Episode #941 of the MSPi PrimeCast
Running a successful managed service provider takes more than technical expertise. It requires sound judgment, effective customer communication, and the ability to adapt to changing technology and business demands.
In his conversation with Joey Pinz, Andy Syrewicze of Hornetsecurity draws on his experience in MSP support, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity to discuss the realities of working in IT.
Here are seven perspectives from his career that MSPs can apply to their operations.
1. Communicate Business Value, Not Technical Jargon
Syrewicze learned early in his MSP career that customers need to understand what technology accomplishes, not necessarily how it works.
He uses email authentication as an example. Business owners may not care how DMARC is configured, but they care about preventing someone from impersonating their company.
Explaining technical services through business outcomes helps customers understand the value being delivered.
MSP Action: Review how your team explains technical recommendations. Lead with the business problem and expected benefit rather than technical specifications.
2. Balance Technical Recommendations With Business Realities
Certifications and technical training often describe ideal configurations. Real customer environments involve budget limitations, technical debt, and competing priorities.
Syrewicze emphasizes that effective architecture requires balancing technical recommendations with those realities.
When compromises are necessary, MSPs should clearly communicate the potential risks without relying on fear to influence decisions.
MSP Action: Present customers with the recommended approach, explain practical constraints, and clarify the risks associated with alternative decisions.
3. Treat Customer Data With the Respect It Deserves
Early in his IT career, Syrewicze accidentally deleted an entire application share while modifying a script at a school.
Fortunately, the organization had tape backups available for recovery. The experience taught him that even seemingly routine tasks can have serious consequences.
He explains that he still carefully checks his work whenever an operation involves data.
MSP Action: Reinforce procedures for reviewing scripts and potentially disruptive changes. Verify backup and recovery considerations before performing operations that could affect customer data.
4. Focus on Threat Intelligence Relevant to Your Customers
MSPs receive countless security advisories, but not every threat is equally relevant to their environments.
Syrewicze describes a Michigan MSP specializing in manufacturing that closely monitors vulnerabilities affecting programmable logic controllers and related vendors.
For generalist MSPs, understanding the applications and technology stacks across their customer base can help determine which advisories deserve attention.
MSP Action: Identify critical customer applications, systems, and vendors. Prioritize security reports that directly relate to the environments you manage.
5. Evaluate Technology Vendors With a Clear Purpose
Having worked on both sides of the MSP-vendor relationship, Syrewicze understands how overwhelming technology evaluations can become.
He recommends researching vendors before attending industry conferences rather than trying to evaluate every solution on the exhibition floor.
He also encourages MSPs to ask vendors what they may be overlooking. That question can reveal additional capabilities or considerations that weren’t part of the original evaluation.
MSP Action: Define the problem you’re solving, research potential vendors, and prepare questions that uncover capabilities beyond your initial requirements.
6. Prepare for AI to Change Technical Responsibilities
Syrewicze doesn’t believe AI will automatically eliminate technical careers. Instead, he expects responsibilities to evolve.
He envisions system administrators increasingly managing groups of AI agents that perform defined tasks within their environments.
However, he stresses that AI needs clear instructions, appropriate restrictions, and security oversight.
For MSPs, this means considering not only what AI can accomplish but also how those systems will be managed.
MSP Action: Evaluate narrowly defined AI-assisted tasks while considering permissions, security boundaries, governance, and human oversight.
7. Keep Learning Without Expecting to Know Everything
Continuous learning has been a major motivator throughout Syrewicze’s career.
However, he recognizes that technology changes too quickly for anyone to master everything. He encourages professionals to focus on the knowledge most relevant to their responsibilities.
He also believes the industry should normalize saying “I don’t know”, provided the next step is finding the correct answer.
His experience reinforces the importance of professional curiosity, knowledge sharing, and knowing when to seek additional expertise.
MSP Action: Encourage focused learning and collaboration. Create an environment where team members can acknowledge knowledge gaps and take responsibility for finding accurate answers.
What This Means for MSPs
Andy Syrewicze’s experience demonstrates that effective MSP operations depend on more than technology. Customer communication, practical decision-making, careful data handling, and ongoing professional development all contribute to how providers serve their customers.
His perspective also reinforces the importance of adaptability. As technology evolves, MSPs benefit from questioning assumptions, recognizing their limitations, and remaining open to new approaches.
These seven perspectives offer practical considerations for MSPs looking to strengthen their operations while preparing for what comes next.
Catch the full conversation on MSPi PrimeCast Episode #941 and connect with Andy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/asyrewicze/