Why the “Everything MSP” Model Never Scaled
How Enterprise Thinking, Service Catalogs, and Availability Broke the MSP Model
The “Everything MSP” model sounds generous.
It promises coverage.
Flexibility.
Peace of mind.
In practice, it creates confusion.
Stress.
And fragile businesses.
This isn’t a people problem.
It’s a design problem.
Let’s do the autopsy.
The Model Was Borrowed, Not Built
The MSP model didn’t originate in small business.
It was borrowed from enterprise IT.
Enterprise IT assumes scale.
Large teams.
Defined roles.
Internal departments.
Budget buffers.
In that world, specialization works.
One team supports users.
Another secures systems.
Another plans strategy.
Small MSPs don’t have that luxury.
Yet they’re expected to deliver the same outcomes.
With fewer people.
Less margin.
And constant client pressure.
The model never scaled down.
That’s where the trouble starts.
Service Catalogs Turned Clarity Into Chaos
Service catalogs were meant to clarify value.
They did the opposite.
Each new service added “helpfulness.”
Each addition expanded responsibility.
Each expansion blurred boundaries.
What’s included?
What’s extra?
What’s urgent?
What can wait?
Clients don’t read service catalogs.
They remember promises.
Over time, everything feels included.
Even when it isn’t.
The catalog grows.
Expectations grow faster.
Delivery breaks quietly.
Availability Became the Product
At some point, MSPs stopped selling outcomes.
They started selling availability.
“We’re here when you need us.”
“We’ve got you covered.”
“Just call.”
Availability feels comforting.
Until it becomes the expectation.
Every issue feels urgent.
Every request feels justified.
Every boundary feels negotiable.
Availability has no ceiling.
Responsibility becomes unlimited.
And the MSP absorbs the risk.
That’s not a service.
That’s a liability.
Why This Never Scaled
The Everything MSP model fails for one reason:
It expands responsibility faster than capacity.
More services.
More promises.
More urgency.
But no structural constraints.
No clear outcomes.
No defined edges.
No calm delivery.
Growth just magnifies the problem.
More clients don’t fix bad design.
They expose it.
The Real Cost No One Talks About
This model doesn’t just break businesses.
It breaks people.
Operators normalize chaos.
Teams normalize heroics.
Burnout becomes routine.
Everyone assumes this is “just MSP life.”
It isn’t.
It’s the predictable result of a model
that was never meant to scale at this size.
What Comes Next
If the model is broken, optimizing it won’t help.
More tools won’t help.
More hustle won’t help.
More availability definitely won’t help.
The answer isn’t doing more.
It’s designing less.
Let’s start there.
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