IT service providers that are still kicking the tires on AI risk falling behind.
The industry is racing ahead with AI adoption, as partners automate service desk processes and move on to AI-focused service offerings and data governance programs.
“The ones that are not investing are really behind the eight ball,” Spectrotel CEO Ross Artale told Channel Dive. “If they're not going to invest at the correct level, they're going to be left in the dust in the next few years with the just pure advancement of AI.”
AI-as-a-service is a Trojan horse for PCH Technologies, which has embedded itself with clients who already have an MSP. In most cases, the incumbent partner hasn’t been talking to the client about AI.
“Eventually, if the relationship works out well with the AI we're bringing in there, maybe an opportunity comes up that we could potentially displace that MSP,” PCH President and CEO Tim Guim Channel Dive at the Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Las Vegas this week..
Industry standards for managed AI contracts are emerging as IT teams and business leaders entrust partners with ongoing AI projects, OpenText VP of Business Development Michael DePalma said in an interview prior to the event.
“How MSPs are going to generate revenue three to five years from now, even probably sooner than that, as compared to the way they were generating revenue for the last 10 to 20 years, will be in that consulting, building, the security of AI and managing the AI tools,” DePalma said.
PCH’s AI-as-a-service offering layers in the company’s add-ons with third-party vendor resales. Since 2024, the managed service provider has partnered with Hatz AI, which delivers enterprise-grade generative AI and agents from various LLM builders. Clients buy the tool, and PCH trains employees and guides leaders through building applications.
Guim warns that AI consultants are in a position to displace MSP contracts by spinning up level-one AI services.
“If you're the incumbent MSP, it's in your best interest to start talking about AI,” he said.
Table stakes
Spectrotel has put funding from Grain Management to work to automate ticketing.
An AI agent is handling 50% of the firm’s tickets, according to Artale. The managed network services provider and its peers aggregate infrastructure from global carriers and need to be ready to solve outages quickly. Spectrotel uses automation to reboot modems and determine the cause of an outage.
“All of that automation is built, and it's reducing the mean time to repair, and it's value-driven. It's a tangible network improvement in terms of increased performance and reduced downtime,” Artale said.
While customers may eventually request AI services, the technology is already adding value. Sales have increased approximately 40% since Spectrotel built the tool, Artale said.
“I think it'll be a requirement soon, but it's very measurable,” Artale added. “If I'm competing against a service provider that hasn't built this level of automation, it's a distinct, clear advantage, and it's night and day.”
