountability. The episode highlights the structural disconnect between government-mandated cybersecurity standards and the practical realities of implementing and maintaining those requirements at scale. According to Jeremiah Jensen, IntelliGenesis incurred more than $200,000 in direct costs, invested four months of intensive labor, and committed a team of five to six staff to achieve early CMMC Level 2 certification—including significant documentation, hardware upgrades, and consultant fees. Despite this investment, the DoD paused the entire third-party assessment program on July 13, citing small business cost burdens and insufficient assessor capacity. This left companies like IntelliGenesis having already completed—and paid for—requirements that were no longer mandated for the time being, but with underlying security obligations still in effect. Secondary issues reinforce the underlying risk: the audit process was described as inflexible and expensive, with a binary pass/fail outcome that offered no remediation for minor deficiencies—requiring full re-audit at the original cost if any portion was not met. Further, both Dave Sobel and Jeremiah Jensen noted a lack of clarity in ongoing expectations, as large defense primes were previously flowing down certification pressures to subcontractors, but have gone quiet since the mandate was paused. The temporary pause, coupled with ongoing self-attestation requirements and a comment period through August 14, creates a regulatory gray area with uneven impacts across the defense supply chain. For MSPs and IT providers supporting government contractors, these developments translate to increased contract risk, ongoing uncertainty in governance requirements, and exposure to costs that may not deliver a return if regulations shift again. The episode clarifies that self-attestation standards are still in place, but the lack of authoritative third-party oversight introduces ambiguity and potential liability. Providers should anticipate further regulatory refinement, engage with clients regarding their compliance posture, and treat sunk certification costs and compliance-driven operational overhead as persistent risks rather than guaranteed business advantages. Supported by:  Pax8 Guardz   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    CMMC Pause Exposes High Compliance Costs for Small Defense Contractors — Jeremiah Jensen

  7. 4 Aug

    Dave Bloom: Why Small MSPs Can Sustain High Margins by Limiting Tool Overhead

    The episode examines margin disparity and operational strategy for MSPs serving regulated industries, spotlighting how compliance-driven overhead can become a structural moat for providers targeting underserved segments. The discussion centers on Trumbull Tech’s model, which leverages a minimal-staff, tool-focused approach to deliver compliant services to small client bases (1–50 seats) across legal, financial, and healthcare verticals. The analysis underscores the risk and complexity inherent in regulated environments, noting that as vendors begin to package compliance offerings alongside MSPs, the defensibility of this margin advantage may erode. Trumbull Tech operates with gross margins well above channel averages—reporting 55–60%, attributed to intentional client selection, rigorous cost modeling, a preference for lightweight device management (MDM) solutions over enterprise-heavy platforms like Microsoft Intune, and strict avoidance of fixed, unlimited support contracts. The company’s operational approach bundles basic but essential compliance tools, such as BitLocker enforcement, password complexity, password rotation, remote wipe, and targeted endpoint management, tailored specifically for smaller businesses. This model is predicated on the belief that most regulatory mandates can be reasonably satisfied with a uniform, low-overhead stack, thereby avoiding the staff overhead typical of more complex enterprise solutions. Supporting developments in the episode include an account of security intervention using Huntress with a small remote CPA firm, illustrating both the ubiquity of risk (not limited to large organizations) and the practical utility of combining automation with incident response. The conversation also touches on AI adoption hesitancy in small regulated businesses, logistics of relationship-based staffing for stickiness, and the rejection of strict vertical specialization in favor of scalable, stack-based delivery. These elements collectively describe a playbook where risk containment is achieved through standardization and upfront client selection, rather than deep customization. Implications for MSPs and IT providers include the need to critically assess their service models in the context of regulatory risk, operational scalability, and margin management. Overdependence on a specific set of tools or a uniform client profile may limit adaptability as vendor offerings and client expectations evolve. Providers entering or serving regulated markets should recognize that margin advantages rooted in compliance operations depend on active management of client selection, tool stack efficiency, and transparent risk tradeoffs, as opposed to reliance on elaborate enterprise frameworks or unlimited support promises. Attention to practical safeguards, clear lines of accountability, and periodic reassessment of vendor overlap is essential to remain viable as compliance delivery mechanisms evolve. Supported by: OpenTextScalePad   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Dave Bloom: Why Small MSPs Can Sustain High Margins by Limiting Tool Overhead

  8. 3 Aug

    How Blue Mantis Navigates AI and Security Demand Without Enterprise Budgets – Josh Dinneen

    The episode reveals a structural shift toward operational complexity and heightened accountability in the MSP sector, as service providers are increasingly required to integrate AI capabilities, consolidate security offerings, and deliver enterprise-grade outcomes for mid-market clients without matching enterprise budgets. Blue Mantis, highlighted as a case example, embodies this shift with its transition from a traditional product reseller and hardware focus to a recurring managed services model with 60% of revenue now coming from managed services. The company’s ongoing balancing act between recurring service delivery and legacy product sales illustrates the tension many MSPs face as the market demands integrated, outcome-driven engagements over transactional models. According to Josh Dinneen, Blue Mantis has developed fully managed security offerings, such as BlueMantis Protect, pairing AI-driven threat detection with human analysis to address mid-market needs for flexible, enterprise-grade cybersecurity. The company claims over 2,500 mid-market and enterprise customers and reports a customer retention rate above 97% over 48 months, with a 20% compound annual growth rate. These numbers are grounded in a “client-first” operational approach that emphasizes relationship management and ongoing alignment between service features and business requirements. The managed services business is supported by a global delivery model leveraging centers in India, Canada, and the US. Additional developments reinforcing the primary shift include Blue Mantis’s measured adoption of AI and automation across both internal operations and customer-facing services. The company describes a structured AI rollout, aiming for every employee to have an AI “teammate” by the end of the year, framed as augmenting—not displacing—human workers. Josh Dinneen emphasizes the risk management dimension of rapid AI scaling, noting the double-edged nature of automation, and cites detailed KPI monitoring, a “3x ROI” workforce productivity model, and a growing FinOps practice to manage token-based AI consumption and budget risk, especially as vendors and consumption models shift costs and exposure downstream to customers and partners. For MSPs and IT leaders, these developments highlight mounting operational complexity and underscore the importance of risk mitigation strategies. Reliance on recurring services and layered security increases vendor and process dependency, elevating the need for robust governance, transparent performance metrics, and explicit controls over consumption-based pricing—particularly in AI and cloud. The operational implication is clear: MSPs must be prepared to offer advisory and managed services that both address evolving client demands for flexibility and manage the financial and accountability risks transferred by platform vendors and changing technology models. Supported by: CometBackupLogMeIn   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · Guardz · LogMeIn · OpenText · Pax8 · Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AI Supporting the IT services community through insights, analysis, and transparency.   🚀 Join Business of Tech PlusGet exclusive access to investigative reports, vendor analysis, leadership briefings, and more. 👉 https://businessof.tech/plus   🎧 Subscribe to the Business of TechWant the show on your favorite podcast app or prefer the written versions of each story? 📲 https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe   📰 Story Links & SourcesLooking for the links from today’s stories? Every episode script — with full source links — is posted at: 🌐 https://www.businessof.tech   🎙 Want to Be a Guest?Pitch your story or appear on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights: 💬 https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech   🔗 Follow Business of Tech  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079 YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftech Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    How Blue Mantis Navigates AI and Security Demand Without Enterprise Budgets – Josh Dinneen
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

In 10 minutes daily, The Business of Tech delivers the latest IT services and MSP-focused news and commentary. Curated to stories that matter with commentary answering 'Why Do We Care?', channel veteran Dave Sobel brings you up to speed and provides resources to go deeper. With insights and analysis, this focused podcast focuses on the knowledge you need to be effective, profitable, and relevant.

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