‘We’ll be equipping MSPs with better data and insights so they can make smarter decisions about what to pull from the hub. Everything we’ve built has come from partner feedback. This is brand new, and feedback will shape what it becomes,’ says Pia CEO David Schwartz.
Automation Hub brings together prebuilt automations from Pia, MSPs and select vendors, consolidating chatbot flows, SmartForms, extensions and code samples in one place. The goal, according to CEO David Schwartz, is to let MSPs quickly expand automation across clients without rebuilding workflows from the ground up.
“We’re trying to deliver things that work immediately and drive efficiency as soon as possible,” Schwartz told CRN in an exclusive interview. “A lot of MSPs have great ideas but not the internal resources to bring them to life. This gives them a space where those solutions already exist.”
And the timing reflects a surge in demand, he said. Partners have been asking for deeper capabilities, more ways to share automations across the MSP community, and closer integration with other vendors.
[Related: Pia Appoints New CEO To Lead Next Phase of Growth: Exclusive]
“There’s a lot of conversation among partners about things they’ve built on their own. We realized there’s a better way to share those ideas across the entire ecosystem,” he said.
Vendor participation will also be highly curated. Pia will work directly with chosen vendors, based on MSP demand, to co-develop “automation packs,” rather than letting vendors upload freely. The CEO said the Tampa, Fla.-based vendor wants to ensure the packs quickly drive value as “adoption suffers when tools don’t deliver immediate impact.”
Security and quality control are central to the rollout. All automations must be reviewed and screened by Pia before publication, he added.
MSPs with established automation teams will still benefit, he said, because the hub gives them a head start with vetted, field-tested templates.
“If someone has already solved 75 percent of a problem, that’s a huge lift. And everything is customizable; nothing is locked,” he said.
Early traction is expected in deeper integration with vendors including CloudRadial and Thread and automation for MSP processes such as on-boarding, off-boarding and user archiving. Google Workspace automation, OneDrive archiving and expanded user life-cycle flows will be among the roughly 30 automation packs available at launch.
Over time, Schwartz expects a rating and popularity system to guide partners toward the most effective automation. “We’ll surface what’s being downloaded and used the most and spotlight high-value packs that solve major challenges.”
And in 12 months, he expects the Automation Hub to host hundreds of automation packs that offer deeper analytics to help MSPs understand what to adopt next.
“We’ll be equipping MSPs with better data and insights so they can make smarter decisions about what to pull from the hub,” he said. “Everything we’ve built has come from partner feedback. This is brand new, and feedback will shape what it becomes. Our goal is to help MSPs unlock more value from Pia and from the other tools they already use.”
Rarity Solutions’ Vance Townsend said the Automation Hub gives MSPs like his “a practical way to scale” what works securely, sharing proven automations and deploying them across clients without reinventing the wheel.
“With robust integrations, automations work smoothly with our everyday vendor tools, minimizing manual transfers and data silos,” Townsend, managing partner at Houston-based Rarity, told CRN in an email. “We’re excited to showcase what we’ve built because it helps other MSPs accelerate delivery, standardize best practices and integrate cleanly with vendor ecosystems. It’s a win for partners, vendors and ultimately our customers who see faster outcomes with less operational risk and increased satisfaction during our interactions.”
