Description

MSPs sell their book. The vendors they're authorized on. The platforms they're certified on. The products they have margin on.

The infrastructure they're about to recommend for your business is shaped by all of that before you walk in the room.

This Playbook covers what that actually means for you: how to size the right MSP for your company, what security capabilities a small MSP genuinely cannot deliver regardless of what they tell you, why outsourcing IT decision-making to someone with a vested interest is one of the most expensive mistakes a growing company makes — and the one rule that keeps you from getting locked into the wrong stack for the next three years.

You should be leading the MSP. Not the other way around.

The Playbook

• (00:00) - The danger of outsourcing IT decisions to someone selling their book
• (00:45) - Why MSPs sell their book — and why that's the reality, not a criticism
• (02:00) - Deal registration: how your project gets locked in before you've decided
• (02:34) - Size mismatch: why a $100K project won't get attention from a large VAR
• (03:30) - The security capability gap: what sub-50-person MSPs can't actually deliver
• (04:47) - Platform-on-platform: the tools MSPs resell vs. real capability
• (05:40) - Truck rolls, multi-site support, and what to ask before you sign
• (06:10) - Rip and replace: the cost of getting it wrong while under contract
• (07:00) - The play: define your infrastructure needs first, then find the MSP that fits

Resources Mentioned

• Intune (Microsoft) — endpoint management platform
• Defender (Microsoft) — security platform frequently configured by MSPs

About the Show
Signed is the podcast for buyers in a market built for sellers. Playbooks are the solo format — 10 to 15 minutes, one trigger, one specific play. New episodes weekly at itbroker.com/podcast. If the trigger in today's Playbook is one you're facing right now, book an intro call at itbroker.com. We help buyers make the right call the first time. 
Buy tech without regret. 
Follow: @itbrokerdotcom 

Full Transcript
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