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The Business of Tech Podcast
My Daily Podcast, The Business of Tech. 5 minutes of news and comments, asking “Why Do We Care?” for IT services companies
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 for managed service providers, IT services leaders, and the vendors who sell to them.
Short daily episodes keep you current in about 15 minutes. Longer interviews go deep with MSP owners, investors, analysts, and channel executives on where the managed services market is heading.
What this MSP podcast covers:
• AI for MSPs — AI pricing and consumption billing, AI liability and governance, and AI agents in the service desk
• MSP pricing and profitability — per-user vs. usage-based pricing, margins, service agreements, and vendor rebates
• MSP M&A and private equity — acquisitions, roll-ups, valuations, and what consolidation means for independent MSPs
• MSP vendors and partner programs — Microsoft, Kaseya, ConnectWise, N-able, Pax8, and how channel programs shift risk onto providers
• MSP cybersecurity and liability — cyber insurance, compliance, regulation, and the security-stack decisions that expose a managed service provider
• MSP operations — automation, PSA and RMM, hiring, and the operational maturity that separates growing MSPs from stalled ones
Questions we answer:
• How should an MSP price AI services when vendors move to consumption billing?
• Who carries the liability when AI acts inside a client environment?
• What does private equity consolidation mean for MSP valuations?
• Which vendor partner program changes quietly cut MSP margins?
• What do insurers and regulators now expect from managed service providers?
Business of Tech is produced by MSP Radio, the independent media company for the managed services and IT channel community. Hosted by Dave Sobel, MSP industry analyst and longtime channel veteran. Written versions of every episode, with full source links, at businessof.tech.
MSPs are experiencing a structural transfer of accountability for AI agent governance from technology vendors to the service provider level. Microsoft’s assignment of Entra identities to Copilot Studio agents and the GTIA’s Managed Intelligence Alliance setting standards for AI-as-a-service represent a market shift—placing responsibility for risk, oversight, and control directly on MSPs and IT service providers, rather than solely on platform vendors.
The episode’s primary evidence centers on the operational requirements outlined by David Smith of Tekscape: agent identity management, restrictive permissions, thorough audit trails, and an off switch. Smith stated these elements are necessary for MSPs to demonstrate transparent, auditable control of agent actions to clients, mirroring the rigor applied to traditional user governance.
Supporting discussions highlighted gaps in dashboard-only governance solutions and Tekscape’s own internal lessons learned from deploying over 100 agents. The lack of integrated data structures and reliable API access was identified as a persistent barrier, leading to fragmented automations and increased potential for errors. Treating AI agents as legacy workloads without business-aware oversight was cited as exposing both MSPs and clients to avoidable risks.
For MSPs and IT leaders, the implications are a rise in operational burden and risk profile as agent operations become an in-house responsibility. Typical off-the-shelf tools do not ensure cohesive governance or reliable cross-platform automation, increasing integration and accuracy challenges. Providers must invest in internal capabilities for development, integration, and ongoing oversight, prioritizing vendor-neutral standards and transparent client reporting.
Supported by:
Guardz
OpenText
GoTo (LogMeIn)
About Business of Tech: The daily MSP news and analysis podcast for managed service providers and IT services leaders. Host Dave Sobel covers AI for MSPs, MSP pricing and profitability, MSP M&A and private equity, vendor partner programs, MSP cybersecurity and liability, and MSP operations — and answers the question every story raises: Why do we care? Produced by MSP Radio.
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