Building a Smarter MSP with Rick Harber (986)

If you’re buried in tickets, tools, and “urgent” alerts, this conversation with Rick Harber will feel like a lifeline. We unpack how he’s using automation, AI, and Liongard to triage tickets in six seconds, protect margins, and manage by exception instead of chaos.

• Learn how Rick’s team cut ticket triage from 10 minutes to about six seconds using automation and AI in ConnectWise.
• Get practical examples of “managing by exception” with dashboards and SLAs so you focus on the 5% of work that’s truly off the rails.
• Discover why process beats talent and how to standardize your MSP so growth doesn’t break your service delivery.

Chapters

• 00:58 Setting the Stage: Smarter, More Profitable MSPs
• 03:41 Conference Updates & Fort Lauderdale Invite
• 03:57 NetAlly LinkRunner 1500 Update & Honest Mini‑Review
• 10:05 Milestone Announcement – IT Business Podcast Show #1000
• 11:59 Guest Intro – Rick Harber of Decision Digital
• 13:45 Why Liongard Matters for MSPs (Alerts, Billing, Visibility)
• 20:09 Real‑World Liongard Stories: Firewall & DNS “Saves”
• 28:37 Process Beats Talent: Growing an MSP Without Hero Techs
• 45:12 Where MSPs Go Wrong with Automation and AI
• 52:42 “Bleeding Internally” – Why AI and Automation Can’t Wait
• 1:00:18 Managing by Exception – Focusing on Outliers, Not Every Ticket
• 1:05:03 Customer Experience, SLAs, and the One Ticket That Matters
• 1:05:35 Florida Man Stories & Respecting Florida Wildlife
• 1:09:23 Closing Thoughts, How to Reach Rick, and Upcoming Events

Guest: Rick Harber, Decision Digital

• Website: https://www.decisiondigital.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardharber

Florida Man

• Tourists haul dead alligator across Central Florida: https://linkly.link/2g4oo
• Teen arrested after videos allegedly show him kicking and swinging a baby alligator: https://linkly.link/2g4op

Shout-outs

• Michelle Accardi, Liongard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleaccardi/
• Joe Alapat, Liongard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joealapat
• Peter Kujawa, Service Leadership / MSP industry leader: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkujawa
• Matt Rainey, Podnutz Pro alum
• Martin Obando, Podnutz Pro alum
• Jared Kasner, Blacksmith Infosec: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredmcasner/

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

• ConnectWise: https://www.connectwise.com
• WatchGuard (firewall referenced by name): https://www.watchguard.com
• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com
• IT Glue: https://www.itglue.com
• Hudu: https://hudu.com
• BrightGauge: https://www.brightgauge.com
• N-able Empower Conference: https://empower.n-able.com/event/2026/summary
• MSPGeekCon: https://mspgeekcon.com
• ChannelPro: https://www.channelpronetwork.com
• ACES Conference (Apple-focused ACES event): https://acesconf.com
• Podnutz Pro (original show name): https://podnutz.com

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=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
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