technologyreseller.co.uk 23 MSPS We will also see MSPs leaning heavily on vendors to make up for a lack of AI expertise, demanding pre-built, no code tools that offer a workaround for talent shortages. 4 AI incident planning will become a staple Just as we have security tabletop exercises for ransomware, we can expect to see incident response plans to mitigate AI failures. MSPs will conduct exercises themselves first and then take this concept to customers. Most MSPs are aware of the risks AI poses, but there are still some that use it haphazardly. This will change very quickly in 2025, with new regulations to make sure IT organisations use AI safely. This will include having incident response plans that treat the issue as seriously as any other breach. 5 MSPs Will Build and Adopt Task‑Oriented AI Agents One of the most transformative opportunities for MSPs in the AI space lies in the development and adoption of AI agents, task-oriented components integrated into generative AI solutions that enable the automation of specific actions. Unlike broader AI systems, these agents are finely tuned for distinct tasks, ranging from proactive monitoring and ticket resolution to predictive analytics and compliance checks. MSPs looking to enhance their internal operations or deliver more intelligent solutions to their customers will increasingly rely on AI agents. Building AI agents tailored to their unique workflows and business models will enable MSPs to address challenges such as resource utilisation, manual workload and service quality. For vendors, this shift represents a call to action. Much like N-able’s Ecoverse and open platform approach, which opens APIs for data access and action enablement, vendors will need to adopt strategies that facilitate seamless integration of AI agents with their products. This means providing not only robust APIs but also frameworks for secure, efficient interaction between AI and the underlying systems. 1 MSPs will invest in more AI security forecasting Predictive maintenance and security forecasting will be a growing area for MSPs. We have already seen the adoption of anomaly detection for cyber threats and we will see more of this in other products. The use of AI for security forecasting will become its own field of study. It will move from being a feature within a product to a product in its own right. 2 End users will get pickier when it comes to AI solutions Customers will be pickier with their AI demands in 2025. When LLMs emerged two years ago, it wasn’t that big a deal if a prompt didn’t return anything useful; it was a new technology and people were happy just to play around with it. Now, customers are going to start demanding accuracy and start pushing for ethical oversight. Across the industry, we’re already starting to see informed customers referring to generative AI as a security and ethics risk. To achieve reliable results, AI has to have enough information about users, but when you have that amount of information, security questions will inevitably arise. Customers will demand transparency from MSPs, with clear explanations of AI usage. As customers push for this, vendors will prioritise AI tools with strict data privacy and security protocols to meet current and upcoming legislation. 3 AI talent will be in shorter supply MSPs are already struggling with a talent shortage, and it’s not going to get any easier if they have to hire AI specialists. People with AI and LLM skills are in high demand and have high earning expectations. Whether MSPs build their own agents and customer interfaces or adopt AI built by others, they will need an understanding of AI, knowledge of LLMs and prompt engineering skills. Rather than hiring externally, MSPs need to think about upskilling and training their existing staff. They already have a technically adept workforce, so they have a head start. TR: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? IG: One of the biggest is getting your foot in the door of potential clients long enough to show them the difference between traditional IT support and an MSP offering. It’s about breaking the mould of what they think and expect from an IT provider and getting buy-in for the MSP model, which isn’t necessarily going to cost them less but will give them the opportunity to grow and prosper. At a time when businesses are looking to be leaner, it’s about finding those clients that understand the long‑term benefit of partnering with an MSP like Start Tech. TR: Could vendors and distributors do more to help you overcome these challenges? And if so, what? IG: We’ve been working on creating cohesion across our sales and external marketing teams’ communications to build a more thorough picture of what we offer. In the IT sector, everyone is banging the same drum – we’re proactive, we’ll partner with your business, we’ll improve your cyber security etc. It’s about showing how we actually do that across our comms. At Start Tech we have a whole team of cyber security experts looking after the interests of your business instead of maybe one IT support person who is mildly invested in whether the latest version of Windows is out or not. TR: Are customers becoming more demanding, and if so, in what ways? IG: If we’re hearing from our clients a lot, then we’re not doing our job. We’re here to create a robust IT infrastructure that works and is secure, so we don’t encounter demanding customers. Many businesses are looking at ways to become leaner, but with our bundling offering, everything they need and want is included, so they don’t have to worry about waste. The area where customers do need more support is AI implementation and guidance. TR: If you could change one aspect of your job, what would it be and why? IG: There are plenty of boring aspects to running a business, and there’s a lot of work involved too. I’m lucky to have a solid team around me that makes those things much easier. That said, I’d happily drop the part of my job that involves talking about HR and H&S! www.start-tech.co.uk N-able AI Strategist Nicole Reineke highlights five ways AI might impact MSPs in 2025 Ready for impact Nicole Reineke
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