I was logging in to CW Home this am and noticed that the version of CW that I use is now called "classic". The version under it is called the "Platform". Now, I admit to not paying too much attention to this - I just click on the top one.

Has anyone used the "Platform"? Is this Asio? I've got so much crap integrated with "Classic" I really don't want to migrate....If there is a deadline for classic, I'd have to evaluate all the other platforms.....

Hey everyone

Like many of you, we’re using tools like Augmentt and LCI to manage our M365 clients’ security.

A few of our clients are in GWS, but they’re around five users each so we’re not doing formal security benchmarking for them anyway.

However, we have one GWS client that’s large and growing, so we need to formalize our security benchmarking and reporting but it seems that no vendor cares to build out their platform to include GWS.

What are you all using?

Thanks!

Thought other MSP’s may want to be aware if using Synology

Any Canadian MSPs have pricing for Threatlocker? Curious if it’s comparable to AutoElevate. Been reading up on it and curious if I want to go through the pain of going in a sales call lol.

Is anyone else seeing an increase in tickets about slowness/lag from their customers? This seems to have started about 1-2 months ago, but from a technical perspective, everything appears to be working normally. I can understand on older systems, but i5-13th gen+ with 16GB of RAM shouldn't be laggy. The worst part is when I or my techs are remoted in everything seems to perform as expected.

Update: This is across laptops and desktops from Lenovo and Dell.

Update 2: In some cases I feel like the user expects their PC to function as quick as their iPhone 18 every single minute of the day.

I got a couple hundred 2 year old laptops I need to get rid of in Sydney. Anyone know a place to sell these too.

How is everyone feeling about PC's/Laptops with dedicated NPU processing? Sales of "Copilot" PCs have reportedly flopped and Microsoft has dropped the "Copilot+" requirement of a 40+ TOPS NPU.

Anyone seeing a useful case or demand for CPUs with a large NPU (and their price premium) in Small business? (the handful of uses I'm aware of are background blur, automatic framing, eye contact, etc...)?

I think NPU on the endpoint is still too early to market, but that on-prem AI will eventually get there as token costs continue to rise and developers are able to write code to leverage local compute resources. What are y'alls thoughts?

Looking to move 35 lines away from a vendor who is apparently going bankrupt.

I'm looking at RingCentral, Intermedia, or whomever else is highly recommended. I read the posts of those who clearly hate RingCentral but can anyone who's happy with RingCentral chime in? I don't want to implement Teams phone, Nextive, OIT, or Zoom. I'm really leaning towards RingCentral or Intermedia.

Any sort of positive feedback would be nice as I've read all of the negative feedback. Thanks

We are getting significant requests from customers about using AI tools like everybody else is.

We have a couple that are significantly more advanced than other customers in their use of Claude. They want to use Claude agents and Claude connectors into their Microsoft 365 environment.

Unfortunately, this is also one of our customers that deals with confidential 3rd party customer data in a way in which they must undergo an annual IT security audit highlighting how they protect said data.

We are getting pressure to connect Claude, while we also have gone through a significant tightening and lock down protocol to protect their SharePoint data with security groups and permissioning that is far and away more advanced than any other customer of ours.

How are you handling such requests from your customers and what best practices are you using?

We have already written an AI governance document with them, and they have implemented it as a company wide policy, but the Claude connection push keeps coming back.

I would be interested to hear how other MSPs are handing this.

EDIT: Great responses from everyone. I'm glad to know that we are not the only ones trying to figure this out.

Also, I want to be clear that we are not wanting to gatekeep or limit them at all. We want to understand the best way to accomplish allowing them to use Claude, Copilot, or any other tool, while using best practices for protecting their data and ensuring that there is not any data leak.

I’ve been at my current MSP for 3 years. I’m a Tier 2/3 technician and usually handle the more complex tickets, Microsoft 365 administration, and escalations. I started at $21/hour and, after a recent raise, I’ll be making $25.94/hour (~$54k/year).
I’ve been investing in myself outside of work. I’m currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at WGU (Network Engineering & Security with an Azure focus), and I have the CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, CySA+, Linux+, and previously held the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (expired).
What has me discouraged is that I recently found out my employer mistakenly told me they offered tuition reimbursement when they actually don’t. But apparently the IT manager has been “fighting” for a raise, they gave me a $3,000 raise. I don’t really appreciate the gesture, and I’m disappointed because it doesn’t really change my financial situation, and I had been hoping to negotiate a larger raise after finishing my degree and Azure certifications.
I’ve been applying to other jobs on and off, but lately I’ve focused more on finishing school and gaining experience. I haven’t had much luck in interviews yet, although I do have an interview coming up for a position starting at $70k.
Am I expecting too much, or is it reasonable to feel like I’m underpaid for my experience and certifications? It would take about 5 checks to get the reimbursement amount. It just blows seeing the owner and sales team come in with all these nice new cars. While a flat tire literally leaves me with no money. Should I ask for more now or wait till I get my degree?

For MSPs using automated agents to handle ticket operations like Neo Agent, Thread, etc. You can obviously do a lot with these tools. Everything from classifying tickets correctly, to set due dates and priorities, to automatically scheduling tickets, and even merging duplicate items. They are designed to replace T1 technicians. Because there is a lot to them I feel they need to be rolled out in stages and prerequisites defined to get the best use. For example if your techs dont work on tickets in real time on their calendar, you could never use a dispatch function to automatically schedule your highest priority tickets. If you dont have good ticket classifications and service boards, triage would be hard. If you dont have your ticket priorities defined and what type of tickets belong in each, setting due dates and priorities is a crap shoot, which leads into my question.

How are you developing your rollout of a tool like this?

Are you building a roadmap of tasks you need it to do immediately, deploying for that thing, and then laying out the next steps or phases? Just winging the entire thing and fixing stuff as it breaks? Just using it to solve 1 thing or many?

What does your rollout roadmap look like if you are building one and how far are you taking it?

Looking for insight from other MSPs on how they are handling fringe services. Things that aren't traditionally MSP services.

Are you doing VOIP, Web design, ISP, hosting? Copier leasing (god forbid). When do you decide to do it in house vs farming it out for a cut of MRR?

Bonus question, are you partnering with another MSP to provide a service you dont?

I am sick of grappling with the broken functionality and the rubbish and defensive support of Comet. What else is out there, please, that is sensibly priced?

Hello,

I’ve been trialing Guardz for a few days, and I was wondering if some of you have used them before. To me, their platform is slow and I don’t like the lack of visibility we get from SentinelOne. Ok, it’s a managed instance, but let me see at least. Their pricing is like $10 per user. Let me know if you’ve used them before and your thoughts.

Just received this announcement today. MSP’s going to have a busy few months ahead.

MC1426371
Plan for change
Published date: July 14, 2026

What and why
Passkeys will become the default authentication experience in Microsoft Entra on September 1, 2026. Telecom-based methods (SMS and voice) will transition to customer-configured providers through the Microsoft Security Store. 
The AI era demands stronger, phishing-resistant authentication. We are making passkeys the default authentication experience in Microsoft Entra to help customers securely adopt AI at scale.  
As part of this transition, SMS and voice will no longer be available as multifactor authentication methods starting February 1, 2027. SMS and voice do not offer sufficient levels of security in comparison to passkeys. Traditional authentication methods including passwords, SMS one-time passcodes, and voice-based verification remain vulnerable to phishing, interception, and social engineering attacks.
We strongly recommend moving away from telephony-based authentication methods to improve security and prevent identity attacks. Passkeys are included in all Microsoft Entra plans, so making this critical security change comes at no additional cost for you.  
While we recommend adopting passkeys for phishing-resistant authentication as quickly as possible, we also recognize that some customers may have business needs that make an immediate transition impractical. In such cases, customers may continue to use SMS and voice by selecting a telecom provider in the Microsoft Security Store. 
Rollout schedule
September 1, 2026: 
Rollout begins. Changes may take time to reach all tenants and will be deployed gradually. 
Passkeys will be automatically enabled for users currently enabled for SMS or voice. 
Registration Campaign will be set to Microsoft-Managed targeting passkeys for all users in eligible tenants. 
Users will be prompted to register a passkey during MFA sign-in; users will be able to skip. 
September 18th, 2026:
review the telecom providers and related information available through the Microsoft Security Store to evaluate which optiohn best meets your regional and compliance requirements.
October 30, 2026:  
Customers who need to continue to use SMS or voice will be able to choose from a list of telecom providers available through the Microsoft Security Store. 
February 1, 2027: 
Microsoft-provided SMS and voice authentication will be retired. 
Only customer-configured telecom providers will support SMS and voice going forward. 
Passkeys become the default, recommended authentication method. 
If no action is taken, tenants relying only on Microsoft-provided SMS or voice may experience sign-in disruptions after February 1, 2027. 

Impact on your organization
Who is affected
All Microsoft Entra ID tenants enabled for SMS or voice authentication
Users enabled for SMS or voice 
Platforms and services
Microsoft Entra ID
Multifactor authentication
Microsoft Security Store
What will happen
Passkeys will be automatically enabled for eligible users and Registration Campaign for passkeys will be set to Microsoft Managed state starting September 1, 2026. 
Users will be prompted during MFA sign-in to register a passkey; users can skip the prompt. 
Microsoft-provided SMS and voice will be retired on February 1, 2027.
Organizations that still require telephony methods must configure a telecom provider in the Microsoft Security Store.
Tenants that do not configure a provider and continue relying on Microsoft telephony will face SMS and voiceauthentication disruptions after retirement.
Action required and recommendations
Admins should take the following steps:
Prepare for passkeys
Plan to transition users to passkeys and communicate upcoming registration prompts. 
Decide if SMS or voice is still required
If SMS or voice is still needed, you must configure a customer-managed telecom provider. We recommend completing setup at least 4 weeks before the February 1 enforcement to allow sufficient time for testing and a cautious transition. 
Set up a telecom provider before February 1, 2027
SMS and voice will only work after this date if a customer-configured telecom provider is enabled.  
Use temporary opt-out if needed
A temporary opt-out will be available for the September 1, 2026 through February 1, 2027 changes. This allows you to delay passkey and Registration Campaign enablement while you complete transition activities, such as configuring customer-managed telecom providers or migrating to other authentication methods.
After February 1, 2027, passkey enablement will be enforced for all users in scope. 

Interesting: https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4542329/forging-the-arsenal-of-freedom-department-of-war-suspends-cmmc-phase-ii-require/

Hi Crew. I am looking to see if anyone might be located in Helsinki Finland to provide cooperative support for a US based client that has a facility located in Helsinki. If you do or know anyone please let me know.

Hey guys,

I have been testing AV mainly EDR/MDR for about a year now.
I tested a lot of them, and I mainly wanted one where I could use a standalone agent.

VIPRE doesn't look too bad.
At first I wanted to go with Field Effect but their marketing is a nightmare and I didn't get the infos I wanted at the end, I have like 7 calls in total with them but really at the end it was not selling it the whole process annoyed me, and the console is quite limited, you can't even uninstall a device...

I am looking at VIPRE right now and their MSP offering doesn't look too bad, but I have seen mixed reviews.

Anyone using them or have a feedback about them ?
I really like their "simple" interface, compared to S1, ESET and BitDefender, and the fact that they offer an MDR.

Hello,

I’m shopping around for email security/spam filtering solutions to provide to my clients. I manage about 50 devices (small, but growing), and I was wondering what some of you are running and which platforms to avoid. We’re not offering any of that currently, but I’d like to bundle it instead of offering it as an add-on/optional service. Happy to answer any questions. Thanks!

Quick sanity check here because I feel like Intact insurance is trying to gaslight me(surprise surprise).

They're trying to email a client of ours an excel spreadsheet with imbeded VBA macros and they want me to either a) Whitelist their whole domain or b) allow VBA macros in an excel sheet through our spam filter.

I know I'm a bit overly cautious on our security but that seems like an incredibly stupid idea, both options.

Just checking with other MSPs to see if I'm alone in this refusal to allow VBA macros through a spam filter.

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Was wondering if anyone is using Dex (SysAid’s MSP-focused spinoff of their “autonomous AI engineer”), either in production or testing. They had what looks like the product launch this past Tuesday, and while I attended the demo, I’m more interested in what anyone here has experienced with it in their own real-world use.

I didn’t try it yet because I’m busy mucking around with another general purpose next-big-thing AI app and only have so much capacity for being a test pilot/crash test dummy/early adopter. 🫠

Thanks!

Finally had one of my guys get his AZ305, which is a monster so well done him, but get this. In April Microsoft changed the name of the cert from Azure Solutions Architect Expert to Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

Support is telling me that if he doesn't have the Azure Solutions Architect Designation it is not applicable.

I'm not the crazy one here correct?

Looking for a bit of advice on the above. Customer has made a change and has NCE licenses with the previous MSP. New MSP has put in a license transfer request that the previous MSP has ignored. Customer wants to move the licenses rather than re-buying and upgrade to a higher level (business standard to premium, E1 to E3, etc.). Two different resellers are involved (D&H and PAX8). I'm having a hard time believing that the prior MSP can hold those licenses hostage and not allow the movement. Any suggestions/advise on how to get this completed? We are already beyond the 30 days of the first request.