Managing more than 130 customers and thousands of endpoints created a new problem for Aligned Technology Partners: the work required to run the MSP was consuming resources it needed to keep growing.
For President Brian Davis, reaching that scale has meant relying more heavily on partners such as Sherweb to handle some of the complexity surrounding Microsoft licensing, certifications, cloud migrations and security, freeing Aligned’s employees to spend more time on customers and growth.
“When you reach a certain scale, revenue-wise and employee-wise, you have to have partners in your corner,” Davis told Channel Insider.
Aligned’s experience illustrates a broader challenge for growing MSPs. Microsoft, cloud and cybersecurity portfolios can create new revenue opportunities, but managing those technologies also introduces operational demands that compete for the same people and time partners need to pursue growth.
Microsoft complexity becomes an MSP scaling problem
Microsoft licensing provides one of the clearest examples.
Aligned had been spending roughly three days each month auditing licensing. Adding manual Microsoft reconciliation could have increased that workload to six or seven staff days. By integrating Sherweb with its Autotask platform, Aligned automated more of the recordkeeping and kept the total workload to roughly three days per month, according to the companies.
The time savings become increasingly important as Microsoft changes its programs, incentives and certification requirements.
“You need a PhD, most of the time, to understand Microsoft licensing when it gets high level,” Davis said.
Sherweb Microsoft and Cybersecurity Lead Michael Slater said time is often the most constrained resource for MSPs, followed by people and money. Sherweb’s role, he said, is to reduce the administrative work consuming those resources.
“People don’t realize how many things are available to the partners,” Slater said. “But I understand why. You literally can go to the same Microsoft page, within the same quarter and get two entirely different answers; that’s how quickly things are moving. We’re here to help.”
For Davis, that outside support becomes particularly important as MSPs move beyond their earliest stages of growth.
“When you start getting over a small, you know, a 10-person MSP to a 20-person MSP, and you’ve got a lot of clients, you need partners like Sherweb that really work with you to achieve your certifications, achieve the right process, help with the migrations, help with the licensing,” Davis said.
Security and cloud growth test MSP resources
The same scaling challenge extends beyond licensing.
Aligned worked with Sherweb as it moved infrastructure from AWS to Microsoft Azure and later migrated its security stack from Trend Micro to SentinelOne.
Davis said Aligned had used Trend Micro for roughly a decade before deciding that evolving security threats required a change. Having an established partner helped the MSP evaluate and execute the transition across more than 130 customers without turning the migration into another major procurement exercise.
“It kind of removes that salesman side of it versus let’s just get this done and do what’s best for the clients,” Davis said.
“We’re not tied to one vendor, we’re not tied to one solution, we’re tied to the best outcome for the partner,” Slater added.
For growing MSPs, the value of removing that operational burden is not simply the ability to handle more of the same work.
“Invest in yourself,” Slater said, arguing that technical training and Microsoft designations can differentiate growth-focused partners and, in some cases, unlock funding for work such as customer migrations.
Aligned turns its attention to Azure and AI
That reinvestment is increasingly pointing Aligned toward its next growth opportunities.
Davis said Azure has become an important area for the MSP as it wins larger customers with significant cloud footprints. Looking toward 2027, however, AI is emerging as a central focus.
Aligned is already discussing AI with customers through presentations and webinars while working with Sherweb to introduce clients to Microsoft Copilot promotions, training and adoption opportunities.
“AI is definitely our big piece of it,” Davis said. “It is what really gets me up out of bed.”
The opportunity, Davis said, is to move beyond simply getting customers to use AI and to help them determine where the technology can deliver value.
For Aligned, pursuing those higher-value advisory opportunities is also tied to the less visible work of scaling an MSP: reducing the time its employees spend managing licensing, migrations and other operational machinery so they can spend more of it helping customers decide what comes next.