Abacus CEO Anthony J. D’Ambrosi on Building an AI-Native MSP

Following a successful MSP Summit, where Abacus was ranked #3 on the annual MSP 501 list, Informa hosted a webinar, "Process Intelligence & AI Readiness: The MSP Assessment Engine," where Abacus CEO Anthony J. D'Ambrosi shared his perspective on how MSPs and their clients should prioritize AI investment, measure its impact, and operationalize it responsibly at scale.

In the discussion, D'Ambrosi emphasized that AI is quickly becoming a non-discretionary investment. The opportunity, he explained, is to focus on initiatives that create client value first, which in turn drives employee value and ultimately enterprise value. That means making deliberate choices around tooling and partners, investing in DevOps teams and AI operations, and developing existing talent through training and upskilling.

He also stressed the importance of measuring AI against tangible outcomes, including revenue, speed, quality, and return on investment.

Drawing on Abacus' experience serving highly regulated industries, D'Ambrosi noted the different rates of AI adoption across financial services and healthcare organizations. While the firm's financial services clients were early adopters that helped accelerate Abacus' own AI journey, conversations with those clients are increasingly shifting towards governance. Healthcare clients, meanwhile, have generally taken a more conservative approach. Regardless of industry, he said, organizations must continue to balance cost, risk, regulatory expectations, and outcomes when considering AI initiatives.

For Abacus, that balance is central to what it means to be an AI-native MSP. D'Ambrosi highlighted the importance of a strong data security and governance layer in addition to the MSP's growing role in operating AI safely at scale for clients. As AI agents become part of day-to-day business operations, he sees MSPs evolving into the central hub for managing those agents through governance, orchestration, and a unified control plane.

Throughout the panel, the message was clear: operationalizing AI at scale represents a significant opportunity for the MSP industry, particularly for the providers that combine AI innovation with the operational rigor required to manage risk.

Watch the full webinar here.