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No Java, No Breakfast: AI Training That Pays Off w/ Ed Lance, CTO of nTier Training
If your team is “learning AI” but can’t prove ROI, this episode is for you. John sits down with Ed Lance, Founder & CTO of nTier Training, to unpack what actually works in AI upskilling for MSPs and IT orgs—beyond the hype and endless tool-of-the-week churn.
Ed shares the playbook he’s refined since 2006: instructor-led training that sticks, practical AI use cases tied to measurable outcomes, and leadership habits that retain top technical talent (without trying to outbid Big Tech). We dig into cybersecurity pressures on MSPs, pricing around value (not just hours), and concrete ways to turn RAG, agents, and automation into customer-visible wins.
Episode Highlights
[00:00] Cold open → Ed’s backstory and the “No Java, No Breakfast” rule
[03:20] Why self-paced alone stalls: the case for instructor-led AI training
[07:45] MSP reality check: talent retention, demotivation traps, and Ed’s 90-day anonymous survey
[12:10] Cyber pressures on MSPs: supply-chain attacks, zero-days, and why AI security must be budgeted
[16:30] AI that earns its keep: proving ROI with cost cuts, better CSAT, and faster resolution times
[21:15] Pricing around value: outcomes > rates, credibility > “read a book last week”
[26:00] Hiring in 2025: you won’t outpay Goliath—win with culture, speed to pay, and growth paths
[31:40] Tech to watch: RAG for messy data, agentic AI, and choosing tools via first-principles
[36:50] Go-to-market honesty: why word-of-mouth beats ad spend—and how to scale it without burning out
[41:30] What keeps Ed up at night: scaling demand for training that actually moves the needle
Tags/Keywords
AI training, MSP growth, cybersecurity, instructor-led learning, RAG (retrieval augmented generation), agentic AI, technical upskilling, talent retention, pricing strategy, customer service automation, ROI from AI, IT consulting
Connect with the Guest
- Website: nTierTraining.com
- Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ed-lance
👉 To connect with John Rice and AI Savants
- Website: https://www.aisavants.io
- Email: [email protected]
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rice-31329526/
View all episodes
By John RiceIf your team is “learning AI” but can’t prove ROI, this episode is for you. John sits down with Ed Lance, Founder & CTO of nTier Training, to unpack what actually works in AI upskilling for MSPs and IT orgs—beyond the hype and endless tool-of-the-week churn.
Ed shares the playbook he’s refined since 2006: instructor-led training that sticks, practical AI use cases tied to measurable outcomes, and leadership habits that retain top technical talent (without trying to outbid Big Tech). We dig into cybersecurity pressures on MSPs, pricing around value (not just hours), and concrete ways to turn RAG, agents, and automation into customer-visible wins.
Episode Highlights
[00:00] Cold open → Ed’s backstory and the “No Java, No Breakfast” rule
[03:20] Why self-paced alone stalls: the case for instructor-led AI training
[07:45] MSP reality check: talent retention, demotivation traps, and Ed’s 90-day anonymous survey
[12:10] Cyber pressures on MSPs: supply-chain attacks, zero-days, and why AI security must be budgeted
[16:30] AI that earns its keep: proving ROI with cost cuts, better CSAT, and faster resolution times
[21:15] Pricing around value: outcomes > rates, credibility > “read a book last week”
[26:00] Hiring in 2025: you won’t outpay Goliath—win with culture, speed to pay, and growth paths
[31:40] Tech to watch: RAG for messy data, agentic AI, and choosing tools via first-principles
[36:50] Go-to-market honesty: why word-of-mouth beats ad spend—and how to scale it without burning out
[41:30] What keeps Ed up at night: scaling demand for training that actually moves the needle
Tags/Keywords
AI training, MSP growth, cybersecurity, instructor-led learning, RAG (retrieval augmented generation), agentic AI, technical upskilling, talent retention, pricing strategy, customer service automation, ROI from AI, IT consulting
Connect with the Guest
- Website: nTierTraining.com
- Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ed-lance
👉 To connect with John Rice and AI Savants
- Website: https://www.aisavants.io
- Email: [email protected]
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rice-31329526/