MSP Success December/January | Page 32

ENTREPRENEURIAL TOOLBOX CONT .
tools have access to . That ’ s why people are now pushing back .
A lot of people who would stand to benefit from AI tools are privately worried about where this could go , but they can ’ t say it publicly because they don ’ t want to be seen like Luddites . So , it certainly does have its dangers if we ’ re not careful .
How Can MSPs Use AI Now ?
NADIR :
Leverage your vendors and peer groups to get up to speed . The overwhelming majority of organizations barely use 20 % of the features they ’ re already paying for , so there ’ s a ton of additional value you can unlock just by learning to better utilize these technologies . At Kaseya , for example , we offer free services to help with this including training and certifications at all of our big events , like Kaseya Connect Global . We also make one-on-one phone calls to help our customers better utilize our software . And our partners want longer-term , more structured training . We can do that through a professional services organization .
People often have the best intentions of learning on their own , but they get busy or there ’ s a fire to fight . Then three months later , you realize , “ Oh yeah , I forgot to finish that course !” Tools like Cooper Bots help because it exists to solve that exact problem .
ROBIN :
As a CEO , you need to have a strategy . Talk to trusted sources , industry analysts , distributors , key contacts , and other MSPs . Learn what other people know and get updated on what your peers are doing . Talk about what this means for training your techs and what this means for your business .
Don ’ t make this a solo venture . There ’ s a whole community of people out there asking the same question . Make it collaborative because AI represents potential opportunity .
What Do You See Down The Road ?
NADIR :
People won ’ t necessarily be doing the same rudimentary tasks . Instead , they ’ ll be doing more advanced things . . . and more human things .
Say I ’ m a technician and I can crush 15 tickets in a day manually , but with AI tools , I could crush 500 tickets . Why not spend that time talking to customers and learning how technology can better help their business ?
As AI enables your business to get more effective , providing that level of service will become a bigger differentiator for what you as an MSP can provide . A computer can ’ t yet have a relationship with a human being . And business and serving customers is all about the relationship . AI won ’ t replace that .
ROBIN :
We primarily think about AI as automating processes , replacing people , or as a threat . What we don ’ t hear quite so much is how people can use it to build and grow businesses . How AI can improve the sales process , particularly the lead generation process .
The worst thing you could do is to use AI to thin your business down . Instead , you should use it to expand , employ more people , and certainly to make the jobs of those people that are currently there more interesting .
Businesses will use AI to employ more people , make them more efficient and happier in their jobs .
" As AI enables your business to get more effective , providing that level of service will become a bigger differentiator for what you as an MSP can provide ."
- Nadir Merchant
Nadir Merchant is the GM and CTO of IT Glue , a Kaseya company , and the GM of Information Technology IT Operations Products at Kaseya . Prior , Nadir was a Solutions Architect for Data . ai .
Robin Ody is a senior analyst with Canalys , as global managed services research lead . He specializes in MSP and CSP channels , particularly in cybersecurity , infrastructure , and cloud . Learn more at Canalys . com .
32 | MSPSUCCESS . COM