Change Management

Learn how to adapt, align teams, and implement changes that drive real results for your MSP business.

Abby Humphries
Author: Abby Humphries
January 3, 2025
Read Time: 8 mins

What is Change Management? 

Change management is the structured approach organizations use to transition individuals, teams, and entire companies from a current state to a desired future state.

For managed service providers (MSPs), this has become more important than ever as customer expectations shift toward seamless digital experiences and flexible as-a-Service consumption.

Clients now expect real-time responses, transparent project visibility, frictionless interactions, and options to pay monthly for everything they need—requirements that demand modern tools and optimized workflows.

Whether it’s adopting new CRM or CPQ software, automating procurement, implementing a client portal, switching PSAs or updating service delivery models, MSPs must evolve to meet these expectations.

Change management ensures these transitions happen smoothly. It involves:

  • anticipating challenges and resistance
  • addressing concerns proactively
  • ensuring all stakeholders understand their roles during the transition

For MSPs, keeping up with your customer demands and increasing competition can be difficult, costly, and not without risk. Understanding and implementing a change management strategy will allow you to modernize faster, lower potential barriers, and grow your business organically.

Why Is Change Management Important?

Canalys predicts businesses will consume $4.94 trillion in technology products and services in 2024, with $3.6 trillion (73.2%) sold and delivered via the IT Channel. Companies across the industry are investing heavily to digitize their operations, leaving little room for those who lag behind.

Effective change management isn’t just a best practice — it’s your ticket to staying relevant in a rapidly advancing market. Without it, MSPs risk falling behind competitors who are seizing opportunities to modernize and meet client demands for digital-first interactions.

Here’s how change management helps MSPs stay ahead:

  • Smooth Transitions: Avoid disruptions when implementing new tools or workflows.
  • Team Alignment: Ensure leadership, employees, and clients are all on the same page.
  • Sustainable Results: Integrate processes and strategies that deliver long-term benefits.
  • Enhanced Morale: Equip teams to embrace change confidently, reducing turnover.
  • Accelerated Outcomes: Meet your goals faster with structured plans and clear execution.

Ignoring change management now could mean missed opportunities, lost revenue, and diminished client trust. MSPs that invest in change today are better positioned to thrive tomorrow.

Types of Change Management

Organizational Change Management: Focused on company-wide transformations, such as adopting a new business model or merging with another MSP.
Project Change Management: Deals with changes at the project level, like integrating a new RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) tool or transitioning clients to updated platforms.
Individual Change Management: Targets behavior and mindset shifts in employees, ensuring personal adaptation aligns with organizational and client goals.

Popular Change Management Models

ADKAR Model

The ADKAR Model focuses on driving individual change, making it highly effective in MSP environments where team buy-in is essential for success. Its five steps offer a clear roadmap for addressing the human side of change:

  • Awareness: Communicate why the change is necessary, such as improving client response times or reducing errors in quoting workflows.
  • Desire: Foster motivation by highlighting how the change benefits employees, like simplifying daily tasks or enhancing client relationships.
  • Knowledge: Provide the necessary training and resources so teams can understand and adopt the new tools or processes effectively.
  • Ability: Ensure teams have the skills and support to implement the change in real-world scenarios.
  • Reinforcement: Monitor progress, celebrate wins, and provide ongoing support to sustain the change over time.

By breaking change into manageable steps, the ADKAR Model helps MSPs reduce resistance and achieve consistent adoption across teams.

Kotter’s 8-Step Process

Kotter’s 8-Step Process offers a comprehensive framework for leading organizational change, emphasizing urgency and team involvement. It’s especially useful for MSPs navigating complex transitions that affect both internal teams and clients. The eight steps include:

Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency: Highlight the risks of staying stagnant, such as falling behind competitors or missing client expectations.

Step 2: Build a Guiding Coalition: Assemble a team of leaders to champion the change initiative.

Step 3: Develop a Vision and Strategy: Clearly outline the goals and steps for the change, such as integrating automation tools into workflows.

Step 4: Communicate the Vision: Consistently share the vision with teams and stakeholders through clear, compelling messaging.

Step 5: Remove Obstacles: Address roadblocks like outdated tools or resistance from employees.

Step 6: Generate Short-Term Wins: Celebrate early successes, such as faster quote turnaround times or improved client satisfaction, to maintain momentum.

Step 7: Sustain Acceleration: Build on the initial successes to push further changes and improvements.

Step 8: Anchor Changes in Culture: Reinforce the new processes as standard practices to ensure long-term success.

This step-by-step approach helps MSPs maintain client trust and employee engagement throughout the change process.

Lewin’s Change Management Model

Lewin’s model breaks change into three clear phases, offering MSPs a straightforward approach to managing transitions:

Unfreeze: Prepare for change by identifying inefficiencies, communicating the need for transformation, and gaining buy-in from teams. For MSPs, this might include auditing tech stacks or addressing resistance to new tools.
Change: Implement the planned changes, such as deploying new quoting software or automating procurement. Provide training, roll out updates incrementally, and gather feedback to refine processes.
Refreeze: Solidify the changes by integrating them into daily workflows, monitoring progress, and celebrating successes. This ensures the changes stick and create a stable foundation for future growth.

Why Change Management Initiatives Fail

Change management initiatives often falter due to:

  • Lack of leadership support: Without visible commitment from leaders, employees and clients are less likely to embrace change.
  • Poor communication: Misaligned or unclear messaging can breed confusion and resistance, especially with clients.
  • Insufficient planning: Overlooking details can lead to execution challenges and missed deadlines.
  • Resistance from employees and clients: Failing to address concerns can derail even the most well-planned initiatives.
  • Failure to measure progress and adapt: Without tracking performance, MSPs miss opportunities to refine their approach.

Avoiding these pitfalls requires foresight, preparation, and an unwavering commitment to improvement.

Steps in the Change Management Process

Once your tech stack audit is complete, use these steps to implement effective change management:

Step 1: Assess the Need for Change

Audit your tech stack and identify inefficiencies. Look for tools that aren’t pulling their weight, processes that rely on manual work, or integrations that could reduce complexity. Define clear goals, such as reducing tool redundancy or decreasing quote-to-cash timelines.

Step 2: Develop a Strategy

Build a roadmap with detailed timelines, milestones, and responsibilities. Ensure the scope of changes aligns with both your business objectives and client expectations. For example, improving quoting speed may involve integrating CPQ software into your CRM.

Step 3: Engage Stakeholders

Communicate early with internal teams and key client representatives. Highlight how changes, such as automating procurement or centralizing billing, will benefit them directly.

Step 4: Implement the Plan

Roll out changes incrementally. Start with high-impact areas like quoting or procurement. Use pilot programs to refine processes and reduce risk before scaling changes across the organization.

Step 5: Measure and Optimize

Track metrics like productivity improvements, error rates, and client satisfaction. Use feedback from teams and clients to fine-tune processes and ensure long-term success.

By combining a thorough tech stack audit with a structured change management approach, MSPs can transform inefficiencies into opportunities. Embracing this process positions your business to deliver the seamless, digital-first experiences clients now expect.

How to Build a Change Management Plan

  • Define Objectives: Clarify the purpose and scope of the change to align with business and client goals.
  • Identify Stakeholders: Understand who will be affected and how, ensuring comprehensive support from employees and clients.
  • Craft a Communication Plan: Ensure consistent messaging throughout the process to avoid confusion and build trust with clients.
  • Provide Support and Training: Equip employees and clients with the knowledge and resources needed for success.
  • Track Progress: Use KPIs and regular check-ins to evaluate success and make adjustments as necessary.

A detailed plan serves as a blueprint for navigating complex transitions, minimizing risks, and maximizing benefits for both the MSP and its clients.

Auditing Your Tech Stack: The Key to Effective Change Management

Effective change management starts with auditing your existing tech stack. The average MSP relies on 40+ applications just to deliver managed services, plus an additional 20 tools for security services.

Each tool introduced to the stack increases the risk of inefficiencies—frequent switching between applications can reduce productivity by up to 40%, introduce errors, and lead to miscommunication. This inefficiency translates directly to a poor client experience.

Here are the areas where MSPs often miss the mark and how change management can address them:

  • Procurement & Fulfillment: Are you still managing procurement manually? A digital, integrated approach simplifies everything from purchasing to invoicing. Transitioning away from email chains and spreadsheets ensures faster, error-free fulfillment.
  • Quoting & Sales Enablement: Outdated quoting tools leave revenue on the table. Ensure your quoting software supports dynamic pricing, digital sales rooms, and seamless integration with other systems. Automation here directly impacts how fast you can close deals and fulfill promises to clients.
  • Service Delivery & Automation: Relying on manual processes in service delivery creates bottlenecks. Automate tasks like reporting, scheduling, and service monitoring to free up resources for strategic work that adds value for clients.
  • Finance & Subscription Management: Subscription management is key for MSPs, but managing them without the right tools can get messy. Use systems that streamline credit checks, billing, and renewals to maintain predictable cash flow and client satisfaction.

Change Management Impact on Quote to Cash Workflows

The sell and fulfill workflows are central to MSP revenue operations, but introducing change can feel intimidating. For example, adopting quoting automation or digitizing procurement might initially disrupt routines, but the long-term benefits outweigh the challenges.

Modernizing sell workflows with tools like automated quote generation and CRM integration reduces manual entry, eliminates data silos, and improves client-facing interactions. On the fulfill side, digital procurement and standardized project handoffs ensure accurate, on-time service delivery. Together, these changes free your team from repetitive tasks, lower the risk of errors, and create more consistent client experiences.

Change management minimizes disruption by addressing concerns, providing training, and aligning teams around shared goals.

Benefits of Change Management for MSPs

Change management transforms inefficiencies into opportunities for MSPs to enhance operations and meet client demands. Here’s how it drives measurable results:

  • Streamlined Workflows: Automating quoting, procurement, and service delivery eliminates manual bottlenecks and ensures teams access accurate, real-time data.
  • Faster Turnarounds: Automation tools speed up quoting and order fulfillment, helping MSPs respond to client needs quickly and reliably.
  • Fewer Errors: Standardized processes reduce mistakes in quotes, billing, and procurement, creating more consistent and dependable service.
  • Enhanced Client Experience: Faster responses, accurate pricing, and consistent service delivery build client trust and loyalty.
  • Scalability: Optimized workflows make it easier to grow without adding unnecessary tools or headcount. For example, integrated procurement systems handle higher volumes effortlessly.
  • Smarter Financial Management: Automated billing and subscription tools maintain predictable cash flow and reduce delays from manual errors or missed renewals.
  • Empowered Teams: Modern tools and clear training free employees from repetitive tasks, boosting efficiency and morale.
  • Future-Proof Operations: Robust processes position MSPs to adopt new technologies and scale seamlessly as the market evolves.

Best Practices to Manage Change Effectively

To implement changes successfully, MSPs must align their strategies with the specific needs of their teams and clients. A thoughtful, proactive approach ensures smoother transitions, higher adoption rates, and long-term success. Here are key best practices MSPs should follow:

  • Communicate early and often: Keep stakeholders — both internal teams and clients—informed and engaged throughout the process.
  • Involve employees in the planning process: Collaboration fosters ownership and reduces resistance within the team.
  • Provide training and resources: Equip teams with the tools they need to succeed and support clients with educational resources.
  • Celebrate milestones to sustain momentum: Recognizing achievements reinforces positive behavior among employees and builds trust with clients.
  • Stay flexible and open to feedback: Adaptability is essential for addressing unforeseen challenges.

The Key to Successful Change for MSPs 

For MSPs, successful change hinges on empathy, communication, and adaptability. By understanding the human aspect of change and addressing both employee and client concerns proactively, managers can inspire trust and guide their teams to success.

Additionally, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation ensures teams and clients are not only prepared for change but also enthusiastic about embracing it. MSPs that prioritize these values become catalysts for organizational resilience and client satisfaction.