Ian Richardson to Present at CVxEXPO26

CVxEXPO26 registration is open for November 17 and 18 in Glendale, Arizona

Ian Richardson will present new Fox & Crow Instinct research at CVxEXPO26 in Glendale, Arizona, on November 17 and 18, 2026.

His presentation will examine a major transition taking shape in the managed services market: the movement from operational IT support toward AI-enabled advisory services.

Channel Vision Magazine’s CVxEXPO26 agenda announcement includes Ian’s session among the event’s educational programming.

Read the original CVxEXPO26 announcement on Fox & Crow Instinct.

Ian Richardson at IT Nation Connect

The Data Shows an Open Market

The Fox & Crow Instinct MSP AI Visibility Report evaluated how MSPs are positioning themselves around AI advisory services.

The findings do not show a market crowded with IT business owners promoting AI on their websites. They show the opposite.

Among 1,008 identified MSPs in the benchmark sample, fewer than 2% have substantive AI advisory positioning. Across 571 fully assessed providers, zero firms had structured AI as a named service offering. Fewer than 20 frontier firms were using specific language around AI readiness, governance, or agentic AI.

For the report, substantive positioning requires a dedicated AI service page or an active, named AI service offering visible on the MSP’s live website. Generic references to AI, vendor badges, and broad claims do not meet that standard.

The gap between the amount of AI discussion in the channel and the small number of MSPs presenting defined AI advisory services is what the research identifies as the AI Action Gap.

Why the Timing Matters

The MSP market has been reorganized by several major changes, including the moves from break/fix support to managed services, from on-premise infrastructure to cloud, from optional security to mandatory security, and from reactive support to strategic advisory relationships.

Each shift created an early period when relatively few providers had established a visible position. The firms that moved during those periods had time to develop experience, references, and market credibility before the majority arrived.

Instinct’s data indicates that the early period for AI-enabled advisory is still open.

That does not mean MSPs should add AI language to a homepage and call the work complete. Clients are already experimenting with AI and facing questions involving governance, workflow risk, data, implementation, and business value. The commercial opportunity belongs to providers that can develop meaningful expertise and communicate a credible offer.

Ian’s presentation will use current market data to show CVxEXPO26 attendees where MSP participation stands today, what the gap means for the channel, and why this transition deserves attention now.

Ian Richardson’s MSP Channel Experience

Ian has worked in the MSP community for more than 16 years as an award-winning MSP owner, software owner, and go-to-market strategist.

In 2025, he received three ASCII Edge awards, including Best Strategic Takeaway and two Best Go-to-Market Strategy awards. ChannelPro Network reported on the Newark recognition.

Ian Richardson holding a 2025 ASCII Edge award

His CVxEXPO26 presentation will combine that operating experience with proprietary Instinct data about the managed services market.

See Ian at CVxEXPO26

CVxEXPO26 takes place November 17 and 18, 2026, at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Conference Center in Glendale, Arizona.

Use promo code CVx26 for a free all-access conference pass, then register through the CVxEXPO26 website.

If you cannot attend, you can watch previous keynotes and presentations on the Fox & Crow Group YouTube channel.

To invite Ian to speak at a conference, peer group, association event, podcast, or webinar, email [email protected].