Table of contents
Episode Summary
In this episode, Julian Lee returns to talk with Rich Dean, Senior Director of Product Management at Syncro, about why managed service providers (MSPs) are overwhelmed, and what needs to change to reduce tool sprawl and, by extension, latency.
Rich shares how today’s MSPs face mounting complexity: dozens of siloed tools, a growing attack surface, and nonstop pressure to deliver more with less. He explains why traditional RMM and PSA tools are no longer enough, and how Syncro’s new approach — Extended Management and Monitoring (XMM) — aims to unify the essentials under one experience.
The conversation covers how Syncro is integrating Microsoft 365 at the core of its platform, building in security baselines, and streamlining identity and device management. Rich outlines why simplicity, automation, and actionable insights aren’t just nice-to-haves. They’re mission-critical for MSPs to stay competitive, secure, and sane in a rapidly shifting tech landscape.
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Rich Dean
💡 What he does: Senior Director of Product Management
💡 Company: Syncro
💡 Noteworthy: Microsoft 365 expert with 20+ years leading SaaS innovation and MSP-focused product strategy
💡 Where to find him: LinkedIn
Key Insights
Too Many Tools Are Slowing MSPs Down
MSPs are buried under sprawling tech stacks, often juggling 5 to 30 tools just to run daily operations. This fragmentation drains time, increases risk, and forces technicians into constant context-switching. Even “all-in-one” suites fall short, with shallow integrations and unused features. The result? High costs and reduced agility.
What today’s MSPs need isn’t just more tools. It’s smarter consolidation. By focusing on workflows and centralizing around where the work happens (like ticketing and alerting), MSPs can reclaim time, reduce risk, and deliver better service. The future isn’t about bolting on new systems, but about building platforms that help MSPs do more with less.
Security Posture Is Becoming the Next Competitive Edge
Cybersecurity can no longer be an add-on. For MSPs, it must be the foundation. Rich explains how Syncro’s new security baseline capabilities allow MSPs to continuously monitor, assess, and respond to vulnerabilities across client environments, without the complexity of piecing together siloed tools.
Beyond technical advantage, this unlocks business value: MSPs can use branded security assessments as presales tools, show clients measurable risk reduction, and expand their service offerings with guided remediations based on trusted frameworks like CIS and NIST. As threats evolve and compliance pressures mount, posture management becomes a differentiator that MSPs can’t afford to ignore.
Microsoft 365 Is the New Center of Gravity for MSPs
With Microsoft 365 at the heart of most MSP-managed environments, building around it isn’t optional. It’s strategic. Rich argues that future-ready platforms must integrate deeply into Microsoft’s ecosystem to natively support identity, device, and security workflows.
Syncro’s XMM model combines RMM, PSA, and Microsoft 365 into one unified experience. This helps MSPs manage endpoints, licenses, users, and security from a single place. It also positions them to offer higher-value services without switching between disconnected apps. As Microsoft grows more enterprise-focused, tools that bridge the SMB gap, like Syncro, become essential for MSPs to stay relevant and profitable.
Viewer Takeaways
Understanding the Microsoft Ecosystem
In the episode’s first segment, Rich traces his path from working at IBM’s help desk to building data centers, then transitioning into product strategy and SaaS innovation. His two-decade-long journey has been rooted in the Microsoft ecosystem, giving him a deep understanding of both technical and business challenges MSPs face today.
This foundation informs his approach at Syncro, where he’s now driving a Microsoft-centric transformation. His story underscores how a ground-level understanding of infrastructure evolves into a strategic mindset focused on solving system-wide pain points.
The Problem With Traditional MSP Tools
Rich outlines how the traditional RMM and PSA categories no longer meet modern MSP needs. Stack bloat and piecemeal integrations force MSPs to act more like system integrators than service providers. He introduces Syncro’s concept of XMM as a response to this complexity, bringing ticketing, automation, and Microsoft 365 into one experience, highlighting Syncro’s goal of reframing what it means to run and grow an MSP business.
Tool Overload Hurts MSPs Beyond Operations
Julian and Rich shift from tech to the human toll of fragmented systems. MSPs often create their own Frankenstein systems stitched together to survive, but hard to maintain or explain. This complexity impacts not just workflows but quality of life. MSPs work 60–80-hour weeks just to stay afloat. Rich highlights how Syncro aims to restore balance by reducing mental stress and helping MSPs focus on outcomes, not juggling tools.
How Syncro’s Microsoft Focus Fills a Market Void
In the final segment, Rich explains why Syncro is uniquely positioned to serve MSPs managing small and medium businesses in Microsoft 365 environments. He notes Microsoft builds for the enterprise, but MSPs working with SMBs need different support, tailored tooling, and integrated services. Syncro is building with that in mind, focusing on API access and true co-innovation to fill gaps Microsoft can’t address. It’s a call to think beyond integrations and toward partnerships that make Microsoft’s complexity more manageable—and more profitable.
“Microsoft is an enterprise company. They build enterprise tools. They do have things like Lighthouse, but for small and medium businesses, there are gaps where it’s not prudent for them to intervene. They need partners like Syncro to innovate in those areas.”
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