ConnectWise launches AI-native platform to shift MSPs toward Predictive IT operations

ConnectWise launches AI-native platform in push toward 'Predictive IT'

ConnectWise launches AI-native platform in push toward 'Predictive IT' Information technology management software company ConnectWise Inc. today launched the ConnectWise Platform, a new operational platform for managed service providers that the company is positioning as the centerpiece of a strategy it calls "Predictive IT." ConnectWise is pitching the platform as a way for MSPs to hand routine support work to artificial intelligence rather than add staff to keep up. The company says it's concentrating on what it calls Phase 2, using copilots and automation to run workflows. It's not promising fully autonomous operations yet and describes that as a later stage. To make the case, the company released benchmark modeling based on a representative MSP with roughly $3 million in annual managed services revenue. According to that modeling, MSPs adopting AI today can cut ticket handling time by 45%, reduce ticket volume by 30% to 40% through automation and remediation, prevent 80% to 90% of repeat issues, and add five to 12 points of margin through expanded capacity. The figures come from ConnectWise's own research rather than independent analysis. "For decades, MSPs and IT teams have been forced to scale through labor-intensive operations and disconnected systems," said Chief Executive Manny Rivelo. The company is integrating professional services automation, remote monitoring and management, security, automation and agentic AI into one platform, he said, to move partners "from reactive support to predictive intelligence." ConnectWise took aim at rival platforms it said were stitched together through acquisitions, arguing its own product was built on shared operational data and was designed for MSP work from the start. Nick Heddy, president and chief commerce officer at cloud commerce company Pax8 Inc., said in the announcement that MSPs need platforms that create leverage rather than more tools and that a unified foundation would help the channel operationalize AI faster. The ConnectWise Platform integrates PSA and service operations, RMM and endpoint telemetry, cybersecurity operations, native agentic execution and AI assistants, workflow automation, intelligent remediation, operational intelligence and third-party integrations. It is not the company's first push into automation. ConnectWise added robotic process automation and AI security tooling for partners in November 2023. Private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC bought ConnectWise in 2019 in a deal estimated at $1.5 billion. The company is based in Tampa, Florida. General availability is set for the end of June.

ConnectWise Dismantles Asio To Build AI-Powered MSP Platform

'We've re-engineered it from the ground up to enable it to scale to the levels we want to,' says Manny Rivelo, ConnectWise CEO. 'Everything in this platform is code that has been rewritten and written on the platform. There are no bolt-ons. It is natively part of the overall platform. That's the difference. It's not a collection of technologies packaged together and called a platform. We rebuilt the foundation itself.' ConnectWise Monday unveiled its new platform as a "purpose-built system of action" for MSPs as they enter the next phase of managed services: predictive IT. The ConnectWise Platform is the product of the Tampa, Fla.-based vendor completely dismantling its Asio platform, bringing together PSA, RMM, cybersecurity, automation, orchestration, agentic AI and third-party integrations into a single AI-native operating layer. According to CEO Manny Rivelo, the platform is the culmination of a four-year effort to rebuild it from the ground up with AI and agentic automation embedded into its core. "We've re-engineered it from the ground up to enable it to scale to the levels we want to," Rivelo told CRN. "Everything in this platform is code that has been rewritten and written on the platform. There are no bolt-ons. It is natively part of the overall platform. That's the difference. It's not a collection of technologies packaged together and called a platform. We rebuilt the foundation itself." He said traditional managed services have been choked by labor-intensive workflows and siloed systems. AI-driven workflows, though, will allow MSPs to improve service delivery. Brian Miller believes ConnectWise's decision to rebuild its AI-native platform is an indicator of where the managed services industry is already headed. "I think they're making a smart move," Miller, CEO of Issaquah, Wash.-based FusionTek, told CRN. "When you look at where the market is going, baking those AI components in at the lowest possible level is exactly where you get the maximum value. If you're serious about creating predictive capabilities and autonomous operations, it can't just be bolted on later. It has to be part of the foundation." The MSP market is currently in an early to mid-stage of the AI transition, according to Rivelo, with focuses on improving workforce productivity through copilots, automation and workflow intelligence. Longer term, he sees autonomous operations and predictive optimization. But he said the bigger goal is helping MSPs evolve from what he calls a "system of record" into a "system of action." "We're trying to move MSPs away from a world where more customers means more endpoints, which means more tickets, which means more labor," he said. "That's the cycle the industry has been trapped in. What we're building is a world where the technology itself identifies problems, corrects them and prevents them from happening in the first place." This also feeds into ConnectWise's broader predictive IT strategy, which Rivelo said is a multi-phase journey toward autonomous operations. "We believe MSPs are moving toward a predictive era where autonomous capabilities are fundamentally working behind the scenes," he said. "They're almost invisible, but they're preventing issues before they become tickets. That's where the industry is headed." While Craig Fulton believes the long-term success of ConnectWise's rebuilt platform will depend on how well it handles integrations and migrations, he sees potential in the company's vision of predictive operations. "The most successful MSPs are going to become very predictive," Fulton, M&A advisor at San Francisco-based MSP holding company Evergreen, told CRN. "And when people hear that, they immediately think about technology like preventing outages, identifying issues before tickets get created ... things like that. That's important, but I actually think predictive capabilities go much deeper than that." The opportunity, he said, lies in helping MSPs understand the health of their business and customer relationships before problems come up. "What every MSP should be focused on right now is being able to see when a client is profitable or not, when they might stop being profitable or when they might be at risk of churning so you can get ahead of that," he said. "That's where AI becomes really valuable. It's not just predictive in a technical nature anymore. This is predictive in a business nature." FusionTek's Miller agreed. "The more predictive we can become, the better experience we can create," he said. "Within the next year or two, this won't be viewed as something extra. It's going to be table stakes." Early adopters are seeing 30 percent to 40 percent reductions in ticket volume, Rivelo said, and some partners are seeing about an 86 percent reduction in internal escalations. "The opportunity isn't just reducing costs. It's shifting those resources into revenue-generating activities instead of spending all day working through tickets," Rivelo said. "We think MSPs should focus on serving customers while leveraging platforms that handle the complexity underneath. The ones who move sooner are likely going to see more value sooner." The ConnectWise Platform is expected to reach general availability at the end of June, with rollout planned across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.