AI can help MSPs work faster. Getting clients to pay for that capability requires a different kind of work.
That distinction ran through MSP Summit 2026, hosted by Informa on Sept. 28-30 in Orlando, Florida. Featured speakers throughout the event explored opportunities for MSPs to grow revenue, improve service delivery and deepen client relationships. Their advice often returned to the same principle: Understand the business problem before choosing the technology.
John Snyder
For attendee and MSP 501 honoree John Snyder, the attention to business fundamentals stood out amid the AI discussion. “They’ve actually made some pains to talk about cybersecurity, the fundamentals, making sure that we’ve got good messaging and differentiate ourselves,” the CEO of Net Friends Inc. told ChannelPro. “I thought that was really important because AI does suck up a lot of oxygen.”
For MSPs planning their next stage of growth, the discussions offered several practical lessons. Here are some of the biggest takeaways:
1. Make your value easier to see
Buying the same tools as competitors can improve operations. It also can make providers harder to distinguish.
Megan Killion speaks to an engaged group of MSPs.
During an educational session on Sept. 29, Megan Killion of Pisces Growth Consulting urged MSPs to describe what changes for clients, rather than simply listing capabilities. Managing Microsoft 365, for example, can mean helping a business add employees and locations without technology slowing its expansion.
“Strategic value requires a specific buyer, a specific workflow, and a specific outcome. AI is the enabling technology. It is not the value proposition,” Killion said during her session, AI Is Making MSPs More Replaceable. Here’s How to Stay Relevant.
Killion suggested that MSPs choose one service and rewrite its description without naming a tool. Explain the business problem, the result and why the MSP is qualified to deliver it.
Meanwhile, research presented by PartnerOptimizer founder and CEO Dina Moskowitz illustrated several opportunities in the MSP space. Some of the findings showed how MSP 501 winners compared with the industry at large. For example, an analysis of roughly 46,000 companies found that 47% of MSP 501 providers emphasized endpoint device management, compared with 11% of the broader group.
Dina Moskowitz and Paco Lebron
“If you’re not actually incorporating that into your MSP services, well, there’s an opportunity for you,” Moskowitz said during her main stage presentation alongside MSP Paco Lebron of ProdigyTeks on Sept. 30. “And if you are, talk more about it because your audience, your prospects, your customers expect you to be bringing that to them.”
2. Start with discovery, then build the service
An AI conversation can uncover revenue opportunities that have little to do with AI itself.
During the AI Revenue Architects panel, Pax8’s Chance Weaver estimated that roughly 80% of the situations his team encounters can be addressed through capabilities such as automation or business intelligence.
“I like to say it’s a business conversation, not an AI conversation. If your client is asking about AI, it’s time to dive in and really understand your client’s business. That’s how you can translate that. AI is just another tool in your quiver,” Weaver said during the panel.
AKATI Sekurity’s Krishna Rajagopal outlined a progression from assessment to ongoing monitoring to implementation projects. That gives MSPs a way to identify needs before proposing a solution, while creating opportunities for recurring services.
From left: Robert DeMarzo, Krishna Rajagopal, Jason Rincker, Chance Weaver
New Charter’s Jason Rincker described how early client conversations helped his team develop an AI consulting practice. Those discussions explored readiness and leadership support. “Are you even ready for AI? Is it just a buzzword in your organization? Has your leadership bought into this transformation?” Rincker asked.
For attendees from Micro-Tech USA, the next opportunity involves bringing AI capabilities to clients. Chief Technology Officer Jason Smith said he had been working extensively with AI for about two years and had built several programs despite not being a developer.
His colleague Allen Schilling, a managed service engineer, added that he saw several ideas worth bringing home. “It’s really interesting to see how all of these different MSPs are packaging AI to sell to their clients and selling AI as a service. I’m definitely going to bring that back to the table when we get back.”
3. Protect the margin behind the promise
New revenue does not automatically mean stronger profitability.
CloudBlue’s Tarik Faouzi warned that MSPs need visibility into AI consumption. Token costs can erode margins when providers cannot track usage or adjust pricing. His advice was to start with one offering. Bundle it with services, understand consumption and master delivery before expanding.
Security requires similar preparation. SilverSky’s Thomas Neclerio described customers deploying AI before establishing policies and safeguards. Helping clients define acceptable use, protect data and monitor activity creates another service opportunity.
David Raissipour of ConnectWise
4. Give people more valuable work
Automation’s growth potential also depends on how MSPs use the capacity it creates.
ConnectWise’s David Raissipour challenged the assumption that more customers must require proportionally more staff. He urged providers to retrain technicians for roles that bring greater strategic value.
N-able’s Meaghan Reinecke offered another application: Use AI to assemble reporting data so employees can spend more time discussing results with clients.
The practical starting point is an existing client conversation. Find where work stalls, identify what improvement would matter and build a service around that outcome.
Anjali Fluker is managing editor of The ChannelPro Network, where she covers news, trends and best practices for the MSP community. She specializes in telling the stories that matter to IT providers serving the SMB market. When she’s not reporting on the latest in managed services, she’s connecting with channel pros at industry events across the country.
Images: Anjali Fluker/ChannelPro
