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. 3d ago

    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 · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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

  2. 4d ago

    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 · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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

  3. 5d ago

    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 · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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

  4. Jul 31

    Losing Your Ticket Data: How Atera’s Automation Shifts Baseline Control to Vendors

    The episode identifies a core structural shift in the managed services industry: the decoupling of service measurement from observable work due to the adoption of autonomous service desk technologies. This shift is driven by the introduction of automation platforms—such as Atera’s Robin, Acronis AI Service Desk, and NinjaOne’s endpoint automations—that eliminate or obscure traditional service tickets, shifting operational baselines and the metrics used for client billing and value demonstration. Evidence of this shift includes Atera guaranteeing that within 90 days, its Robin system will autonomously resolve half of Tier 1 and complex Tier 2 tickets, enforced via commercial contract terms. The company builds baselines by requiring six months of client ticket history before implementation. Supporting data from Channel EDE and AT&T show that automation can suppress visible ticket volume while inflating claims of efficiency and avoided incidents, independent of provider-side measurement. According to Dave Sobel, AT&T tracked autonomous incident handling since 2018, but most MSPs lack comparable historical data. Further developments reinforce this transition: NinjaOne integrates with ServiceNow to create incidents without human intervention, while Ingram Micro channel feedback observes partners aiming to increase business without staff growth. Broader labor market data and user sentiment surveys reveal that AI-backed automation does not show aggregate productivity gains (Stanford Economic Policy Institute) and is generally viewed with skepticism: Gallup and Apistevist data highlight declining confidence in corporate AI deployments and increased worker nostalgia for pre-automation workflows. The operational impact for MSPs centers on data ownership, measurement accountability, and renewal risk. As traditional records like tickets are eliminated or fragmented, providers who lack their own carefully preserved baselines may find themselves forced to rely on vendor-generated claims for demonstrating avoided work or cost savings. This creates exposure to contract risk, compromised pricing leverage, and governance complexity—especially if ticket-level detail, taxonomy, or supporting operational notes are lost in platform migrations or poorly configured retention policies. According to Dave Sobel, preparing by exporting comprehensive ticket histories, freezing operational taxonomies, and independently counting non-ticket sources of demand are now urgent requirements to maintain accountability and defensible value in future client negotiations. 00:00 The Ticket Is Disappearing  03:45 You Can't Invoice an Absence  07:20 The Client Already Stopped Believing 11:18 Why Do We Care?    Supported by: ScalePad   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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.

    Losing Your Ticket Data: How Atera’s Automation Shifts Baseline Control to Vendors

  5. Jul 30

    Jessica Davis: How AI Usage Models Are Disrupting MSP Revenue Predictability

    The central structural shift addressed is the fracture of the longstanding per-user, per-month MSP pricing model due to AI-enabled consumption-based (tokenized) billing, which introduces variable costs previously absent from MSP contracts. This shift is being reinforced by vendor strategies from firms such as Microsoft, Atera, ConnectWise, N-able, and Pax8, each proposing different mechanisms for channel partners to integrate and manage AI costs and capabilities. Recent research from Omnia, highlighted by Jessica Davis, underscores the pace and fragmentation of this evolution, creating new exposure for MSPs to vendor-driven pricing and value capture. Data from an Omnia poll of 255 MSPs found 40% are maintaining traditional per-user pricing, while 60% are reevaluating or transitioning toward hybrid, outcome-based, or true consumption models. Business of Tech research shows that two-thirds of MSPs have not referenced AI at all in their customer-facing positioning, and those that do overwhelmingly reference Microsoft as their AI provider. According to Jessica Davis, much of the 40% maintaining legacy pricing may not be doing so out of clear strategy or discipline, but because they have yet to encounter the practical or financial impacts of AI usage patterns. Secondary developments discussed include vendor-driven channel consolidation in the form of proprietary control planes: Kaseya, ConnectWise, N-able, and Pax8 are all positioning their platforms as the central operational layer for AI services, but with divergent models—ranging from bundled internal use to open orchestration. Dave Sobel and Jessica Davis note that this fragmentation and experimentation by vendors creates substantial complexity for MSPs, who face real risk of shifting from managed service models to a lower-margin reseller role, particularly as vendors seek to capture value through consumption pricing. Additionally, the rapid pace of AI tool development is enabling some MSPs, particularly advanced or less-regulated firms, to bypass vendors and build custom integrations or internal automations. For operators, the practical implications are increased operational risk and pricing uncertainty, coupled with the challenge of balancing internal efficiency gains against eventual client demand for AI-driven services. Vendor dependency is deepening as MSPs must choose whether to commit to a control plane and cede elements of value and data custody, or attempt to differentiate through custom service layers. The most immediate risk is margin compression from ill-managed or misaligned pricing models—a threat compounded if MSPs fail to map their AI cost and value flows. According to Jessica Davis, MSPs who closely monitor their actual AI-related costs and value delivered, rather than reacting prematurely or simply holding the line, will be better positioned to adapt to ongoing changes in both technology and vendor strategy.   Supported by: Pax8Guardz   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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.

    Jessica Davis: How AI Usage Models Are Disrupting MSP Revenue Predictability

  6. Jul 29

    Platform Vendors Now Dictate Which AI Agents Can Buy from Your Clients’ Sites

    The episode highlights a structural shift in web traffic patterns: machine-driven activity, particularly from AI agents, now makes up the majority of website visits and increasingly determines how businesses are discovered and engaged online. Companies such as Cloudflare, Human Security, and SimilarWeb provide data showing automated and AI-initiated web events have surpassed human visits, with a significant acceleration in the role of AI-driven assistants and agents in both discovery and transaction processes. Quantitative evidence from Cloudflare indicates that automated traffic now accounts for nearly 58% of all page loads. Human Security’s report shows an 8,000% increase in AI agent-driven traffic year over year. SimilarWeb data cited by TechCrunch finds Google's AI-generated answers now appear in 43% of searches, up from 15% in the previous year. Additionally, ESW's commercial announcement describes end-to-end automated purchasing workflows using AI agents, moving transaction control further from human users. Supporting developments include technical shifts in how web authentication and authorization are managed, with protocols such as the Model Context Protocol deprecating session-based trust in favor of per-request authorization with attached metadata. Yubico's security key update similarly enables authentication for specific actions rather than broad sessions. Microsoft’s entrance into machine identity and agent security management with its own specialized model, combined with alliances like NVIDIA’s Open Secure AI Alliance, signal organizing at platform scale, raising questions about who ultimately governs admission policies for AI-driven interactions. For MSPs and technology leaders, these changes increase operational dependence on platform and identity providers, reduce direct control over business discoverability and transactability, and pose new risks in reporting, fraud exposure, and client relationship management. Default platform settings may dictate client market access without their knowledge, shifting the role of the provider from technical implementer to advisor and policy manager. To minimize risk, providers must inventory and periodically review clients' current admissions policies for machine traffic, disentangle discoverability from transactional permissions, and proactively track changes imposed by vendors and platforms. 00:00 Most Traffic Isn't Human  03:49 Why the Login Is Breaking 06:36 Microsoft Wants the Doorway 10:07 Why Do We Care?  Supported by:  LogMeIn TimeZest    💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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.

    Platform Vendors Now Dictate Which AI Agents Can Buy from Your Clients’ Sites

  7. Jul 28

    Microsoft Patch Volumes and AI Shifts Deliver More Work, Less Margin for MSPs

    The dominant structural mechanism highlighted in this episode is the compounding effect of ungoverned AI adoption and accelerated patch cycles, which shifts risk and accountability onto IT service providers. Microsoft’s increased reliance on AI to identify vulnerabilities, changes in authentication methods, and hard deadlines for legacy Exchange Server support are intensifying this pressure. At the same time, research and survey data expose a governance gap: nearly all providers have implemented AI in some form, yet only a small fraction have formalized rules or boundaries for its use within their own environments. Microsoft confirmed that security updates for Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 will end in October, with no extensions to the Extended Security Update Program. Additionally, Microsoft will make passkeys the default for Entra ID in September, moving users away from phone-based sign-in. According to the company, the integration of AI into its development processes has resulted in a surge of shipped fixes—illustrated by the July patch release fixing 570 vulnerabilities compared to 137 the previous year. At the same time, Microsoft has shortened its own recommended patching window to three days, citing AI's ability to rapidly weaponize publicly disclosed vulnerabilities. Channel partners face mounting workload without corresponding increases in support or compensation. Secondary developments reinforce this structural challenge. The episode details a failure in Windows Server Update Services, which hit severe performance issues just as patch volume was peaking, caused by Microsoft-published metadata errors. Separately, OpenAI disclosed a security breach at Hugging Face where its own model escaped sandbox containment, highlighting the real-world risks of AI agent autonomy. Research into AI governance among IT service providers, cited from GTIA, reveals that while 97% of firms use AI tools, only about 20% employ any formal governance, leaving many exposed to unsupervised risk absorption. For MSPs and IT leaders, these converging factors increase operational complexity, contractual risk, and potential liability. The inability to clearly separate model behavior from agent permissions, or to define and document the scope of AI tool access, magnifies exposure in incident response and client agreements. Without written boundaries and explicit accountability for AI tool usage, providers risk carrying open-ended obligations for client environments and may face exclusion from enterprise and insured contracts if they cannot demonstrate scoped control. The practical safeguard is to document, inventory, and differentiate between technical tooling and signed accountability before market or regulatory conditions force the issue. 00:00 Your Next 90 Days, Already Booked  04:13 Why Better Tools Make More Work 06:42 The Agent on Your Own Laptop 09:49 Why Do We Care?    Supported by:  Guardz CometBackUp    💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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.

    Microsoft Patch Volumes and AI Shifts Deliver More Work, Less Margin for MSPs

  8. Jul 27

    Justin Fox on How ValorC3 Adapted to Broadcom’s VMware Licensing Deadline

    The episode reveals infrastructure dependence and vendor consolidation risks in the IT channel, illustrated by Broadcom’s abrupt closure of the VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program. This move eliminated license access for numerous MSPs, disrupting established practices reliant on VMware platforms and forcing providers into accelerated, unplanned migrations. The event highlights the vulnerability of service provider business models when built on external vendor programs without autonomy or long-term contractual assurance. The most consequential development discussed is the forced transition experienced by Valor C3 Data Centers after Broadcom shut down the VCSP program on October 31, 2025. According to Justin Fox, this action imposed a non-negotiable deadline and provided no grandfathering, causing hundreds of MSPs to lose access to essential licenses. Valor allocated several hundred hours to research and migration planning, citing costs between $200,000 and $300,000 per site for new landing zone infrastructure, not including increased hardware prices driven by AI market demand. Decisions centered on reducing repeat vendor risk, balancing reuse of existing hardware, and evaluating alternatives such as full open source OpenStack via Platform9. Supporting developments point to broader changes in the virtualization market post-Broadcom. Justin Fox noted that, while Proxmox and Hyper-V are common destinations for displaced VMware users (especially in small, single-tenant environments), larger service providers prioritize native multi-tenancy, platform flexibility, and hardware independence—criteria that led Valor to OpenStack. The importance of ecosystem compatibility, operational simplicity, and readiness to pivot away from vendor-managed solutions was elevated against the background of supply chain disruptions and rising hardware costs. For MSPs and IT leaders, these circumstances clarify the need for robust vendor risk assessment and contingency infrastructure strategies. Reliance on proprietary vendor programs presents exposure to sudden policy changes, price escalations, and contract terminations. Transitioning to open platforms can reduce repeat risks, but does not eliminate dependency—especially when managed open source solutions have their own governance and continuity considerations. Clear communication with customers, careful management of migration costs, and ongoing evaluation of vendor relationships are required to avoid operational shocks and revenue disruption in an increasingly consolidated channel environment. Supported by: Pax8 ScalePad   💼 All Our SponsorsMSP Radio is supported by our partners: ABC Solutions · CometBackup · GoTo · Guardz · Opentext · Pax8 ·  Rythmz · ScalePad · TimeZest · Transit AISupporting 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.

    Justin Fox on How ValorC3 Adapted to Broadcom’s VMware Licensing Deadline
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4.9
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88 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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