Episode #891 of the MSPi PrimeCast
For MSPs, building a stronger business involves more than selecting the right technology. In his conversation with Joey Pinz, Dave Meister of Check Point discussed lessons shaped by years working in technology, managed services and cybersecurity.
From choosing solutions based on outcomes to creating disciplined routines that produce results over time, Meister’s perspective offers MSPs several practical business principles they can apply to their own organizations.
1. Start With the Outcome
Meister believes MSPs should avoid turning cybersecurity into a “tick box exercise.” Rather than starting with a vendor or platform, he recommends first determining the outcome the MSP needs to achieve.
That could mean addressing a specific customer risk, aligning with a framework or securing new areas such as AI usage. Once the objective is clear, MSPs can evaluate which vendors can deliver that result while fitting their business model.
MSP Action: Define the specific customer or business outcome before evaluating the technology intended to deliver it.
2. Understand What’s Behind the Technology
Marketing messages can make technology sound simple, but Meister believes MSPs should dig deeper. He said he wishes more people would ask what is actually happening behind the technology and why it works the way it does.
For technically minded MSPs, understanding that “why” can make it easier to evaluate a product’s real value and explain it to customers.
MSP Action: Look beyond product claims and ask vendors to explain the technology and processes behind the results they promise.
3. Make Efficiency a Priority
Meister repeatedly connected technology decisions with technician time. A strong cybersecurity solution can still create problems if it is difficult to deploy or requires excessive management.
He shared an example of an MSP managing about 8,000 users that was spending approximately 300 hours each month managing email security across two products. That administrative burden affects both the technical team and the business.
MSP Action: Measure how much technician time a solution requires to deploy, administer and maintain before adding it to your stack.
4. Connect Technology to Profitability and Customer Value
For Meister, operational efficiency and profitability go together. If an MSP must devote hundreds of technician hours to managing a product, delivering that service profitably becomes more difficult.
He also emphasized making value visible to customers. His discussion of security trials and monitoring demonstrates the importance he places on allowing MSPs to show customers what a solution is actually finding and protecting.
MSP Action: Evaluate tools based on both their management costs and how easily your MSP can demonstrate their value to customers.
5. Build Growth Through Consistent Discipline
One of Meister’s strongest business principles is that success comes from consistent, repeatable effort.
He described focusing on daily, weekly and monthly activities because today’s effort may not produce its full result for another six or twelve months. Meister applied that approach to his education, career and the growth of Check Point’s MSP program.
His message is simple: momentum comes from continuing to do the small things consistently.
MSP Action: Establish repeatable daily, weekly and monthly activities tied to your long-term growth goals and maintain them consistently.
6. Compete Differently and Measure More Than Revenue
Meister’s competitive approach includes asking his leadership team what they can do that competitors “can’t do, won’t do or aren’t doing.” That mindset has influenced decisions designed to make Check Point’s MSP program work differently for partners.
But Meister does not measure success solely through growth. He described three important measures: business growth, the experience of his staff and the experience of partners. Partner feedback has also led to changes in areas such as support, product management and R&D.
MSP Action: Identify where your MSP can operate differently from competitors, while tracking customer and employee experience alongside financial growth.
What This Means for MSPs
Meister’s perspective reinforces that a stronger MSP is built through a combination of smart technology decisions and disciplined business execution.
Starting with outcomes, understanding the technology, reducing unnecessary management effort, protecting profitability, maintaining consistent routines and listening to the people around the business can all contribute to sustainable growth. As MSPs face new technologies and changing customer demands, these principles provide a practical framework for continuing to improve without losing sight of how the business actually operates.
Catch the full conversation on MSPi PrimeCast Episode #891 and connect with Dave at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemeister1/