All Things MSP

Most MSP owners swear they started a company for freedom, but all they really did was buy themselves a grueling, high-stress job. If stepping away from your desk for two weeks causes a client revolt, you don't own an asset—you own an expensive prison. Whether you intend to cash out to private equity in five years or casually run a boutique shop for thirty, ignoring documentation, delegating zero t...

Your clients are practically throwing money at ChatGPT and Claude subscriptions, but the second you ask them to turn on multi-factor authentication, it triggers a 19-email corporate meltdown. Only 42% of MSP clients reportedly enforce MFA on critical systems—meaning less than half of them have the deadbolt turned, yet they are demanding you integrate autonomous bots into their business workflows.&...

Chasing late client payments is awkward, and spending three to five hours copy-pasting vendor screenshots into a slide deck only to have the client cancel an hour before the meeting is pure torture. Running an MSP means constantly getting stuck between uncomfortable debt collection and broken account management processes that bleed profit. In this episode live from the Pax8 Beyond floor, Just...

An advertisement claiming a 67-person IT firm was offered over $1 million for their ticket archive started circulating in MSP communities. While the offer turned out to be fake news from an unverified source, the underlying danger is dangerously real. MSPs are sitting on vast troves of client passwords, network diagrams, and confidential records—and both malicious actors and AI vendors are eyeing...

Most MSP owners are brilliant at solving technical nightmares, but when it comes to getting new clients or getting paid on time, it’s a total free-for-all. You're grinding away fixing networks and putting out fires, yet you're leaving thousands of dollars on the table because sales feels uncomfortable and billing is a monthly chore. Why are we still running critical business operations without the...

Running an MSP is ridiculous, especially when everyone is screaming that AI will make you a millionaire overnight while nobody shows you how to actually bill for it. In this episode, Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony sit down with industry analyst Dave Sobel (Business of Tech) to cut through the hype, vendor webinars, and sunshine-and-rainbows marketing around AI.  They dive deep into recent rese...

Most MSP owners talk a big game about cybersecurity and compliance, yet operate their own businesses with zero formal governance. You try selling $10k/month agreements or pitching enterprise-level clients, but as soon as an RFP asks for a SOC 2 report, you’re instantly disqualified. Running an MSP while pretending governance doesn't apply to you is ridiculous. In this episode, Justin and Eric...

Everyone is trying to sell AI solutions to MSPs promising faster ticket resolution and automated triage, but nobody is talking about the hidden financial trap underneath: token economics. In this episode, Eric and Justin pull back the curtain on how AI tokenization actually works, why "cheap" AI models can end up costing you significantly more, and how variable consumption costs threaten to blow u...

SaaS vendors are aggressively raising prices, cutting reseller margins, and squeezing MSP profit margins to satisfy investor expectations. Between forced AI additions, changing reseller tiers, and minimal advance notice, running a profitable MSP feels like a constant battle against your own stack. In this episode, Eric and Justin dive straight into the absurdity of current vendor behavior, explori...

Running an MSP is weird. Most business owners aren’t driving to work thinking about cybersecurity; they care about their financial bottom line. Yet, so many MSP owners default to dumping technical jargon, feature lists, and fear-mongering FUD on prospects, only to wonder why deals stall. If you want to close higher-margin security business, you have to stop pitching tech and start pitching financi...

In this episode of All Things MSP, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive into one of the most pressing topics facing Managed Service Providers today: AI adoption and governance. Unlike past technology waves where MSPs introduced new tools to clients, AI has caught the attention of end-users first. Clients are already experimenting with tools like ChatGPT and Claude—often uploading sensitive com...

In this episode of the All Things MSP podcast, founder and co-host Eric Anthony sits down with MJ Patent, Chief Marketing Officer at Logically—one of the nation's leading managed security service providers (MSSPs)—and a key member of CompTIA’s Data Advisory Council. Recorded live at ChannelCon in San Diego, MJ shares an insider look into how Logically approached artificial intelligence from the in...

Moving clients beyond basic, commoditized IT support into a mature, strategic partnership is one of the toughest challenges facing Managed Service Providers today. In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive into the operational maturity curve, focusing specifically on how to handle new and existing clients who aren't yet sold on higher-level strategic o...

In this episode of the All Things MSP podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive into one of the most critical topics facing managed service providers today: practical AI adoption for MSPs and their SMB clients. Recorded live on-site at GTIA ChannelCon in San Diego, Eric sits down with two leading MSP business owners, Ann Westerheim of Ekaru and Jeremy Treister of CMIT Solutions of Chicago,...

In this episode of the All Things MSP podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive deep into what it truly means to achieve operational maturity as a Managed Service Provider. Challenging the common misconception that operational maturity is tied directly to annual revenue metrics, they break down the levels of technology maturity from reactive break-fix setups to fully proactive and strategi...

In this special edition of the All Things MSP Podcast recorded at Pax8 Beyond, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony bring you essential insights from top IT channel experts. First, Craig Fulton, M&A Advisor at Evergreen, dives into what makes a Managed Service Provider (MSP) truly sellable. Craig explains why investors care about recurring contract revenue over project work, the dangers of clie...

Welcome to another exciting episode of the All Things MSP podcast! In this special episode recorded live on Podcast Row at Pax8 Beyond, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony bring you high-value "hallway track" conversations directly from industry leaders and channel innovators. First, Justin sits down with JP Keesy from F1 Technologies to discuss how implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating Syste...

In this episode of the All Things MSP podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive headfirst into one of the most polarizing topics hitting the IT channel today: replacing Tier 1 support and helpdesk triage with Artificial Intelligence. Inspired by a recent trending Reddit thread, the duo breaks down the core conflict between automated efficiency and the golden rule of "unreasonable hospitali...

In this special episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, recorded live on location at Pax8 Beyond, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony bring you exclusive insights from three leading forces in the IT channel: Rewst, Slide, and Blumira. The episode kicks off with a look into how automation is changing the game for modern service providers. The team from Rewst shares how their purpose-built orchestrat...

In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony catch up on a busy week before diving into exclusive conversations straight from the Pax8 Beyond conference. They are joined by Libby McIlhany, Chief Product Officer at Pax8, and Cynthia Schreiner, Senior Manager of Channel Engagement at Pax8, to discuss the major announcements and strategic shifts happening within...

In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony sit down with Andrew Jordan, CPA and President of Nodewise, to unpack the complex and often emotional world of MSP finances. Many managed service providers find themselves growing quickly and generating more revenue than ever, yet they face a common, frustrating paradox: an empty bank account. Andrew explains how te...

In this special episode of the All Things MSP Podcast recorded live at Pax8 Beyond, host Eric Anthony sits down with channel veteran Rex Frank, the Americas Academy Leader at Pax8. Over the last four decades, the IT services industry has navigated waves of raw hardware invention, system integration, and complex management. Now, artificial intelligence is arriving at an unprecedented speed, turning...

Are you thinking about the ultimate future of your Managed Service Provider business? Whether an exit is on your horizon next year or five years down the road, preparing to sell your MSP requires a masterclass in strategy, financial planning, and emotional readiness. In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony sit down with industry authority, 22-time Microso...

In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony dive into one of the most persistent operational headaches for Managed Service Providers: handling end-of-life (EOL) and legacy hardware. Every MSP has that one client holding onto ancient equipment because "it still works" or "it makes them money". From outdated operating systems running critical print processes to...

In this episode of the All Things MSP Podcast, hosts Justin Esgar and Eric Anthony sit down with executive life coach Melanie Curtis and seasoned MSP consultant Allen Edwards right after the ACES 2026 conference. Moving past the usual tech talk, this conversation deep-dives into the real-world operational and psychological bottlenecks holding managed service providers back. The group explores how...