Dealing with rising consumer expectations and rising value stress, managed service suppliers (MSPs) are turning to automation not simply to save cash however to remain aggressive.
At NerdioCon 2025 in La Quinta, California, we caught up with Jeremy Wallace, principal cloud architect at IT companies firm Safari Micro, to speak about how the MSP panorama is evolving. He explains how instruments from the likes of Microsoft cloud administration agency, Nerdio, are serving to MSPs simplify Azure environments, onboard shoppers sooner and unlock senior engineers for extra strategic work.
However, whereas automation gives clear advantages, Wallace stresses that with out correct planning and structure, it might create pricey issues additional down the road. From the growing function of AI to the rise of hybrid cloud, Wallace shares his perspective on the place MSPs ought to focus subsequent, what errors to keep away from and why adaptability can be key to success within the years forward.
How would you describe the present financial pressures dealing with MSPs, and the way is that altering conversations round automation and effectivity?
On the whole, you’re coping with shoppers themselves which might be very value aware at each degree. So for us, one, it creates a little bit of a drive within the aggressive space towards different MSPs, about pricing and companies concerned in that, after which the way you differentiate yourselves from each other.
It looks as if each consumer is all the time in search of an MSP that may present higher companies at a greater value. In order that they’re all the time purchasing for completely different corporations in that space. For us, we’ve needed to actually outline what’s the differentiator. How are we completely different from different MSPs? It’s turn out to be about simply high quality. For our firm, particularly, we wish to make it possible for we’re precise specialists in areas and supply service to them, and justify the pricing that we give them.
However regardless of how professional you’re, at a sure value level persons are not going to go together with you. So we’re in search of methods to automate. We’re in search of methods to templatise, to carry our prices down once we’re working with them. Regardless that we do have the specialists, we’re looking for methods, whether or not it’s AI, whether or not it’s automation platforms, to carry our prices down in order that we will go that on to the consumer.
Are there any explicit duties that MSPs are most eager to automate for the time being, and why would that be?
It actually relies on what their area of interest is. For us, the preliminary onboarding of a consumer and bringing them as much as our requirements is normally essentially the most time consuming piece. Discovering a option to automate that course of in order that they’re onboarded sooner, our increased engineers should spend much less time in that course of, then that helps break our prices down, and in order that the onboarding concept could be prolonged out a really very long time relying on what the consumer’s atmosphere is. So the extra we will automate that, the extra that we will throw out we have already got pre designed templates and issues like that, the sooner that’s for us.
Nerdio appears to suppose it’s modified the sport for MSPs managing Microsoft Azure environments. Do you agree? And the way has it executed that?
Sure. We began with the Azure digital Desktop aspect. I’ll begin there, after which form of handle how they’ve grown. We tried doing Azure Digital Desktop and Azure Administration earlier than Nerdio, and it did take a excessive diploma of engineers that wanted to be always concerned with the method. When you’ve these form of engineers with the method, it’s going to be much more pricey for us and for the consumer because of this.
Once we introduced Nerdio In in the direction of the tip of 2020, we have been already in search of methods to automate a few of these processes, and we have been attempting to construct it ourselves. That can also be costly to create these processes ourselves. We came upon Nerdio was already excelling in these areas, so once we introduced them in, they instantly minimize out a variety of my time at an architect degree, the place I’m attempting to design processes and make it possible for all the things is coherent, to a sure commonplace that we have now. Nerdio actually addressed that. And, for us, particularly on the Digital Desktop aspect, they have been a sport changer in a means that we hadn’t actually seen with every other firm as they’ve grown into fashionable work.
Now we’re seeing a variety of the opposite stuff that we take care of for shoppers on the Microsoft 365 aspect, managing mailboxes, SharePoint, Groups and many others – Nerdio has introduced that stuff previously yr into their program. We’re beginning to see them form of revolutionise that as properly. So we’re ready to herald shoppers and have automated deployments out to all of our shoppers on the similar time, as a substitute of getting to deal with each individually.
For MSPs early of their Nerdio journey, the place do you see the quickest wins or best areas to drive automation and price financial savings?
In all probability the best one is on the Azure. That’s the aspect they begin out with. It’s in the end the strongest of their atmosphere. So in the event that they’re seeking to carry their shoppers into the cloud in an Azure atmosphere, Nerdio makes it very fast with very straightforward onboarding.
If it’s a fully new atmosphere for a consumer, that is the primary time within the cloud customers constructing one thing new. Nerdio simply has a fast walkthrough that helps them arrange a complete atmosphere. For those who’re taking up an atmosphere, it’s additionally a fast walkthrough simply to take over that atmosphere. The more durable half is that if they’re transitioning them from an on-premise atmosphere right into a cloud atmosphere. You continue to have to have folks like me concerned with the migration structure aspect of it, however when you get via that preliminary transfer to the cloud, Nerdio makes it straightforward for them to remain within the cloud.
How are roles inside MSPs evolving due to automation instruments like Nerdio? What expertise or mindsets have gotten extra invaluable?
The automation aspect of issues brings the daily work duties which might be concerned in managing the atmosphere down. So the talent set for these folks is usually a lot decrease. I feel you continue to want your very excessive degree architectural folks to supervise that. However I feel it reduces a variety of the center space, so you may have inexperienced folks introduced into this atmosphere. Nerdio has an excellent coaching program to get them up to the mark. We’ve had engineers that we introduced on that had no Digital Desktop, no Azure background. We introduced them to the Nerdio coaching after which they can assist the Nerdio atmosphere, as a result of Nerdio has introduced that threshold down.
The place do you see Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem heading subsequent when it comes to accomplice alternative?
I’m a Microsoft MVP, and I used to be simply on the Redmond campus about two weeks in the past. It’s very apparent that AI has turn out to be the subject to give attention to for lots of organisations. Even Nerdio has had these conversations of how will we incorporate AI into our program?
I feel you’re going to see Microsoft proceed to develop on what AI seems like within the fashionable office. They’ve executed that with Co-pilot, they usually’re persevering with to evolve Co-pilot and Co-pilot brokers, and make AI an on a regular basis common a part of our lives.
So what’s the subsequent step from there? What’s the subsequent evolution of AI? And the way is our accomplice group concerned in that course of? Plenty of that proper now nonetheless seems like, how will we safe environments? How will we take information and make it one thing that may be ingested in AI? However I actually suppose we nonetheless haven’t fairly scratched the floor on the place’s the true final worth of AI. The place does AI in the end begin making organisations cash and issues like that.
Are there particular Azure companies or capabilities that MSPs are nonetheless underutilising — however must be leaning right into a bit extra?
Yeah. And that is truly one other route that Microsoft is heading in with what they name the adaptable cloud. Not solely do we have now Azure within the cloud, and there was this initiative to maneuver all people to the cloud, however now there’s an initiative to carry the cloud to the shoppers.
So we have now one thing referred to as Azure Native now, previously Azure Stack HCI. It doesn’t essentially have to be all cloud or on premise for shoppers. Now we will take a look at possibly transferring 80% of your atmosphere to the cloud. Let’s hold a few of it on premise. What do these workloads seem like? Can they transfer backwards and forwards? Are they adaptable? That kind of stuff.
I feel we’ll proceed to see a hybrid cloud be a spotlight in Azure, as persons are beginning to realise that in the event that they don’t have a superb deal with of the cloud it’s overly costly for them, which is why organisations like Nerdio automation instruments. A part of the enchantment is that they assist carry prices down with automation. However I feel you even have shoppers on the market which might be realising it doesn’t make sense for all the things to be within the cloud. So Microsoft’s answering that with this Azure Native answer.
What errors do you see MSPs generally make, particularly when approaching automation — and the way can they keep away from them?
I feel due to how properly automation instruments work, folks have a tendency to leap in they usually simply begin constructing stuff. That’s form of the way in which within the cloud, on the whole, Azure makes it virtually deceptively straightforward simply to begin constructing stuff and producing prices.
Individuals neglect structure must be concerned, correct planning and structure, that holistically. You may you can begin constructing a house, and also you may be capable of construct a shack, nevertheless it’s in all probability going to disintegrate on you sooner or later should you don’t take into consideration the precise structure. It’s the identical with these automation instruments within the clouds. For those who don’t have that foundational structure in place, if you go to begin utilising these things, sooner or later it’s going to get too large, too messy and it’s going to disintegrate.
What excites you most about the way forward for MSPs and what do you suppose the MSP panorama will seem like in a couple of years?
I completely love the altering technological panorama. I beloved when AI was launched. I like the component of the unknown in there, as a result of it looks as if each new factor that comes out is nearly prefer it’s Christmas morning once more. There’s one thing new to play with.
It additionally scares the heck out of lots of people, seeing all these new issues and people unknowns. However I actually suppose it drives us to raise. We’ve to determine how we use these applied sciences, whether or not it’s AI and Co-pilot, whether or not it’s different automation platforms, and the way we will use this to generate income as a enterprise after which proceed to innovate and assist our shoppers.
That will additionally change our jobs as we transfer ahead. There could also be sure roles that gained’t exist sooner or later. Even technological sensible, we wouldn’t essentially want an engineer for this. Possibly that’s changed by AI sooner or later in time, however for the foreseeable future, persons are nonetheless going to be concerned. It simply relies upon. They might should adapt their roles. I feel being adaptable is enjoyable to me, nevertheless it’s additionally scary to lots of people.
Photograph by redcharlie on Unsplash
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