It’s impossible to have a tech conversation these days without mentioning AI. That’s why harnessing artificial intelligence for practical business value was front and center at ChannelPro LIVE: New Jersey, a two-day conference for MSPs.
Held May 13-14 in Parsippany, NJ, the event delivered business-building insights, deep technical expertise, and local networking opportunities. It marked the fourth stop on ChannelPro’s 2025 in-person conference tour, tailored for MSPs, IT service providers, system integrators, and VARs.
The summit featured interactive presentations and panels led by some of the channel’s leading practitioners, consultants, and renowned strategists. The goal was to empower MSPs, while also allowing them opportunities to network with key vendors and other regional service providers.
“We design every ChannelPro LIVE event to be personal, practical, and packed with takeaways MSPs can act on immediately,” said Michael Siggins, founder and publisher of ChannelPro. “Whether you’re here to sharpen your business strategy, explore new tools, or meet peers and vendors, these events are built to help you grow.”
Day 1: Making AI Work for MSPs
While tools like ChatGPT have continued to dominate headlines, ChannelPro LIVE: New Jersey focused on what truly matters for small and midsized MSPs: Turning AI from a buzzword into a business advantage.
Day 1 began with a welcome from Siggins, followed by a series of fast-paced panels, tactical sessions, and expert-led discussions. The AI-focused workshop sessions on the opening day were:
- Building the Perfect AI-powered MSP: Featuring Kelly Stone of Ironstone Strategy, who focused on the people element; Corey Kirkendoll of 5K Technical Services, who highlighted the process piece; and Seana Fippin of Red Box Business Solutions/STORM AI, who centered on the technology required. The panelists shared how AI can reshape service delivery — and how to begin that journey. ChannelPro Executive Editor Jonathan Browning moderated the panel.
- Beyond Copilot 365: Industry veteran Erick Simpson of MSP Mastered/Channel Mastered explored how to look beyond Microsoft’s default AI offerings into more strategic uses of generative tools.
- Practical Applications of AI Within an MSP Business: Jon McCarrick of Acronis delivered insights on incorporating AI in areas like support automation, data protection, and operational efficiency.
The takeaway? AI isn’t just a technical trend. It’s a revenue-generating opportunity MSPs can’t afford to overlook.
That message resonated with attendees like Don Burt, partner manager at 12:34 Micro Technologies Inc. “For all of us, no matter how old or how young, education is the cornerstone to advancing yourself. The more you learn and the more you can understand, the easier it is to share with others. Fundamentally, that’s what we do for a living. We help other people.”
The Power of a Good Story
Margee Moore, CEO and digital strategist with BigOrange Marketing, introduced the audience to the StoryBrand framework. Inspired by classic film characters, she showed how storytelling can transform marketing and win more business. Moore demonstrated how MSPs can apply the seven-part framework to messaging across websites, brochures, and social media to create blockbuster-worthy results.
Honoring a Channel Champion
Dave Cava (right) chats with Michael Siggins about his career.
To close out the first day’s sessions, the ChannelPro Partner in Excellence Award was presented. This award — the fourth so far this year — recognizes a local MSP, peer group leader, or consultant for going above and beyond to support the channel community.
Jersey-area honoree Dave Cava, owner of PeopleSharp, is well-respected as a tireless advocate of the channel. Early on, he served COO and co-founder of his own MSP, Proactive Technologies, and then shifted to coaching IT business leaders at Encore Strategic. Plus, he co-authored of The Pumpkin Plan for MSPs, an essential resource for IT providers looking to scale their businesses. Whether onstage, in print, or in a boardroom, Cava has a knack for making complex problems feel solvable.
His parting advice to the audience was all about connecting with people. “The most important thing to your business is relationships, your relationships with each other, vendors, your clients, and the one we don’t think about a lot is your relationships with referrals,” Cava noted. “Put the work into the relationships. Be a go giver. Do what you can for them and it will most certainly come back to you.”
High-energy Networking in the Expo Hall
During the high-energy cocktail reception, attendees explored the exhibit hall. Attendees connected with vendors, checked out product demos, and talked shop with their peers and event presenters.
Nicholas Celinski, manager of account management at Pulseway, emphasized the value of seeing the broader vendor landscape up close: “There are so many things that an MSP really has the ability to do now and different streams of revenue where they can position themselves into in the market. So, learning about what different vendors are doing … is invaluable.”
Day 2: Local Issues and MSP Operational Excellence
The second day opened with breakfast and peer networking, followed by a busy schedule of educational content.
- The first panel of the day, featuring Virtua Consulting’s Justin Esgar and AMS Unlimited CEO AnnMarie Santamarina, focused on the biggest issues facing Illinois MSPs in 2025.
- The next topic, Windows 10 EOL: Don’t Squander the Opportunity panel. That conversation helped MSPs frame refresh lifecycle upgrades as revenue-generating investments — not just technical tasks. The featured experts were Kirkendoll and Carl Mazzanti, co-founder and president of eMazzanti Technologies.
Attendees connect with world-class vendors during the lunch reception.
Attendees then had another opportunity to network and browse vendor offerings during lunch in the Expo Hall.
- After lunch, Fippin and Stone returned to the stage for a session titled Easy Money: How to Sell AI as a Service. They outlined real-life strategies that MSPs can use to market and package AI offerings that generate recurring revenue.
- In the final panel of the day, Santamarina and Mazzanti teamed up for Bad Blood: How to Turn Client Offboarding into a Win. This session offered tips on ending difficult client relationships on a professional note.
- To wrap up the content for the day, the ChannelPro audience took in insights from a local MSP. Fluid Designs Principal and Founder Stanley Louissaint offered key advice in a solo presentation titled 10 Tips for Scaling Beyond $1M Without Hiring.
And let’s not forget the fun. Attendees enjoyed chances to win prizes through on-site games, vendor giveaways, and more.
Recognizing the Top Vendors
Before closing, ChannelPro LIVE: New Jersey presented the Vendor Excellence awards, where attendees voted for standout sponsors in several categories. Here’s a full list of the winners:
- Best Add-on Product: Galactic Advisors
- Best Cloud Solution: US Signal
- Best Distributor: TD SYNNEX
- Best Expo Hall Presentation (Premium): Kaseya
- Best Expo Hall Presentation (Silver): Channel Hunters
- Best Hardware Solution: Carbon Systems
- Best New Solution: (tie) NUSO, Channel Hunters
- Best On-stage Presentation: Kaseya
- Best Product or Platform: ThreatLocker
- Best Revenue Booster: Galactic Advisors
- Best Security Solution: ThreatLocker
- Best Software Solution: Acronis
- Most Exciting Solution: BigOrange Marketing
- Best in Show: Kaseya
- ROI Lightning Round Winner: NUSO
- Editor’s Choice: LogMeIn
- ChannelPro Community Award: Choice Cyber Solutions
Sponsors Make It Happen
On behalf of our attendees, a sincere thank you to all the incredible sponsors who make MSP tech events like ChannelPro LIVE: New Jersey possible.
What’s Next for ChannelPro?
Next up for ChannelPro’s event series: A virtual Deep Dive and two regional in-person summits:
- ChannelPro Deep Dive Virtual Series: Monetizing the Security Compliance Minefield
- ChannelPro DEFEND East: Boston, Aug. 11-12
- ChannelPro LIVE: Atlanta: Sept. 9-10
Plus, join us for vendor webinars for MSPs that you can attend without leaving your desk. ChannelPro events are designed to be highly interactive, solutions-focused, and full of insights you can leverage right away. Don’t miss your chance to join us!
Anjali Fluker contributed to this article.
