IT Nation Connect: MSPs Should Seize AI Opportunities

IT NATION CONNECT — Day two of IT Nation Connect included a primer for MSPs on making the most of AI as they assist SMBs globally.

During his keynote, Jeff Bishop, ConnectWise’s executive vice president and general manager of unified monitoring and management, said AI offers a massive opportunity for MSPs as the community has adapted to previous tech challenges and capitalized on them.

“We are in the middle of a new inflection point in technology that will change the way we work forever,” he said. “But this isn't new or revolutionary for this community. You've adapted to change for decades, whether it was internet, networking, telephony, personal computers, Windows Vista, BYOD, cloud computing, cybersecurity, a pandemic and remote working. You have waded through all of this and now it's AI.”

Hundreds of billions of dollars will be flowing into AI development, marketing and data centers over the next few years, Bishop said.

“There are more than 60,000 self-defined AI companies around the world today, and leaders like yourselves are trying to keep pace with the impact that it will have on their businesses,” he said. “We are seeing everything from companies requiring that every single employee uses AI to companies saying you're not allowed to use it at all. What's right? What's wrong? Maybe it's somewhere in the middle. But the key thing about inflection points is that they are a catalyst to create ambiguity, cynicism and challenges, but most importantly, opportunities. And those opportunities, as long as you're taking the time to listen, learn and keep an open mind, you'll be able to weather that storm.”

Related:IT Nation Connect: New ConnectWise CEO Vows Continued Innovation

IT Nation Connect Stresses Importance of MSPs to SMBs

MSPs have the unique ability to meet the challenges head on and impact real change within millions of SMBs around the world that impact over 40% of the global economy, Bishop said.

“You help them defend against cybercriminals, take advantage of new technologies, and grow and differentiate their businesses,” he said. “MSPs are a rising stock and your value to your customers is going to continue to evolve through all of these opportunities. It's a great time [for] taking advantage of all these amazing opportunities, and ConnectWise understands that our priority is to deliver innovation, product stability, ease of use and an open ecosystem, all of which are crucial to our partnership with you and to your continued success. And we know we cannot just rest upon a vision.”

ConnectWise has made progress across its entire portfolio, starting with the Asio platform, Bishop said.

Related:IT Nation Connect: New ConnectWise Cybersecurity Offerings for MSPs

“What started off as a bold mission continues to evolve as more services and products light up inside of Asio,” he said. “... Asio is our purpose-built, enterprise-grade platform for the MSP community that centralizes your products and your data, provides a common user experience and removes a lot of the manual work you have to do today for onboarding employees, customers and integrating disparate solutions. It allows us to build AI models that transcend traditional product borders, and provide comprehensive insights and adaptive experiences that match your needs, and your operational maturity and your modes of operation.”

Scroll through our slideshow above for more from day two of IT Nation Connect.