Episode Details

By Doug Green

“Focus on the biggest business problem first, then ask where AI can actually improve the outcome.”

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Ahmed Mahmood of Ocean Solutions discusses how MSPs can use AI more strategically by starting with business problems rather than technology.

Ocean Solutions is a Washington, D.C.-area MSP serving highly regulated industries, including government contractors, nonprofits, financial services and healthcare.

Mahmood says the company works heavily around compliance requirements such as CMMC, PCI, GDPR, SOC 2 and HIPAA.

That experience shapes his view of AI.

He says many business leaders are still approaching AI as a new technology they feel obligated to adopt rather than as a tool for improving a specific business outcome.

His recommendation is to start with the problem creating the most pain.

That might mean revenue leakage, slow processes, high costs, frustrated customers or inefficient internal workflows.

Then break that problem into smaller pieces and determine where AI can help.

“Learn and walk your way up one problem at a time,” Mahmood says.

For MSPs, that approach also changes the customer conversation.

Mahmood says AI is increasingly bringing MSPs into discussions with CEOs, CFOs, COOs and boards rather than limiting them to conversations with IT staff.

That means technical expertise alone is not enough.

MSPs need to understand how customers make money, where they lose business, how they acquire customers, how they operate and what challenges are affecting growth.

Mahmood suggests using AI itself to help build that understanding.

An MSP can take its ideal customer profile, combine it with the right prompts and use AI to learn more about the economics, workflows and challenges within a customer’s industry.

That allows the MSP to enter the conversation speaking the language of the business rather than only the language of technology.

“If you’re sitting there purely technical, you’re going to become less relevant,” Mahmood says.

Ocean Solutions also operates an AI Academy offering bootcamps and training around AI and related technologies.

Visit OceanSLS.com to learn more.