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What Happens When Your MSP Is Merged or Acquired: How to Protect Your Texas Firm’s IT Services

What Happens When Your MSP Is Merged or Acquired: How to Protect Your Texas Firm’s IT Services

The booming Texas technology sector has seen a rapid increase in local Managed Service Providers (MSPs) being acquired, as private equity firms and larger MSPs are looking to consolidate the market and gain access to new client bases and talent. Austin, in particular, has seen its thriving tech scene become a magnet for businesses hoping to scale their offerings and increase their reach through local MSP acquisition.

 

In 2024, Austin-based MSP IT Freedom was acquired by global technology outsourcing provider, Thrive. Prior to this, IT Freedom had a small team but a strong local presence, and many of their clients likely chose them for their deep understanding of Austin’s business environment. For firms who find their MSP under acquisition, many worry about the impact this could have on how they receive IT support, and whether they will still receive the same level of personalized, locally-focused service.

For professional service firms, these transitions can be particularly challenging. Law firms using specialized practice management software need IT partners who understand these platforms inside and out. Similarly, CPA firms rely heavily on their IT infrastructure during tax season when demands are high. Any disruption in support or unfamiliarity with these critical systems can directly impact billable hours and client service.

Understanding the Risks for Firms across Texas

Compliance and Security Gaps
If your partnered MSP is acquired, the new owner may lack a full understanding of your business and its IT needs, particularly any specific regulatory requirements relevant to your practice. Documentation and security protocols might change and data handling procedures could be modified during the transition, potentially affecting your firm’s compliance status and even compromising the security of your clients’ data.

For professional services firms, any changes to IT security protocols or data handling procedures during an MSP transition could affect your regulatory compliance and client data protection requirements. This is particularly crucial when handling sensitive client information, financial records, and confidential documents – all of which require consistent, reliable security measures.

IT Service Quality Deterioration
An MSP’s internal culture heavily impacts the quality of support you receive. A new owner may lack a personalized understanding of your firm’s workflow and prioritize ticket closures or profit margins over delivering the customer-centric, solution-oriented service you’ve come to expect. Furthermore, any changes in the MSP support structure could affect their response times during critical business hours.

When IT support quality deteriorates, it directly impacts your firm’s ability to serve clients. System downtime, slower response times, and support staff unfamiliar with professional services operations can all lead to lost billable hours and frustrated clients. This is particularly critical during high-volume periods like tax season for CPAs or court filing deadlines for law firms.

Price Increases and Financial Pressures
New MSP owners prioritising financial returns may hike their prices higher and introduce new fees to enhance their profitability, straining your firm’s budgets and diminishing trust. This is particularly concerning for smaller firms who operate with limited resources and budgets, with many relying heavily on their IT infrastructure to maintain client confidentiality, handle complex workflows and ensure compliance.

It’s Not Always Bad News

An MSP merger or acquisition doesn’t have to spell disaster for your business. In certain cases, firms may find there is a seamless transition and a continuation of high-quality service. Acquisition can expand the MSP’s capabilities and expertise, and your firm may gain access to new resources and advanced tools that can better meet your IT needs. While these acquisitions may bring about many positives, it’s important that businesses remain alert for signs that the MSP’s service quality is declining. Businesses should also proactively manage their relationship with the MSP and ensure any concerns are communicated.

Protecting Your Firm’s IT Services: A Strategic Approach

If you’re facing an MSP acquisition, it’s important to take a proactive approach:

  1. Evaluate Business Impact
    You should review how changes in the MSP’s IT support might affect your billable hours, compliance, and security. Assess how these changes might impact service delivery to your clients.
  2. Communicate Your Needs
    Establish your firm’s specific needs, from practice management software support to client portal security. You should also define acceptable response times for different types of issues and outline compliance and security requirements specific to your practice.
  3. Consider Alternative Solutions
    If problems persist despite efforts to address them, you may want to explore alternative options for IT support. Consider switching to an MSP with local expertise and a commitment to providing personalized, high-quality service.

Take Action Today

If your MSP has been acquired or you’re concerned about the future of your IT support, reach out to Lighthouse IT today. As a Temple-based MSP serving numerous firms across Austin, Temple and Waco, our approach goes beyond closing tickets; we focus on solving problems, delivering high-quality service and supporting your business growth. We provide:

  • Local, dedicated support teams who understand your business
  • Expertise in IT requirements across a number of industries
  • Proven experience in maintaining security and compliance
  • Reliable support when you need it most

Don’t wait for service disruptions to affect your practice. Contact us today and schedule your consultation to discuss how we can support your firm’s success.

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Adam

Help Desk

Adam was in the Navy before he joined our team in 2015. He is cool under pressure and a calming influence on the help desk. Perhaps this is because, after staring down Somali pirates off the coast of Africa, printer and email problems don’t seem so intimidating! Adam likes to shoot things (not people – thought we should make that clear), play Xbox, and of course, shoot things on Xbox! A husband of fourteen years with two children, he has been all over the world and still calls Central Texas his home. His teammates say, “Adam has an incredible memory when it comes to our clients. He remembers names, Internet settings, applications and printers!”
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Tyler

Projects Team Lead
Tyler cut his technological teeth through four years both in part-time work and in working with one of our telephony partners. Tyler loves working and learning, and has built a larger network at his home than 90% of our clients have in their businesses! He is thoughtful with his own money, preferring to buy a home and drive an old truck rather than pay rent and car payments. His hobbies of woodworking and gardening dovetail nicely with home ownership! He’s been known to play a bit of electric guitar, he enjoys 3D modeling and printing, and drives a gray Mustang GT that he’s modded as completely as his computers! Several of our team were in the wedding party when he got married!
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Aaron Johnstone

Help Desk Manager
With more patience than Job and more experience than most people in IT today, Aaron is the go-to guy for challenging problems. He directs our team both in the maintenance and help-desk functions. Aaron has been in IT for over twenty years and has played nearly every role possible EXCEPT, he reminds us, Sales. We can test almost every system in our client base on Aaron’s home network because it’s extensive and complex. When he isn’t tinkering with computers, he loves to read, play video games with his kids, and run. Aaron’s been married to his wife for twenty-one years and they have two daughters and a son. His teammates say, “I can always count on him to have my back. If I can’t find the answer, Aaron knows where to look!”
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Eli Meier

COO | CTO
Eli is our jack-of-all-trades. His degree is in English, and he intended to teach before he discovered a natural aptitude for computers. He combines the two in his role at Lighthouse, as he has a unique ability to explain complex technology in relatable, understandable conversation. Over more than twenty years working in IT, he’s written e-commerce programs for a university, set up an email cluster for a major league baseball team, and managed/executed hundreds of IT projects. He enjoys classic Volkswagens, cooking and barbeque, and hiking and camping. He and his wife have been married twenty-one years and have nine kids. Though he is 6’1”, he is the SHORTEST male in his entire extended family. We all feel badly for him.
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Ray Wilson

Chief Executive Officer
Ray is our CEO and he is passionate about helping businesses – both ours and our clients’ – succeed. Except for Skip, he’s probably been involved with IT longer than anyone – he was troubleshooting computers and repairing them at his school when he was seven! As an intern while attending UMHB, he was involved with IT, but really started growing when he joined our team in 2005. When he transitioned most of our clients to managed services, our MSP business was truly born, and we then grew it from five to forty people between 2006 and 2016. In that time, he was a help desk tech, business processes consultant, account manager, salesperson, sales engineer, client services manager, sales manager, and COO. If you want to get his juices flowing, challenge him to any team sport or ask him to go snow skiing. He’s been married to his high school sweetheart fourteen years and they have three high-energy boys. Oh… and both of his parents are also small business entrepreneurs.

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