Successful Managed Service Providers (MSPs) often openly share their blueprints for success. This willingness to share comes from a confidence in their established systems, processes, and habits, knowing they can consistently outperform the competition, but also because they want to support the channel community! Over 2025, through our MSP town-halls and peer-groups, we’ve gathered a wealth of invaluable insights from our community, proving the incredible value of idea exchange.
The good news is that a ton of content already exists to help any MSP elevate its performance, with many vendors and distributors being excellent resources. The real challenge, however, isn’t knowing what to do, but doing it consistently. Success hinges on best practices and daily execution.
Like top athletes aiming for the same gold medal, only one can win. The difference lies in tiny details like managing pressure, peaking at the right time, or executing flawlessly when others falter. This principle of minute differences in execution holds true for any competitive endeavour, including the MSP business. Most MSPs share similar goals and services and possess (more or less) equal skills. The critical differentiator is the daily systems, processes, and habits they adhere to.
Achieving goals is unlikely if the daily work feels like a chore, a struggle, or is demotivating. Never underestimate the “human factor.” Cultivate a work path that ensures you are happy and healthy every day. Enjoying the journey brings satisfaction, even if your ultimate goal takes longer to reach. AI can actually help when applied correctly.
Based on our 2025 discussions, here is a summary of 10 Actionable Tips to put your MSP on the path to growth in 2026, applicable to almost any business:
- Define and Share Your Goals: This is the fun, aspirational part. Write your goals down, share them with your team and inner circle for clarity and accountability, and assign specific actions for each person to drive progress. If your goals don’t challenge your comfort level, it’s probably not big enough.
- Honestly Assess Your Practices: Acknowledge your blind spots. Use resources like our free and confidential Best Managed IT Companies assessment to benchmark progress and ask the right questions, or consider hiring an MSP consultant.
- Build a Robust Operating System: Seek peer advice on the best tools and systems. Treat major tool choices like a long-term commitment (a tattoo, not a haircut). Continuously look for ways to leverage emerging technology, especially AI.
- Cultivate Better Habits and Team Alignment: Bad habits drain resources. Don’t rely on chance; build a predictable, positive routine for yourself and your entire team. Team morale is paramount.
- Focus on Customer Outcome Delivery: Your value is entirely tied to your ability to deliver on customer outcomes and clearly articulate the indefinite need for your services. Scaling this is impossible without a happy team and robust systems.
- Recognize the Need for Deep Effort: While tools may be advertised as “easy,” achieving true depth and breadth requires effort beyond the initial start. Deeper knowledge allows you to connect the dots and drive novel breakthroughs. It’s also a big competitive advantage.
- Commit to Perpetual Learning: Always be learning. Engage with industry peers, attend events, join peer groups, and read vendor reports. The opportunities to stay current and learn from experts are endless. Why not subscribe to eChannelNews?
- Set Your Own Sustainable Pace: This is a journey, not a sprint. Show up daily and commit to making even micro-changes (e.g., 0.01% improvement). Small, consistent steps lead to goals, and you’ll enjoy the process more. Never give up; perseverance often separates the winner from the rest. Just showing up is half the work.
- Accelerate Your AI Strategy: Embrace AI as a competitive advantage. We are currently exploring the concept of building your “Digital Twin” (distinct from AI Agents) for yourself, your team, business, and customers. Fusing these individual digital twins creates a company-wide “superpower brain.” Ask for more info.
- Cybersecurity Must Be Paramount: While the channel recognizes its importance, the challenge is simplification and affordability. The market is rapidly evolving, with AI-driven solutions from vendors and platforms that streamline and strengthen outsourced cybersecurity posture, significantly reducing the specialized skills and costs previously required. Always have a solid cyber insurance plan as a final safeguard. If you need help, just ask we probably have most of the answers.
Implementing even a few of these suggestions will set you on a trajectory for greater success. We share what we learn, but your 2026 outcome depends entirely on your commitment to action. Will you be the person who quits the gym after the New Year’s resolution?
Imagine becoming healthier and building a more successful business next year!
As we have for 30 years, we remain 100% committed to helping our channel community become “bigger, better, stronger, and smarter,” ensuring its success for generations to come.
Join us in 2026 to experience how we can help you. We are raising the bar again by launching a new advisory group of 12 leading MSPs in January to guide our mission. It may sound cliche, but we are as excited today as when we started three decades ago. With AI fuelling new opportunities we never thought possible, we expect that 2026 will to be another record year!
If you are in Canada, mark your calendar for Feb 5, 2026 for our 20th Awards Gala in Toronto where we recognize and celebrate the best of the best!
