Thrive CTO Michael Gray joins Channel Insider: Partner POV to unpack the MSSP’s newest offering: AI Managed Services.
Explore how Thrive helps organizations identify practical AI use cases, streamline workflows securely, and adopt AI responsibly across their teams. Michael also shares how Thrive closed internal AI security gaps, why that led to surprising data insights, and what’s ahead for AI, automation, and MSP innovation in 2025 and beyond.
Topics & Time Codes:
00:00 – Welcome and intro to Thrive’s AI Managed Services
01:11 – Who Thrive serves and key customer verticals
02:29 – How Thrive differentiates as a next-gen MSP
03:37 – Why AI applies across all industries
05:42 – How AI Managed Services came to life
07:38 – Thrive’s investment in AI and dedicated AI team
09:09 – Helping customers identify AI use cases
11:58 – Top example: Automating job descriptions
13:50 – Giving customers back time with AI
14:18 – Early customer interest and pilot feedback
15:43 – Why companies struggle with DIY AI adoption
16:40 – How AI Managed Services tie into Thrive’s security stack
18:32 – The risks of public AI use and poor prompting
20:34 – How Thrive secures internal AI usage
22:04 – What Thrive learned by centralizing AI usage data
23:30 – Employee engagement with AI inside Thrive
25:09 – The challenge of hiring for AI roles
27:06 – Thrive’s hiring philosophy in the age of AI
28:39 – Thrive customer success story (complex carve-outs)
30:53 – Vendor shoutouts: ServiceNow & Horizon3
33:00 – Why Michael has stayed at Thrive for 18 years
35:53 – What’s next for Thrive: Agents, private AI, reimagining the help desk
38:05 – Where to learn more about Thrive