Canalys said (about 10 months ago) that the AI sales opportunity in the channel today is with systems integrators, followed by MSPs and MSSPs within 18 months.
While this may be true, many vendors and MSPs/MSSPs are currently working on how MSPs and MSSPs can help their customers implement AI and realize the benefits of AI.
One emerging vendor in this space is Hatz AI, co-founded and led by Jimmy Hatzell, who comes from cybersecurity vendors well known to MSPs, including Cyber QP, Barracuda MSP, and SKOUT Cybersecurity (acquired by Barracuda for its MDR technology).
Hatz AI released its first products, AI Chat and AI Application Builder, in March.
What is Hatz AI's AI Application Builder?
AI App Builder is a no-code application builder that enables MSPs to build line-of-business AI applications for their end-user customers. Hatz AI currently has 50 MSPs activated on the platform from a waiting list of 300. But it's still early days. You may have been using ChatGPT, Copilot, and other tools for a while, but understanding the business use cases and how to build the app is what takes AI from experimentation to implementation. This requires a different set of skills.
Hatz AI has released its training program with the first module called “AI Fundamentals,” and Hatzell told ChannelE2E that the team plans to add more educational programs in the coming months.
Additionally, Hatz AI has created a template library with pre-built line-of-business (LOB) applications that MSPs can customize for their customers. Currently, the library has about 100 templates, and Hatzell says the company plans to grow that number to 1,200 by the end of the summer. He is working with a team of three on-the-job engineers to do this, and Hatzell is using research and feedback from MSPs to develop the right application templates.
Currently the most popular LOB AI templates
Hatzell told ChannelE2E that marketing and HR LOB AI applications have likely been the most popular to begin with because “that's the easiest way for most businesses to get started.”
Another popular application is RFPs (requests for proposals) and grant applications, where organizations can use AI to create proposals. Hatzel said nonprofits, manufacturing, construction and any industry similarly focused on winning grants or bids are perfect for these initial use cases.
When it comes to marketing use cases, Hatzell says that early experiments many companies have tried with AI can result in marketing content output becoming very generic, and Hatz AI has worked to stop that from happening with its marketing LOB application templates.
“After customization, we found it to be easier to use and produce higher quality results,” Hatzel told ChannelE2E.
Future use cases targeted by Hatz AI include image generation and code generation, with Hatzell saying that many customers in particular expect to use the AI for CRM-specific code generation.
How MSP PCH Technologies is using Hatz AI
Tim Guim, CEO of PCH Technologies, one of the MSPs that was an early adopter of Hatz AI, told ChannelE2E that his company is now using the technology to build incident response and compliance.
One of the early use cases he's working to build for his law firm clients is class action lawsuit intake.
Guim expects this early MSP work on AI for customers will be focused on project work rather than managed services, and he's charging his company's highest hourly rate for project work — higher than vCISO services, higher than technologists, and higher than project management.
Once the project work is complete, Guim expects data management as a service to become an ongoing managed services agreement between his company and its customers.
As an MSP, Guim was an early adopter and pioneer in selling cybersecurity services, and he believes AI will be no different.
“When it comes to AI, it's important to get in sooner rather than later,” he said.
