There’s a new professional gaining traction in this AI era: forward-deployed engineer. An FDE is a specialist who translates raw model capability into workflows that clients actually use. This person stays close enough to the business to catch what breaks. Every enterprise AI rollout you’ve read about has this kind of engineer behind it.
It is a role built on trust and proximity. It’s a big reason behind large organizations moving on AI faster than most predicted.
This role also already exists outside of the world of AI, just under another name. It’s the MSP.
Filling the AI adoption gap
For years, MSPs have been the first call for small businesses when something in their technology stack needs to work. They manage IT, security and compliance — the unglamorous infrastructure that keeps a company running.
That relationship was not built overnight. It developed appointment by appointment, ticket by ticket, and through years of showing up day and night.
This is where the AI adoption gap emerges. While small businesses often utilize MSPs, most haven’t truly started to incorporate AI into their operations. According to the National Small Business Association, only about 30% of small businesses are experimenting with AI, compared with more than 70% of large enterprises.
It’s not that small businesses do not see the value. Rather, they don’t know where to begin and many don’t want to admit that out loud. Left without guidance, many are experimenting with consumer AI tools on their own, often putting company data at risk.
Small businesses know AI’s potential. They’re just waiting for someone they trust to explain what it can mean for them. MSPs are positioned to close that gap.
The MSPs opportunity
Service providers already carry the operational knowledge, client relationships and credibility that small businesses rely on. They understand how each client works, their bottlenecks and what needs to be protected. They have spent years building the proximity that makes responsible AI adoption possible.
Jimmy Hatzell
The scale of that ecosystem is enormous. The global MSP market is projected to exceed $350 billion by 2030, driven largely by small business demand for outsourced IT and security.
This is not a niche workforce. It is the backbone of Main Street technology.
How to capture the momentum
The MSPs making the most progress have embraced a simple but powerful idea. They stopped selling features and started selling outcomes. That reframing is often the difference between polite interest and real adoption.
The ones furthest along did not treat AI as an add on. They rebuilt their service model around it. They wove it into marketing, sales, support and technical operations until it stopped being a separate offering. It simply became how they deliver service.
This matters most for the businesses where everyone still knows each other’s names. These businesses don’t have the resources to hire a dedicated AI team or stand up an innovation lab. They trust the IT person they have worked with for years to take care of things for them.
When that relationship becomes the bridge to AI, small businesses finally get a fair shot at the same tools, leverage and competitive footing as companies 20 times their size.
Leading the way
The future of AI for small businesses will not be led by labs or enterprise consultants. It will be led by the MSPs that already keep these companies running. They are closest to the work, the people and the problems AI is finally capable of solving.
Jimmy Hatzell is the co-founder and CEO of Hatz AI. He founded Hatz AI in 2024 after a decade in IT services and cybersecurity at SKOUT, Barracuda and CyberQP. His goal is to help MSPs close the AI adoption gap by bringing practical, secure AI solutions to their small business clients.
Featured image: chromadreamcoat — stock.adobe.com
