‘What this [partnership with NOCDOC] gives smaller MSPs is the ability to deliver enterprise-level services at scale. A startup MSP or a sub-$5 million provider can now walk into larger opportunities and compete because they have access to the same kind of operational maturity and coverage that only bigger organizations could afford,’ says Juan Fernandez, CEO of Summit Holdings, parent company of master managed IT service provider NOCDOC.
A new alliance between Pax8 and NOCDOC’s MSP-as-a-Service allows partners to turn over the keys to their help desk, helping them to scale faster without building out additional operational infrastructure.
The partnership combines Denver-based Pax8’s cloud marketplace and partner ecosystem with NOCDOC’s white-label operational engine including 24×7 service desk, Network Operations Center, Security Operations Center and technical operations capabilities. The goal is to give MSPs access to enterprise-grade service delivery while allowing them to stay focused on customer relationships, growth and higher-value projects.
“The MSP industry is at a really interesting inflection point right now,” said Juan Fernandez, CEO of Summit Holdings, the parent company of master managed IT service provider NOCDOC.
“Everybody is trying to figure out how to do more,” he told CRN. “A lot of people immediately think the answer is AI and automation, but the challenge is that if you automate away your connection with the customer, you create a different problem. MSPs still need to get deeper and wider with their customers. What we’re doing is taking all of the operational burden off the MSPs’ shoulders so they can spend more time building those relationships and creating more value.”
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According to Fernandez, one of the biggest advantages partners will see is immediate operational leverage.
“Profitability and time are the first things that change,” he said. “Most tools, systems or strategies take months before you see a return. With us, you turn it on and we’re answering calls, delivering services and supporting customers on day one. The customer is already paying, so you’ve effectively compressed the time to revenue and the time to profitability down to day one. That changes the economics of growth.”
This also levels the playing field for smaller MSPs that struggle to compete with larger providers offering around-the-clock support.
“What this gives smaller MSPs is the ability to deliver enterprise-level services at scale,” he said. “A startup MSP or a sub-$5 million provider can now walk into larger opportunities and compete because they have access to the same kind of operational maturity and coverage that only bigger organizations could afford.”
And rather than forcing MSPs into a one-size-fits-all service structure, partners can consume services based on individual customer requirements. This “elastic model” gives partners the ability to grow without automatically increasing overhead, according to Fernandez.
Tim Guim, CEO of Sewell, N.J.-based PCH Technologies, said the partnership addresses one of the biggest challenges facing MSPs today: finding time to move past the day-to-day operations and focus on customer engagement.
“I would say the biggest area for MSPs right now is to go deeper with their customers and actually make sure that they’re handling their customer segments very well,” Guim told CRN. “That means more QBRs, more business-focused conversations and really understanding what customers are trying to accomplish instead of spending all your time on the operational side of the business.”
He added that going forward, help desk services and operational services are “table stakes.”
“If you have a way to optimize that, especially for smaller organizations, and if you can leverage AI and deliver it at an affordable price point through an MSP-as-a-Service model, that creates a tremendous opportunity,” he said. “You can become more of a business consultant, build out AI-as-a-service offerings, focus on higher-level governance and cybersecurity conversations, and spend less time worrying about the operational pieces of running an MSP. That’s where the industry is headed.”
That shift could also impact how MSPs think about hiring and scaling.
“We see MSPs putting significant margin on top of our services while still staying under market pricing,” Fernandez said. “What’s interesting is that it changes how they think about head count. Yesterday they were saying, ‘I need another technician.’ Tomorrow they’re saying, ‘I need another salesperson.’ That’s a completely different conversation because now they’re focused on growth instead of just keeping up with operational demand.”
Ultimately, Fernandez views the alliance as a bridge between the traditional MSP model and what many in the industry see as the next evolution of managed services.
“There has been a lot of conversation about the future of managed services, AI and managed intelligence, but there hasn’t really been a bridge to get MSPs there,” he added. “This partnership creates that bridge. It frees MSPs to work on their business instead of constantly working in their business. When you’re focused on noise, everything feels like an emergency. When you’re focused on your business, you’re scaling.”
