EP293 - Intelligent MSP Operations – AI, Automation and Observability at Scale – The MSP Insights Panel Discussion
The IT Experts PodcastShow Notes
In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, I hosted an MSP Insights Roundtable on AI, automation, and observability at scale, bringing together three brilliant guests, Joe Burns, Fiona Challis, and Nick Horner. What struck me straight away was how all three agreed on one thing before we even got into the detail. AI, automation, and observability only work when you understand your own processes first. Joe walked us through how his MSP, Reformed, built its operational maturity by identifying repetitive tasks, spotting where human error crept in, and asking his team what they actually disliked doing. Only once that groundwork was done did he bring in automation, including an early AI triage system on the service desk, and it paid off.
Nick added a perspective I loved, describing how starting small with clients avoids the scope creep that can derail an automation project before it even gets going. He shared a story about a modest HR automation that grew organically once the client saw the value for themselves, and how bringing end users into the process from day one builds the kind of trust that makes AI, automation, and observability actually stick. Getting genuine buy in, as Nick put it, turns a nervous stakeholder into a project sponsor rather than a blocker.
Fiona introduced an idea I keep coming back to, becoming your own customer zero, assessing your own readiness before you ever take an AI conversation to a client. She told us most MSPs score only two or three out of five on her readiness assessment, which shows how much foundational work is still undocumented across our sector. We spent time discussing how observability has changed, moving away from juggling dashboards across Microsoft 365, PSA, and RMM tools towards a single intelligent layer that pulls everything together securely and quickly. Nick made the point that speed and accuracy no longer need a dedicated Power BI specialist, and Fiona reminded us that the ROI conversation always starts with measuring a baseline before you change anything.
One of my favourite moments came from Joe, describing a law firm that spent three to four hours every week cross checking court lists against their case management system, a task his team solved with an agent in fifteen minutes. Fiona echoed this, encouraging MSPs to lead with one practical win rather than an overwhelming pitch, because solving a single small problem tends to open the door to many more conversations. We also got into the tension between compliance and outcome. Fiona argued that clients buy the outcome AI delivers rather than the technology itself, and Joe pushed back with honest feedback from his law firm clients, who want compliance answered first given how sensitive that sector is to reputational risk. Both agreed that governance needs to be built into the foundations of any deployment rather than bolted on afterwards.
Drawing on Daniel Priestley's thinking around demand and supply tension, Joe warned us against pouring all our energy into operational capacity while neglecting sales and marketing, a gap that can quietly erode margins even as efficiency improves. Fiona picked this up with real enthusiasm, describing how AI and automation can make selling feel far more natural, framing every client conversation as a business problem to solve rather than a service to pitch. She introduced the three pillars she coaches MSPs towards, capacity, experience, and revenue, and stressed the importance of owning your intellectual property rather than giving away your hard built agents for free.
We closed by sharing how each of us measures success, from outcome-based tracking to client and employee satisfaction scores, before final takeaways. Nick urged everyone to embrace the shift and stay ahead of the curve, Joe reminded us that capacity means nothing without the ability to sell it, and Fiona encouraged listeners to stop overthinking and take the first step. I came away from this session convinced, more
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