Vadim Vladimirskiy knows that managed services providers (MSPs) have a lot on their plates, so there’s a big need for products and tools to simplify their operations while also improving productivity and efficiency.
The CEO of Nerdio said that’s where his company is putting its focus. Nerdio recently unveiled a slate of major product updates, including integrating AI to revolutionize the management and cost-efficiency of desktops, applications, and Azure infrastructure.
Notably, Nerdio announced the launch of three AI-powered assistants within its Nerdio Manager product:
- AssistPro, which will help MSPs with how-to questions. Vladimirskiy described it as “an intuitive and easy use case that can help them navigate the product, and answer technical and nontechnical questions.”
- ScriptPro, a chatbot that can generate PowerShell scripts for various tasks within MSPs’ customer environments. Nerdio Manager can be used to run those scripts within an environment, including Azure or Windows, to help automate tasks like installing applications, disabling services, or enabling security features, Vladimirskiy said.
- InsightPro, a report generation tool that will allow MSPs to extract or understand information about their customer environments, and generate a report that then can be executed against those same customer environments. These reports can be leveraged either for one or a few customers at a time, or even across the entire customer base, Vladimirskiy said.
Vadim Vladimirskiy
These offerings provide a way to help MSPs shift from reactive to predictive operations, Vladimirskiy told ChannelPro in a recent interview. Here, Vladimirskiy dives into the specifics of Nerdio’s announcements and how the company aims to revolutionize the MSP landscape:
Can you elaborate on how Nerdio envisions AI transforming day-to-day operations for MSPs?
We recently announced an infusion of AI capabilities across our product stack, focusing on enhancing the MSP’s management experience. This includes generative AI, like the OpenAI ChatGPT solution, and machine learning, computer vision, among other capabilities. Our goal is to simplify the management of virtual and physical desktops, applications, and Microsoft Azure infrastructure for MSPs.
How do Nerdio’s AI integration products specifically cater to the needs of MSPs?
These tools are purpose-built for MSPs, designed to integrate seamlessly into our existing product stack. They are meant to simplify operations, providing an intuitive interface that enhances productivity and efficiency for MSPs.
How do you envision AssistPro, ScriptPro, and InsightPro impacting MSPs’ operations?
AssistPro has launched in preview, with ScriptPro and InsightPro set to release soon. They’re purpose-built for MSPs, not a product outside of our existing product stack. It’s really built right in; infused into our products. It’s going to be running side by side with everything else, just to create a more intuitive, easy-to-use interface for the users of our product, which are the MSPs.
Beyond generative AI, how does Nerdio incorporate machine learning and computer vision into offerings?
We leverage Microsoft Azure AI services to automate tasks traditionally done manually by MSPs. For example, our backup validation tool uses computer vision to ensure backups are not just completed but are restorable and functional. Similarly, we use computer vision to test changes in images before deployment, ensuring reliability and reducing manual effort for MSPs.
Why do you believe there’s a lack of attention towards technologies like computer vision in the MSP sector?
AI, especially with the popularity of ChatGPT, tends to dominate tech conversations, overshadowing other equally important AI technologies like computer vision. Our focus is on solving practical problems for MSPs, using the best available AI technologies, whether they’re widely discussed or not.
What are some of the biggest challenges MSPs face?
Vladimirskiy takes the stage at NerdioCon 2024.
One of the recurring themes we hear from MSPs is just the rapid pace of change in the technology they’re using. Microsoft is an example. It’s such a rich and rapidly evolving ecosystem, and MSPs really benefit from a partner like Nerdio staying current, curating all of these capabilities, packaging them up, removing that learning curve that MSPs would otherwise have to go through, and delivering it to them in an easy-to-consume way with all of our enablement capabilities. It helps them provide cutting-edge solutions to their customers efficiently.
Looking ahead, what’s your outlook for the IT channel and technology landscape?
AI is dominating the conversation and will have an impact on MSPs’ focus. I’m not sure if this is the year the story about MSPs’ AI business model is going to be solved. It may take a little bit longer, but it’s going to be an important component. Also, the adoption of cloud continues to accelerate. We’re seeing more MSPs coming to us because their customers are ready to start moving to the cloud. And as those renewals come up, MSPs are pitching helping clients in a modernize and migrate to the cloud.
Is there an aspect of Nerdio’s offerings that you think is particularly important for technology providers to be aware of?
We’re expanding into security management with Defender for Endpoint, addressing a critical need among MSPs to leverage the full potential of Microsoft 365’s security features. This initiative aims to help MSPs better understand and utilize these capabilities, ensuring they can deliver comprehensive security solutions to their customers.
Editor’s note: This interview was edited for clarity.
Image: iStock
