A question we get a lot
Aren't you just an MSP?
No. And if an MSP is what you need, we'll say so and help you find a good one near you.
The short version: we don't run your IT and we don't resell anything. An MSP keeps your technology running. We find the repetitive work eating your week and build something that does it instead.
| A managed service provider | Spearworks AI | |
|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Keeping your technology running | Finding the work your people shouldn't be doing by hand |
| How you pay | Monthly, per seat or per device | Per project, time and materials with a not-to-exceed |
| What happens when they leave | You need someone to take over the contract | You own what we built and it keeps running |
| The problem it solves | Email is down. The server needs patching. Someone got phished. | Customer details typed into two systems. A form nobody checks. A spreadsheet somebody rebuilds every Monday. |
| Relationship | Ongoing, by design | One thing at a time. We're glad when you don't need us for a while. |
Plenty of businesses need both
These aren't competing purchases. If your email goes down, we aren't who you call. If you're paying someone to retype the same information into two systems every week, your MSP probably isn't either. If you have an MSP, keep them. If you don't, you probably should have one.
How to tell which one you need
Ask what broke last month. If the answer is a device, a login, or an outage, that's an MSP question. If the answer is “nothing broke, it just takes forever,” that's us.
Not sure which one you have?
Take the free consult. If it turns out you need an MSP, we'll tell you that and give you a name. You'll have lost nothing and gained a referral.
Before you hire anyone for either job, here are six questions worth asking them, and what our work has actually looked like.
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Common questions about the difference
- Is Spearworks AI just an MSP?
- No. An MSP keeps your technology running: devices, logins, patching, outages. Spearworks AI finds the repetitive work eating your week and builds something that does it instead. We don't manage anything and we don't sell software. Plenty of businesses need both, and if an MSP is what you need we'll say so and help you find a good one near you.
- Do I need both an AI consultant and an MSP?
- Often, yes. These aren't competing purchases. If your email goes down, an AI consultant isn't who you call. If you're paying someone to retype the same information into two systems every week, your MSP probably isn't either. Plenty of businesses need both.
- How do I tell whether I need an AI consultant or an MSP?
- Ask what broke last month. If the answer is a device, a login, or an outage, that's an MSP question. If the answer is "nothing broke, it just takes forever," that's an AI consulting question. An MSP keeps your technology running. We find the repetitive work eating your week and build something that does it instead.