AI success for managed service providers looks considerably different based on the company, as partners and platform vendors look to put agents to work inside their operations.
ConnectWise CEO Manny Rivelo said MSPs are all over the place with their AI philosophies. In conversations with more than 40 of its customers, the platform company found that MSPs are implementing AI across their processes. While MSPs are focused on equipping their frontline responders to handle more tickets faster, the exact measure of success varies.
“There isn't one defined way in the industry to measure the value that you get from AI — not in the MSP space,” Rivelo told Channel Dive.
One firm enabled its technicians to support 20% more endpoints than before. Another said it has saved its technicians two to three hours per day. Another has saved 5-10 minutes per trouble ticket.
“They came at it from different places,” Rivelo said. “I think over time there will be a formula — a measurement on what great AI ROI is. Right now… it tends to be in line with efficiency more than anything.”
ConnectWise, a provider of professional services automation and remote monitoring and management platforms, expanded its own AI thesis Jan. 20 with the planned acquisition of Zofiq. The service desk operation company has already integrated its AI agents into the ConnectWise PSA platform to automate activities for MSP technicians. Rivelo said use of Zofiq was already widespread in its MSP customer base.
“As we talked to those partners and got to know Zofiq, we realized, 'Hey, this is a real solution today.' It's not a dream. People are using AI and getting material impact from that value today using our technology,” Rivelo said. “We felt bringing that in-house would allow us to bring it to the masses much quicker.”
ConnectWise will deepen the use of Zofiq, expanding it into its RMM platform and creating a “horizontal agentic layer” across its entire portfolio.
By doing so, ConnectWise would close a long-standing chasm between the PSA and the RMM, and between the data both platforms contain. Zofiq would also gather information from cybersecurity and customer sentiment applications.
“All that information, which has been kept in separate systems, is now in one place,” Rivelo said.
Possessing a centralized data lake to propel AI-driven outcomes is at the core of the company’s strategy, Rivelo said.
“You have fewer apps, you have fewer things, you have better workflow, but you have centralized data that you can apply AI to,” he said.
AI and MSP margin
ConnectWise sees Zofiq and agentic automation as keys to industry-wide profitability challenges.
Rival platform provider Kaseya in 2024 rolled out an aggressive bundling structure designed to increase MSPs’ margins for the different software they deliver to businesses. Kaseya’s push came amid broader efforts by PSA and RMM providers to help MSPs economically consume integrations from third-party vendors.
The MSP community is certainly price-conscious with vendors, Rivelo said.
“You squeeze your vendor, you get a little bit better margin, a bit of a discount, and that potentially goes straight to your bottom line,” he said.
But software pricing arbitrage is only part of the equation. Rivelo said 70% to 80% of MSP costs come from labor.
“They're leaving the real opportunity untapped,” he said.
It’s not for lack of trying. For years, partners have been attempting to integrate robotic process automation into their operations, but RPA requires constant reprogramming to account for changes in the environment. MSP staffers needed to spend their time assisting customers, not reconfiguring a tool.
Rivelo said Zofiq will do all that RPA could never do, provided they have good ticket information and knowledge articles in their system that the agents can use.
“The agents could do that work for you or help you do that work, depending on what you want to do. It is lower friction to get automation at a better rate, and that now tackles the 70% to 80% of the costs,” he said.
Rivelo said PSA and RMM vendors have probably a 99% overlap in feature sets. The true differentiator, he said, will be user interface and workflow simplicity.
“How many screens do I need to click to get the job done? Eventually it's going to be, 'How many screens don't I click?' Because the agents are doing that for me, and I'm spending my time on higher value work,” he said.
MSP owners worry about recruiting talent and keeping them from burning out as they wade through tickets. Rivelo said Zofiq is more than 90% accurate, some ten points higher than the average human.
“This is a capability that could augment your capacity as an MSP, create better efficiency and create less burnout,” he said.
Richard Harber, founder and CEO of ConnectWise partner Decision Digital, said the platform update could position MSPs as “true strategic advisors” that increase human capabilities with technology.
“Winning means treating automation as a living system. It demands speed, adaptability, and operational agility,” Harber told Channel Dive in an email. “What ConnectWise must deliver is focused leadership and practical, practitioner‑level guidance that helps partners execute with confidence.”
