‘Bad timelines screw everything up,’ says Moovila CEO Mike Psenka. ‘They cause scheduling issues, forecasting problems, engineer underutilization and even customer churn. And yet, many MSPs still don’t recognize how toxic this is for their business.’
Bad project management isn’t just slowing things down for MSPs, it’s cutting into their bottom line. In fact, many MSPs say project management is one of their biggest business challenges in 2025, according to a new report from work management software firm Moovila.
Moovila’s “MSP Project Management Trends and Impacts” report , based on a survey of 263 MSPs, found that 42 percent of respondents believe their current project management practices are directly damaging their profitability, with a majority citing scope creep — the uncontrolled expansion of a project after it has already begun — and bad timelines as the biggest profitability killers.
Many MSPs remain stuck in low maturity levels, with 56 percent identifying as “ad hoc” or “basic,” and only 23 percent primarily using professional services automation (PSA) project modules, according to the report, which was released in partnership with CRN parent The Channel Company.
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“You’ll never keep up manually,” Moovila CEO Mike Psenka told CRN in an exclusive interview. “The statistics are horribly against you. Scope creep was cited by almost 59 percent of respondents, up significantly from 46 percent in 2024.”
At the root of the problem, he said, is a general underestimation of how project inefficiencies, such as inaccurate timelines, can tank performance across the board.
“Bad timelines screw everything up,” he said. “They cause scheduling issues, forecasting problems, engineer underutilization and even customer churn. And yet, many MSPs still don’t recognize how toxic this is for their business.”
Moovila sees a way to help with project management constraints. The Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based vendor’s platform delivers AI-driven automated project timelines, integrates with PSAs for single-source-of-truth project views and offers “Smart Schedule” features that use AI to automate project task management and resource allocation.
“Humans can’t do the math,” Psenka said. “You can’t manually recalculate 200-task project plans every hour. But AI and automation can. That’s the value, like RMM tools scanning networks, automation scans your project structure, catches risk and adjusts.”
He said the platform enables MSPs to move “from chaos to control” by documenting dependencies, reusing standardized templates and creating repeatable financial models.
“You can’t scale without structure,” he said. “If you don’t build in automated timelines and dependencies, you’ll be stuck in a world of unpleasant surprises and low margins.”
The report also found that 44 percent of MSPs say they plan to increase their project management budgets in the coming year. According to Psenka (pictured above), those who already have are seeing measurable gains through stronger client relationships, more predictable revenue and better margins.
The company is also doubling down on education by hosting webinars, creating resources and coaching MSPs on how to build a strong project management practice.
Looking ahead, Moovila plans to release new features based off of the report’s findings, including a new scoping tool that uses generative AI to improve pricing estimates and reduce scope creep.
“Right now, most MSPs are like Olympic athletes from 1908,” he said. “They’re talented, they’re trying hard but they’re not measuring, they’re not optimizing. To win today, you have to be world class. And that starts with data, structure and automation.
“Project management isn’t just task tracking anymore,” he added. “It’s a competitive differentiator.”
