Managed Services

In The Channel

What F12.net has learned from 20 years and 15+ acquisitions

April 17, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on What F12.net has learned from 20 years and 15+ acquisitions
F12.net founder and CEO Alex Webb and Chief of Staff Leanne Yeatman walk through two decades of M&A experience – from their first acquisition in 2006 to their recent private equity transition – covering what makes them pursue or walk away from a deal, what integration really looks like on Monday morning, and what MSP owners need to hear if they’re thinking about selling.

In The Channel

The evolution of an MSP: WBM’s 75-year journey and the “curse” of the entrepreneur

April 14, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on The evolution of an MSP: WBM’s 75-year journey and the “curse” of the entrepreneur
WBM Technologies president JoeAnne Hardy discusses the company’s transition from a 1950s typewriter shop to a leading Canadian MSP. She opens up about the “curse” of the entrepreneur, the deliberate pivot that aligned business growth with personal well-being, and why knowing your non-negotiables is the key to navigating private equity and growth capital.

In The Channel

Cork Cyber is evolving from cyber warranty provider to MSP security platform

April 13, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Cork Cyber is evolving from cyber warranty provider to MSP security platform
Cork Cyber started life as a cyber warranty company backed by Datto founder Austin McChord, writing cheques when MSPs’ clients got hit. CEO Dan Candee is now building something much broader – a risk intelligence and remediation platform designed to close the gaps before the cheques need to be written. In this conversation, Candee walks through the strategic pivot from warranty to platform, explains the Credit Karma model behind Cork Score, gets specific about pricing and how MSPs can actually make money with Cork, and shares what the company’s own claims data is revealing about threat actors targeting Canadian businesses.

In The Channel

Your tools are the threat: ESET’s Tony Anscombe on MSP supply chain risk

April 8, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Your tools are the threat: ESET’s Tony Anscombe on MSP supply chain risk
A 277% spike in RMM abuse. MFA bypasses through inherited VPN configurations. Attackers targeting backup infrastructure before they even start encrypting. In this second conversation with ESET Chief Security Evangelist Tony Anscombe, we dig into how the tools MSPs rely on every day have become the primary attack surface – and what the practical path forward looks like.

In The Channel

WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski on doubling MSP margins, the Kaseya playbook, and why Canada’s cybersecurity moment is now

March 31, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski on doubling MSP margins, the Kaseya playbook, and why Canada’s cybersecurity moment is now
WatchGuard’s new CEO sits down for a wide-ranging conversation about why 2026 may be the year MSPs stop being commodity IT providers – and what the company’s 30-year track record, Kaseya-honed economics playbook, and new Bell Cyber partnership mean for Canadian partners.

In The Channel

Most MSP contracts wouldn’t survive a courtroom – here’s where to start fixing that

March 25, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Most MSP contracts wouldn’t survive a courtroom – here’s where to start fixing that
Attorney Rob Scott, who has worked with more than a thousand MSPs across North America, breaks down where most MSP agreements fall short, how AI is rewriting the rules on both sides of the table, and why Canadian providers may be further behind than they think.

In The Channel

Canadian MSPs plan the lowest pay increases of any region, and that might not be a bad thing

March 24, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Canadian MSPs plan the lowest pay increases of any region, and that might not be a bad thing
Canada’s MSPs are handing out the smallest raises in the industry, but the data suggests it’s less about financial pressure and more about a labor market that’s finally giving owners some breathing room. In this episode, Service Leadership’s Peter Kujawa breaks down what separates the most profitable firms from the rest – and why the answer has more to do with organizational structure than salary lines.

In The Channel

Your managed services are hitting every SLA metric and the customer still thinks you’re failing – here’s why

March 19, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Your managed services are hitting every SLA metric and the customer still thinks you’re failing – here’s why
Jeff Collins, CEO of WanAware, digs into why MSPs are increasingly accountable for outcomes they can’t fully see. As AI workloads and ephemeral infrastructure reshape customer environments without formal network redesigns, the gap between what IT monitors and what the business actually runs on is becoming a real problem – and a real opportunity.

Managed Services

Lexful bets AI-native documentation can solve the MSP knowledge crisis

March 5, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Lexful bets AI-native documentation can solve the MSP knowledge crisis
Legacy documentation tools were built for storage, not for knowledge operations. Lexful CEO Pinar Ormeci walks us through how her AI-native platform turns MSP documentation into a living, queryable knowledge layer – and why she thinks the old ways simply don’t scale in an AI-first world.

Managed Services

MSPs, AI, and the Readiness Gap: What’s working, what isn’t, and what comes next

February 26, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on MSPs, AI, and the Readiness Gap: What’s working, what isn’t, and what comes next
AI is a top priority for MSPs, but excitement hasn’t always translated into execution or profitability. In this episode, Mike DePalma of OpenText Cybersecurity breaks down where partners are succeeding with AI, where they’re struggling, and how the channel opportunity is starting to take real shape.