The Genesis of MSP Alliance and Industry Standardization
Charles Weaver recounts the founding of MSP Alliance in the early 2000s, emerging from the post-dot-com era when application service providers were transitioning to managed services. A handful of enterprise-focused MSP executives in financial centers like San Francisco, New York, Boston, and London recognized they were disconnected and facing similar challenges without established best practices. The organization grew from five founding members to over 30,000 today, driven by MSPs' need for community, standards, and professional identity. Weaver emphasizes that MSP Alliance belongs to its members, citing stories of struggling break-fix companies that transformed into successful MSPs through community engagement and peer learning.
Creating Professional Standards and The Art of Managed Services
In 2007, Weaver authored 'The Art of Managed Services' to document emerging industry standards and provide a roadmap for MSPs navigating the transition from project-based to recurring revenue models. The book, updated in 2023 to include cloud computing, captured foundational principles that remain relevant today. The conversation reveals how MSP Alliance developed the CyberVerify certification standard in 2004 after MSPs demanded industry-specific standards beyond generic frameworks like ISO. Celia Weaver led the effort, assembling an 18-member committee representing MSPs of all sizes globally to create what became the foundation of modern MSP certification programs.
The Modern MSP's Expanded Role and Compliance Imperative
Weaver reflects on how MSPs have evolved beyond IT service providers to occupy quasi-CISO and CIO positions for their clients, influencing corporate risk, cybersecurity, and data privacy decisions. This transformation represents an earned position of trust that MSPs must protect through transparency and demonstrated competence. He argues that compliance and certification are no longer optional, even for MSPs without regulated clients, because every U.S. state has data breach notification requirements. The profession's longevity depends on adopting the trappings of established professions—standards, ethics, and proof of trustworthiness—rather than remaining a 'ragtag group of technical people who got into business.'
Industry Pioneers and the Path Forward
The discussion honors Mike Cullen's foundational role in the MSP industry, describing him as an ambassador who convinced partners not just to buy technology but to embrace managed services as the future. Weaver credits the early N-able team—Mike Cullen, Mark Scott, Gavin Garbutt, and others—as forming one leg of the three-legged stool that built the industry. Looking ahead, Weaver sees massive untapped market opportunity, with demand for managed services far exceeding the supply of qualified MSPs. He emphasizes that the next frontier involves rapidly accelerating MSPs' path to compliance so they can deliver compliance-related services to customers, a realm he predicts will change radically over the next five years with MSPs playing a central role whether they choose to accept it or not.
