In the very episode of a brand-new podcast, your hosts Erick Simpson and Rich Freeman explore the $158.6 billion channel opportunity in AI and how MSPs can leverage AI in their own businesses while minimizing risk. Then they speak with SonicWall global channel chief Michelle Ragusa-McBain about the top three strategies for succeeding in managed security. And finally, one last thing: the record-shattering $32,000 sale of some apparently very tasty Spanish bleu cheese.
Discussed in this episode:
Generative AI will be a US$158.6 billion opportunity for the channel ecosystem by 2028
Spanish cheese breaks world record in $32,000 auction
Machine Generated Transcription
MSP Chat Podcast 01 Michelle Ragisa McBain [00:00:00] And 3, 2, 1. Blast off, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Welcome to the inaugural episode of MSP Chat, your weekly visit with two talking heads talking with you about the strategies, success tips, and services you need as an MSP to grow the business And stay ahead of the competition. My name is Rich Freeman. I am the Chief Content Officer of Channel Mastered, your host, uh, for this, uh, program, and the company that's responsible for this fine program. I am joined by your co-host, also from Channel Mastered. He is my friend, my colleague, and [00:01:00] our Chief Strategist at, uh, Channel Mastered. His name is Eric Simpson. Eric, welcome to the show. Welcome to the show yourself, Rich. We are back, baby. I just, I'm so excited. To be able to put on this great podcast with you, my colleague, friend, business partner, uh, it's just exciting to be back and to deliver the content that we feel our audience is interested in. Throw a few tips out there, have a little bit of a humor and have some really great interviews with some amazing guests. So I can't wait to get into today's inaugural episode with you, Rich. Totally agree, folks. You're gonna learn a few things, have a little fun along the way if we're doing our job right. So, thanks for tuning in. Let's jump straight in, Eric, to our story of the week. Um, and guess what? Surprise, surprise, people. It has to do with AI. Um, [00:02:00] specifically some very interesting, uh, and rather sizable projections for the size of the generative AI market for service providers. We'll get to that in a second. Uh, hat tip to our mutual friend, Eric Dave Sobel, of the Business of Tech podcast. He pointed me to some research I otherwise don't think I would have seen. It's from Constant Contact, and they recently went out to a whole bunch of small businesses and asked them, are you using AI, generative AI, are you getting results? Um, of the businesses, the small businesses that are using AI, 91 percent of them say it has made their business more successful. Of the entire sample, all the businesses, including the ones not yet using AI, over a quarter, um, expect AI and automation to save them at least 5, 000. Over the first 12 months that they're using it, but, and here's the key thing, 74 percent of the surveyed small businesses are interested in using AI or automation in their business. 55 percent um, say their, their [00:03:00] interest has grown in the last 6 months, not a terribly big surprise there, but 46 percent say they have only a beginner's understanding about the benefits of these technologies. Eric, that screams... Services opportunity, obviously. They need someone like, say, an MSP to help them understand what this AI stuff is about and how they can put it to work. And how big an opportunity is there if you go ahead and be that IT provider? Well, here's some data from this week from Canalys. The, uh, analyst organization there, they are predicting that generative a ai. And mind you, this is just generative ai. AI is a much bigger field, right? Generative AI alone will be a $158.6 billion billion dollar opportunity for the channel ecosystem. By 2028. Now the word ecosystem in there is important because the, the research covers, um, you know, MSPs and system integrators and VARs, as well as software makers [00:04:00] and developers. So this is for anyone who is creating software or helping other people use it. But the number one, they stack ranked the revenue opportunities and that 158 CEO A. I. Services. And this is the strategic guidance, what you need to do, how to use it, how to apply it to growing the bottom line. Number four on this top four list is reselling, co selling, and upselling A. I. products from software developers who account for the number two and number three opportunities on the list. So, even if you're not providing A. Strategic guidance. You have an opportunity to make money in AI. So what are they suggesting that you do, basically, Canalys, to get yourself ready? Well, they have a four-part list here. They said, start out by kind of deciding where you're going to play in that generative AI ecosystem. Are you going to be the strategic advisor? reseller, etc. [00:05:00] Um, start accumulating expertise, obviously, you need to study up before you're ready to talk with the stuff about customers. And that means you're going to want to partner up with somebody who can help you with that. Now, I'm guessing for a lot of the folks in our audience, the logical candidate is Microsoft, they are a leader in generative AI through their relationship with open AI. And I'm guessing everybody here is doing business with them anyway. Could be Google, could be somebody else, but find somebody who knows more about this than you do, who you partner with, draw on their resources and expertise to get the certifications and the skills you need, then go to market. What do you think, Eric? Uh, sounds like a pretty big, uh, opportunity. It's a huge opportunity, Rich, and, you know, as I'm listening, uh, to those statistics, I'm reminded of You know, the before four times, before the electrical grid, right? Before the electrical grid was in place, and we're talking, you know, 100-plus years ago, right? The electric grid, Folks had, [00:06:00] you know, the story is the, the, the, the, the company that would bring you a block of ice to put in your, you know, ice box, right? It was like delivering milk every day. They'd bring a block of ice, they'd haul it up, they'd put it in your ice box, and there was no electricity. That's how people kept stuff cold. And, and when the electric grid started to be a thing, like we're gonna light up, right, everyone's homes, there'll be light and electricity, and there'll be refrigerators and things like that. These folks that were delivering the ice to the ice box were threatened because they thought they would be out of a job. The companies would be like, oh my goodness, our whole business model is topsy turvy. Well, what they didn't realize was, by deploying the electrical grid, it spurred such innovation. It created industries, it created companies, it created all the things that plug into your electrical socket. That's what the electrical grid [00:07:00] produced. It tremendously accelerated the growth, uh, of entrepreneurism and businesses and, you know, services. And this is what this reminds me of. We have a lot of this, you know, FUD, fear, uncertainty, and doubt about AI. Like, oh, people are going to lose their jobs. You know, we're going to be out of work. It's going to replace, you know, this segment of workers. And I heard a really smart person say, uh, a few months ago, The only people that are going to lose their jobs to AI are the folks that aren't getting in on the AI opportunity, right? So skill up, get those, you know, uh, tune yourself up and then help others, help as MSPs, helping clients navigate this, and really understand the value proposition and, and pivot. You're MSPs. You've seen lots of, of, uh, products and services come and go. Some [00:08:00] stay and some don't, but we're talking about managed IT services. Holy cow. What a revolution that was, right, Rich? We're talking about cloud. What a revolution. People had the same FUD. About cloud, I remember very clearly being at a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference when they announced what they were doing and the partners lost their minds. Oh my goodness, you're going to sell this and sell it directly and, and yes, but you have to pivot. The world changes. Take, take advantage of these opportunities. AI is such a huge opportunity, backed by the data that you just shared with us, Rich. And, you know, it's, it's one of those things where it's, it's different than anything we've ever seen. We, the, the early adopters will be the most successful. We're already seeing, I'm already seeing this industry taking off. There are tons and tons of online training courses. There are consultants, there are coaches that will teach you how [00:09:00] to leverage AI. In your business. And guess what? Not a lot of them are MSPs. Yet. Yeah, you know, a few really important points there, uh, Eric. And, you know, the people, the only people,
