Field Notes

lemhi: AI Transformation-as-a-Service for MSPs
By Tim Hickle June 1, 2026
Exiting stealth with pre-seed funding from Top Down Ventures, the company is giving Managed Service Providers a SaaS offering and playbook to sell AI as a Managed Service alongside existing Managed IT and Managed Cybersecurity offerings.
AI Transformation as a Service (TaaS)
By Tim Hickle May 28, 2026
AI Transformation as a Service (TaaS) is the managed retainer model that turns AI consulting into a repeatable MSP practice. Learn how TaaS works, what it includes, and why it's replacing one-off AI readiness projects.
The Trough of No Value: AI Project Failure Mode
By Tim Hickle May 27, 2026
Most AI readiness projects deliver a roadmap, then go silent. The "Trough of No Value" is the flat customer-value curve that follows. Here's how MSPs fix it with a managed practice.
What Is a VCAIO? The Virtual Chief AI Officer
By Tim Hickle May 26, 2026
A VCAIO — Virtual Chief AI Officer — is the dedicated AI strategist embedded in every TaaS engagement. Learn what a VCAIO owns, how it differs from a vCISO, and why MSPs are adding the role in 2026.
AI Practice vs. AI Program: A Guide for MSPs
By Tim Hickle May 20, 2026
The AI Practice is what the MSP sells. The AI Program is what the client runs. Mixing them up is the single most common reason MSPs lose money on AI work.
Managed Intelligence Provider - Definitions of key terms for MSPs
By Tim Hickle May 19, 2026
The MSP category is evolving. The Managed Intelligence Provider — MIP — is the next stage: an MSP that owns the AI practice, not just managed services, for every client at portfolio scale.
A monitor displays a project management board with text reading:
By John Harden March 25, 2026
One of the reasons AI feels so messy in the MSP world is simple. There isn’t a real framework, not a shared one, not a practical one, mot something people can actually...
A person in a professional setting works at a desk with multiple monitors, with the text
By John Harden March 18, 2026
The more conversations I have with MSPs about monetizing AI, the less convinced I am that their biggest problems are technical. They FEEL technical...
A man stands beside a graphic of a human brain half-fleshed and half-circuitry, next to a muted speaker icon.
By John Harden March 11, 2026
I’m not anti‑innovation. I build things for a living. I like new ideas. I like progress. I like when technology actually moves the ball forward. What I’m against is noise...