What rising AI costs mean for MSPs
As more organizations successfully adopt artificial intelligence (AI), many are discovering that success comes with a growing challenge: managing costs. A recent survey of 700 engineering leaders and practitioners from organizations with more than 1,000 employees found that 26 percent...
The customer profitability problem MSPs can’t ignore
It’s margins that matter – not volumes. Several years ago, I wrote about the importance of identifying customers who cost an MSP money and those who drive profits. Today, that distinction matters more than ever. While many MSPs still focus...
The MSP playbook for agentic AI
For years, AI helped security teams detect threats faster while humans remained responsible for taking action. Agentic AI changes that model. Today’s tools can isolate endpoints, disable accounts, block traffic, and launch remediation workflows automatically. The speed benefits are clear,...
Why your PSA isn’t a CRM anymore
Your PSA (professional services automation platform) was built to run service delivery. It was not built to run sales. Smaller MSPs can use a PSA as a CRM until sales activity increases or large amounts of prospect data enter the...
Sales & Marketing
Should your MSP outsource B2B lead nurturing?
You want more leads for your MSP and have started discussions about outsourcing B2B lead nurturing. Before you get further along in the process, hit pause. You may not have a problem outsourcing can fix. Key takeaways Outsourced lead nurturing...
The MSP sales stack is an expensive myth
Ask ten MSP owners what’s in their sales stack and you’ll get ten different answers, and every one of them is a number nobody’s added up. Here’s my bias, up front: I sell an MSP CRM. Take that for what...
What AI search means for SEO
Every week, my inbox fills up with some version of the same email: “How to rank in AI search.” “Optimize for ChatGPT.” “Your clients are losing visibility. Here’s the fix.” I delete them all. Here’s why. We’ve been here before...
Security
The hidden costs of backup sprawl
A lot of businesses end up with a piecemeal approach to backup. While that’s certainly better than having no backup at all, it often creates a patchwork environment that is far less reliable than it appears. As someone who regularly...
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: Malicious Notepad++ plugins
CERT-UA has identified an ongoing campaign in which threat group UAC-0099 distributes trojanized Notepad++ bundles that install malware on Windows systems. The campaign primarily targets organizations in Ukraine and is linked to activity associated with APT44 (Sandworm). What is the...
Cybersecurity Threat Advisory: Credential-stealing RAT
Researchers have identified a new remote access trojan (RAT) called ChonkyChicken, which threat actors use to steal browser credentials, hijack active browser sessions, and move laterally across Windows networks. Barracuda advises organizations to focus on detection, monitoring, and security hardening,...
Better Business
MSPs have a new resource for managing AI costs
Managed service providers (MSPs) looking to build a practice around optimizing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure should start paying closer attention to the Tokenomics Foundation, which has now been formally launched. As an arm of the Linux Foundation, the Tokenomics Foundation...
How MSPs can capitalize on the next phase of AI
As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, new opportunities are opening for managed service providers (MSPs). Two of the biggest areas are context engineering and AI model routing. Why context engineering matters Context engineering includes the tools and processes that optimize everything...
Why prospects still don’t understand what you’re selling
MSPs should have a solid understanding of what they offer. The real challenge is whether prospective customers understand it as well. Since many MSPs rely on prospects visiting their website, visitors need to quickly understand the service being offered. One...
Tech Insight
Pioneers in Tech: Happy 80th birthday to Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson!
A very happy birthday to Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, who turned 80 on Aug. 5. Jackson — whom Time magazine once called “perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science” — was the first Black woman to earn a...
Tech Time Warp: How a goodbye party launched DEF CON
The 34th DEF CON conference takes place Aug. 6–9 in Las Vegas. It’s no surprise that one of the hacker community’s most influential events has such a memorable origin story. Whether you’ve attended DEF CON or its more corporate cousin,...
Tech Time Warp: IBM 650 and the rise of computing
Business computing took a major leap forward 73 years ago this month when IBM announced the IBM 650. IBM calls it the first mass-produced computer, and it also became the company’s first highly profitable computer. IBM marketed the 650 as...
