Going through rising consumer expectations and rising worth 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 providers firm Safari Micro, to talk 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 will possibly create pricey issues additional down the road. From the rising 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 going through MSPs, and the way is that altering conversations round automation and effectivity?
Generally, you’re coping with shoppers themselves which might be very worth acutely aware at each stage. So for us, one, it creates a little bit of a drive within the aggressive space towards different MSPs, about pricing and providers concerned in that, after which the way you differentiate yourselves from each other.
It looks as if each consumer is all the time searching for an MSP that may present higher providers at a greater worth. In order that they’re all the time looking for totally different firms in that space. For us, we’ve needed to actually outline what’s the differentiator. How are we totally different from different MSPs? It’s turn into about simply high quality. For our firm, particularly, we need 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 irrespective of how knowledgeable you’re, at a sure worth level persons are not going to go along with you. So we’re searching for methods to automate. We’re searching for methods to templatise, to carry our prices down once we’re working with them. Though 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 cross 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 will depend on what their area of interest is. For us, the preliminary onboarding of a consumer and bringing them as much as our requirements is often essentially the most time consuming piece. Discovering a option to automate that course of in order that they’re onboarded sooner, our greater engineers should spend much less time in that course of, then that helps break our prices down, and in order that the onboarding concept might be prolonged out a really very long time relying on what the consumer’s setting 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 performed that?
Sure. We began with the Azure digital Desktop facet. I’ll begin there, after which sort of tackle 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 consistently concerned with the method. When you might have these sort 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 direction of the top of 2020, we had been already searching for methods to automate a few of these processes, and we had 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 lower out plenty of my time at an architect stage, the place I’m attempting to design processes and make it possible for every little thing is coherent, to a sure normal that now we have. Nerdio actually addressed that. And, for us, particularly on the Digital Desktop facet, they had been a sport changer in a manner that we hadn’t actually seen with every other firm as they’ve grown into fashionable work.
Now we’re seeing plenty of the opposite stuff that we take care of for shoppers on the Microsoft 365 facet, managing mailboxes, SharePoint, Groups and many others – Nerdio has introduced that stuff up to now 12 months into their program. We’re beginning to see them sort of revolutionise that as effectively. So we’re in a position to usher in shoppers and have computerized deployments out to all of our shoppers on the identical time, as an alternative of getting to deal with every one individually.
For MSPs early of their Nerdio journey, the place do you see the quickest wins or best areas to drive automation and value financial savings?
Most likely the best one is on the Azure. That’s the facet they begin out with. It’s in the end the strongest of their setting. So in the event that they’re trying to carry their shoppers into the cloud in an Azure setting, Nerdio makes it very fast with very simple onboarding.
If it’s a completely new setting 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 whole setting. If you happen to’re taking up an setting, it’s additionally a fast walkthrough simply to take over that setting. The tougher half is that if they’re transitioning them from an on-premise setting right into a cloud setting. You continue to have to have individuals like me concerned with the migration structure facet of it, however when you get by way of that preliminary transfer to the cloud, Nerdio makes it simple for them to remain within the cloud.
How are roles inside MSPs evolving due to automation instruments like Nerdio? What abilities or mindsets have gotten extra invaluable?
The automation facet of issues brings the day after day work duties which might be concerned in managing the setting down. So the talent set for these individuals generally is a lot decrease. I feel you continue to want your very excessive stage architectural individuals to supervise that. However I feel it reduces plenty of the center space, so you may have inexperienced individuals introduced into this setting. Nerdio has an excellent coaching program to get them on top of things. 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’re able to assist the Nerdio setting, 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 into the subject to deal with 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 appears to be like like within the fashionable office. They’ve performed that with Co-pilot, and so they’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 following step from there? What’s the following evolution of AI? And the way is our accomplice group concerned in that course of? Quite a lot of that proper now nonetheless appears to be like like, how will we safe environments? How will we take knowledge 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 providers or capabilities that MSPs are nonetheless underutilising — however ought to be leaning right into a bit extra?
Yeah. And that is really one other course that Microsoft is heading in with what they name the adaptable cloud. Not solely do now we have Azure within the cloud, and there was this initiative to maneuver everyone to the cloud, however now there’s an initiative to carry the cloud to the shoppers.
So now we have one thing known as Azure Native now, previously Azure Stack HCI. It doesn’t essentially must be all cloud or on premise for shoppers. Now we will have a look at possibly shifting 80% of your setting to the cloud. Let’s hold a few of it on premise. What do these workloads appear like? Can they transfer backwards and forwards? Are they adaptable? That sort 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 deal with of the cloud it’s overly costly for them, which is why organisations like Nerdio automation instruments. A part of the attraction 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 every little thing 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 effectively automation instruments work, individuals have a tendency to leap in and so they simply begin constructing stuff. That’s sort of the way in which within the cloud, usually, Azure makes it nearly deceptively simple simply to begin constructing stuff and producing prices.
Individuals overlook structure must be concerned, correct planning and structure, taking a look at that holistically. You’ll be able to you can begin constructing a house, and also you may have the ability to 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. If you happen to don’t have that foundational structure in place, while you go to begin utilising these items, sooner or later it’s going to get too huge, 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 appear like in just a few years?
I completely love the altering technological panorama. I cherished when AI was launched. I really like the aspect of the unknown in there, as a result of it looks as if each new factor that comes out is sort of prefer it’s Christmas morning over again. 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. Now we have 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.
Which will additionally change our jobs as we transfer ahead. There could also be sure roles that gained’t exist sooner or later. Even technological smart, 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.
Picture by redcharlie on Unsplash
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