XTIUM Exec on How Channel Can Navigate 2025 Complexities

Managed IT services provider XTIUM supports customers with a security-first approach to technology. Channel Insider spoke with Kevin Sullivan,  principal technology consultant focused on cloud offerings at XTIUM, to dive into how uncertain times can lead to untapped potential in the market.

Uncertainty is the name of the (confusing) game this year

Sullivan has worked in the MSP space for years on both sides of the relationship. He stresses that this year is one marked by uncertainty and ongoing confusion as tariff policies change quickly and impact budgetary planning almost daily.

“It’s the uncertainty that’s the killer right now,” Sullivan said. “If your organization is looking at a large capital expense, whether that’s in hardware refreshes or infrastructure decisions or another big tech project, those can take months to plan, purchase, procure, and then implement. The back and forth between tariff policies and 90 day windows and not feeling certain on pricing is really difficult for longer-term projects like that.”

Tariffs are only one part of the wider conversations in the MSP space

Beyond economic uncertainties, Sullivan also highlights shifting vendor dynamics and the ongoing conversations with clients around the Windows 10 end of life deadline as other key challenges that will continue to shape XTIUM’s work this year.

“Microsoft hasn’t necessarily done themselves, or us, any favors in how they have communicated about Windows 10 this year,” Sullivan said, noting the company has both determined the OS would stop receiving updates but then also leaving the door open for providing critical security fixes for a fee.

XTIUM, like many MSPs, is currently helping clients determine the best course of action in moving towards Windows 11-supported devices and workloads. Much of that work, according to Sullivan, involves helping clients better understand the various reasons to utilize Windows 11 and, if necessary, upgrade hardware to do so.

“For us, it’s really filling that educational space in the middle,” Sullivan said. “We need to sort through the confusion, provide the most relevant and up to date information, and help our clients fully understand why this is such a big deal for them and what they need to consider when it comes to all the options on the table.”

The same is true of shifting dynamics influenced by M&A and other business decisions made by vendors. For many, the Broadcom acquisition of VMware and its subsequent changes to how VMware products are available to partners is just one of several examples of key vendors substantially impacting how MSPs can do business.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to be vendor-neutral through our platform and our own capabilities,” Sullivan said, referencing how the provider supports multiple vendors across solution types and offers its clients a platform experience to better optimize and understand their tech stack. 

“I always say one of the many benefits organizations get from working with an MSP is that you get access to another layer of understanding of what a vendor is doing behind the curtain,” Sullivan said. “We as providers have a stronger seat at the table just by the nature of our position and how many customers we support with these vendors, and we can then translate that our to our clients.”

How Sullivan weighs outcome and solutions-focused selling models

Solutions providers often have to balance the outcome and the technology in conversations with clients. Meaning, MSPs must determine whether to lead a client conversation with the outcome a type of technology will provide or discuss particular vendors and their solution sets. While both are crucial to customer success and understanding of their tech stacks, Sullivan sees value in full transparency of which vendors XTIUM sells and why.

“I was a buyer of IT before I was in this position as a seller, and I always wanted to know what my stack was built on,” Sullivan said. “I totally understand selling based on outcomes, and I think in theory that’s great, but in practive our customers have had experiences with certain vendors that color their approach to technology now. We have to know where they’re coming from and they have to know they trust not just us to manage their solutions but also the vendor those are coming from.”

Sullivan says this approach is also important given every client has a different approach to technology in the market, and partners need to know where clients are coming from when making IT decisions.

“The Broadcom-VMware thing is one example, because even if a company wasn’t working with them or wasn’t impacted by the changes, it might still rub people the wrong way how Broadcom has chosen to go about things,” Sullivan said. “But really, that’s true of every company and every vendor. We have clients come in and say I had a bad experience with something 10 years ago so I’m not interested in it now. And that’s hard as a provider when you feel like it’s genuinely the best option, but you need to know how customers are approaching everything.”

Solving complex problems and building next-gen leaders: the bright spots of the year ahead

Even with the many questions left unanswered, Sullivan sees many key areas of opportunity in the coming months, particularly around XTIUM’s work to help internal IT teams better support young talent.

“There’s never been a better time where there’s a more robust stable of talent in the provider space to really help customers with their needs,” Sullivan said. “In the solutions provider space, we’re still solving the same problems we were 10 years ago and five years ago, but the tech has changed, and so the solutions have changed, too.”

Sullivan sees efficiency gains through automation and a maturing market give organizations the opportunity to better support young talent by giving them time to upskill and pursue additional education opportunities. For Sullivan, this will also unlock the next generation of tech leadership.

“We all have an obligation to start preparing the next generation of leadership and talent now,” Sullivan said. “Through automation and more efficient tech, we can allow internal IT teams to be more strategic for their businesses and also look more closely at things like job satisfaction for younger employees. Freeing up people from the routine stuff means they can upskill and pursue training and really grow.”

XTIUM was recognized on our 2025 HSP250 List. Check out the full list of solutions providers we deemed the best in the business.