5 things high-performing MSPs do differently

This year’s Autotask Community Live session at Kaseya Connect APAC 2025 tackled some of the toughest challenges for managed service providers: how to grow, scale, and operate efficiently — without losing control.

Hosted by Luke Saunders, Sr. Manager of Account Management at Kaseya, the panel “Operational excellence: What high-performing MSPs do differently” brought together three seasoned leaders who have turned process discipline into real business growth:

• Jay Sargeant, Chief Operations Officer, LEAP Strategies – an engineer-turned-strategist passionate about controllable KPIs, documentation and scalable processes.
• Andrew Jackson, Managing Director, IT Simplify (New Zealand) – a founder who broke the feast-or-famine sales cycle by hiring a BDM early and standardizing operations from day one.
• Timothy Clarkson, Director & Chief Security Officer | Strategic Advisor & AI Thought Leader, Oxygen IT – a leader who cut his client base by 90% to focus on “right-fit” customers and grew revenue 50% as a result.

Together, they shared candid lessons from their own experiences — what’s working, what they’d do differently and how AI is starting to reshape the way MSPs operate.

Here are the five biggest takeaways you can apply in your own MSP business.

1. Grow by subtraction, not just addition

Timothy’s story flipped the usual growth narrative on its head. A few years ago, his company walked away from nearly 200 customers to focus on just 20 that truly fit. The result? A 50% revenue increase driven by deeper, more strategic relationships.

High-performing MSPs grow by being selective and focusing on customers who align with their standards, value strategic partnership and see IT as an enabler, not a cost center.

“You can’t scale by being everything to everyone,” Jay said. “Find your fit, double down and grow from there.” For MSPs, that means defining your ideal customer profile, mapping upsell opportunities inside existing accounts and letting go of work that pulls you off-strategy.

2. Hire sales earlier than you think you should

Many MSPs wait until they’re overwhelmed before investing in business development. Andrewlearned that waiting costs growth. For years, his team cycled through the same pattern: sell, deliver, scramble to sell again. Hiring a dedicated business development manager (BDM) broke that cycle and created sustainable momentum. But structure mattered as much as timing. After setting clear performance targets, his BDM turned effort into results, signing multiple new contracts within six weeks.

“We all love our people,” Jay added, “but sometimes you have to put the big-boy pants on and have the tough conversations about performance.” The takeaway: give salespeople measurable goals, accountability and support. A clear sales process backed by data in Autotask transforms pipeline activity into predictable revenue.

3. Measure what matters (and what your team can control)

Metrics can make or break morale. The panelists all cautioned that even good KPIs can backfire when they encourage the wrong behaviors. For example, Timothy shared how focusing on ticket resolution time initially looked great on paper but caused customer dissatisfaction. “Speed doesn’t always equal quality,” he noted.

The fix was balance. Track efficiency metrics like time-to-resolve or tickets closed per day, but balance them with quality indicators like customer satisfaction scores, thorough documentation and keeping tickets from going stale. Additionally, make sure each KPI measures something the individual or team can directly impact.

As Jay put it, “Refine, don’t abandon. When KPIs stay within a person’s control, they build ownership instead of frustration.”

4. Build strong processes, then use the right tools to scale them

Every panelist agreed: operational excellence starts with clear, repeatable processes. But they also emphasized that the right tools can make those processes stronger, faster and easier to manage as your business grows.

Andrew’s team implemented Autotask from the very beginning, even when they were just two engineers. “We didn’t want to hit ten staff and then fight the friction of change,” he said. Today, their processes connect Autotask project templates directly to IT Glue runbooks, creating a consistent, repeatable workflow for every engagement.

Jay emphasized the same principle: “Don’t wait until chaos hits to implement structure. Build it while you’re small, so growth doesn’t break you later.”

Some of their favorite process-tech pairings:

• Workflow rules to flag out-of-warranty devices and prompt proactive refresh conversations.
• Kaseya Quote Manager integration to tighten quote-to-cash cycles.
• Linked documentation in IT Glue so every technician sees the full context of a ticket without searching.

5. Automate what you can — and use AI where it truly helps

AI dominated the latter part of the discussion, but these leaders were refreshingly grounded. They didn’t see AI as some quick fix, but as a tool that helps them do more with what they already have.

Timothy’s team uses Autotask’s AI-powered Smart Writing Assistant to help engineers craft clearer, more polished communications. Andrew’s group leverages peer automation to drive consistency across environments. And Jay’s company, being security-centric, is even developing a private, on-premises AI model to maintain data sovereignty.

“AI gives you statistical answers, not human ones,” Jay cautioned. “The trick is knowing where that’s good enough and where it isn’t.”

They all agreed: automate your basics first, then bring in AI where it adds real value. Use it to summarize tickets, draft client updates or detect tone in communications, but always within clear policy and security boundaries.

Operational excellence, powered by Autotask

The leaders at this year’s Autotask Community Live showed that growth comes from clarity: choosing the right customers, empowering the right people, measuring the right things and continuously refining the process. AI is simply the next layer — one that amplifies what already works. Ultimately, the panel showed that lasting growth comes from focus and discipline, not just working harder.

Ready to put these ideas into action? Get a free Autotask demo to see how you can simplify processes, boost efficiency and grow without the chaos.