In this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, host Katie Bavoso sits down once again with returning guest Terry Richardson, CRO of Blue Mantis , to unpack the company’s rapid expansion through strategic MSP acquisitions and its evolving business strategy. Richardson explains what impact he believes economic uncertainty in the U.S. will have on M&A through the rest of the year and into 2026
Richardson also shares insights into Blue Mantis’ recent flurry of acquisitions in Q1 2025, and how the company is enhancing its cybersecurity, networking, and telecommunications offerings amid a distributed workforce – especially in some key “underserved markets.”
🔹 Timestamps & Key Topics:
00:00 – Intro: Blue Mantis’ explosive M&A momentum
01:33 – Recent acquisitions: Why Vermont MSPs?
02:20 – M&A strategy post-recapitalization
03:36 – Integration playbook: Tech stack & onboarding success
06:09 – Investments in networking & telecom: What’s driving it?
08:30 – What customers can expect from Blue Mantis
10:45 – Serving underserved markets in New England & New York
12:30 – Industry verticals showing growth (finance, healthcare, manufacturing)
13:41 – Is Blue Mantis a platform MSP?
16:35 – Advice for MSPs preparing for acquisition
19:00 – How Blue Mantis chooses who and when to acquire
21:35 – Top tech trends for 2025: Zero trust, hybrid cloud, AI, and resilience
25:00 – Long-term impact of COVID-19 on IT strategy
27:35 – Leading in times of uncertainty: Tariffs, market fluctuation, and customer trust 3
0:14 – M&A trends in the channel: What’s next?
31:48 – Cloud success stories: Helping clients optimize cloud spend
35:18 – Pitfalls of ungoverned cloud deployments
36:35 – What’s next for Blue Mantis in 2025?
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