Hidden Costs of Changing Your Stack (EP 996)
Vendors love to pitch “better, cheaper” tools, but Tom Wyant and I break down the real, often hidden cost of changing your MSP stack, from migration and data ownership to client disruption and staff confusion. We talk honestly about when it actually makes sense to switch, why I’ve stuck with my N-Able‑centered stack plus ThreatLocker and Liongard, and how to evaluate tools without blowing up what already works.
I’ve been talking for years about having a stack that works and not jumping every time a shiny new tool comes along, but I’ve never really unpacked how I got there. In this conversation, Tom Wyant from Wyant Technologies joins me to walk through the real‑world impact of switching RMMs, PSAs, documentation tools, security platforms, and even client portals and payment systems. We dig into migrations that looked good on paper but turned into months of cleanup, retraining clients on new portals and payment workflows, and what it actually costs when a tech spends two to three hours a day fixing issues instead of working tickets or projects.
Why Listen
- Understand why switching your RMM/PSA stack can easily cost a smaller MSP tens of thousands of dollars once you factor in labor, cleanup, and confusion.
- Hear a real‑world breakdown of migrations from LabTech to Continuum to Ninja, from ConnectWise to Halo PSA, and from IT Glue to Hudu, including what actually hurt and what paid off.
- Learn practical questions to ask vendors about data ownership, export paths, and how your history, documentation, and tickets will (or won’t) move over.
- See how client‑facing changes like portals, payment processors, remote access tools, and security awareness training can disrupt users and generate extra support load.
Chapters
- 00:41 Conference Season Insights
- 03:07 Housekeeping and Personal Experiences
- 04:13 Horror Stories of Changing Stacks
- 08:15 Reasons for Changing Tools
- 11:32 Data Ownership and Documentation
- 15:25 Client Facing Disruption
- 17:35 The High Cost of Switching
- 20:17 Hidden Costs of Cheap Tools
- 29:22 All-in-One Solutions Considered
- 32:48 Evaluating New Tools and Integrations
- 39:15 Reflections on Past Experiences
- 40:13 Summary of Hidden Costs
- 47:09 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Guest: Tom Wyant, Wyant Technologies:
- Website: https://www.gowyant.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaswyant
Shout-outs
- Arnie Bellini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arniebellini/
- David Bellin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bellinidavid/
Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned
- MSP Vendor Lock-In: Switching Costs Hit $325K: https://linkly.link/2hhSA
- N‑able: https://www.n-able.com
- ConnectWise: https://www.connectwise.com
- Halo / HaloPSA: https://www.halopsa.com
- Ninja / NinjaOne: https://www.ninjaone.com
- IT Glue: https://www.itglue.com
- Hudu: https://hudu.com
- CloudRadial: https://www.cloudradial.com
- Benji Pays: https://www.benjipays.com
- Defendify: https://www.defendify.com
- CyberFOX (AutoElevate): https://www.cyberfox.com
- Huntress: https://www.huntress.com
- Synchro (SyncroMSP): https://syncromsp.com
- SuperOps: https://superops.ai
- Kaseya: https://www.kaseya.com
- Datto: https://www.datto.com
- Microsoft 365: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365
- SonicWall: https://www.sonicwall.com
- Nagios: https://www.nagios.org
- Narmada: https://narmada.cloud
- R-Hub (remote access / meeting appliance):https://www.rhubcom.com
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Tom Wyant is an experienced technology entrepreneur and cybersecurity specialist, currently serving as Co-Founder and CEO of Wyant Technologies in Traverse City, Michigan. He is best known for his leadership in managed IT services and his approachable educational presence as host of The Wyant Cybersecurity Brief.
Wyant Technologies is a private IT service and consulting company based in Traverse City, Michigan, founded in 2003. It provides cybersecurity risk assessments, managed network services, VoIP solutions, and acts as a vCIO and vCSO for businesses with 5–50 employees. The company's philosophy centers on straightforward, worry-free technology solutions, emphasizing responsive support, security best practices, and long-term business planning.
