EP230 - Why You Mustn’t Miss the 2025 MSP Show with Alex Harris, David Maguire & Ian Luckett

IAN: In this episode of the IT Experts podcast, we help you work out why you need to attend the MSP show this May in London.

INTRO: Welcome to the IT Experts podcast, the only podcast to help MSPs scale to 1 million, and if already there, get to five and go faster at the end of the day, isn't it all about building a business that works for you rather than you for it? I hope you enjoy the show.

IAN: So good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Welcome to the IT Experts podcast. Today we've got a shameless plug. This is nothing more than a shameless plug for an amazing event that we are supporting this year. We have got Alex and David from the MSP Show in London, which is happening on the 14th and 15th of May. So welcome to the show guys.

ALEX: Hi, Ian.

IAN: This is the first time we've done a triple podcast, so we are going to be interrupting and all sorts of things going across. But anyway, the reason for the show today is to share information about this show that, that's going on, and full disclosure, we are not being sponsored at all by that, but we will be holding an amazing event on the day. I'll be speaking, but. I'm going to talk about that now. Last year, MSP show we were invited to the MSP Show, I think it was from our point of view in terms of like channel supporters, it was a game changer from what the MSPs had, had seen. It was refreshing. And we're going to, we're gonna cover off that and we want to make sure that more and more MSPs get experience of this today. So we're going to run through what it is, what you're going to get from it, why you should attend, and all of these kind of great things today with Alex and David. We haven't rehearsed who's going to go first, but before we do you guys want to just explain who you are, what you do, and who you help?

ALEX: Sure ladies, first, let's make this one easy. Yeah, a hundred percent. I'll introduce myself first. I'm Alex, I am the event manager for the MSP show, took it on board, launched it last year alongside the service desk and it support show.

IAN: Great stuff.

ALEX: David.

DAVID: Hello? Yeah, I'm David Maguire, I'm a group event director at Diversified Communications that is the company behind the MSP show. So Alex and I work closely on the MSP show and launching it last year, as well as the service desk and IT support show that coexists

IAN: Within that, doesn't it? Yeah. So brilliant. Let's start off by just working out or just remembering what happened last year. It was the first show, wasn't it? You guys were completely nerve wracking. Is this going to work? Is this not going to work? What was the kind of thinking, give us a bit of the history, the backstory behind this show on how it got to where it is today.

DAVID: Yeah like I just mentioned a second ago, we already had a show that we've been running as a company for 10 years, but it's been around for about 30 years, called Sits the Service Desk and IT support show. It is very much focused on the internal service desk. But we've always naturally attracted MSPs to the show. But over the last couple of years we gained feedback of, we're not doing quite enough for them or the suppliers summon the room are relevant, but some aren't quite right, and there's a whole raft of other people that could be exhibiting if we slightly change the proposition. But what we didn't want to do is was mess with what sits the service. IT support show is people love it. It's really niche. It's not a broad tech show. It's really focusing on IT support and the service desk. So we decided to actually create the MSP show so it can sit alongside the existing event. People can move between the two shows 'cause some of the content is relevant to service desk and it support show. But we can do really dedicated focused content for the MSP business owner. So sales and marketing mergers, acquisitions talent retention and stuff that we haven't really touched on before, that wouldn't be relevant to an internal service desk. And also on top of that, just have a whole different range of suppliers that really want to target the MSPs. We already had that foundation of MSPs in our kind of database. And once we launched the MSP show, people just loved the idea of it, 'cause we're and we spoke to yourself quite early on, Ian, and said this concept and you're like, actually this totally makes sense. Yeah, there are existing events out there already, but actually something. That kind of taps in really to the MSP community and is vendor neutral. Yeah. And just appeals to everyone and that's how the MSP show was born.

IAN: Yeah. So Alex, what did it look like last year in terms of size and like makeup? 'cause it was a bit of a, stab in the dark, a bit of a leap of faith, wasn't it, to see whether this would work or not.

ALEX: Yeah, absolutely. I think it was the September before the show was in April, and the September before was, go everyone's interested. So I think we sold our first stand in September and we managed to get through those sort of four five, six months. And we had about 30 exhibitors for the launch, right? Yeah. Which was a nice, healthy amount. It was more than we thought as well. We'd originally had a strip of about 15 stands and then we soon expanded that. So the interest was there and so yeah, we knew it was going to be a great success because everyone was fully supporting us and was on board.

IAN: No, and it was good, wasn't it? And it was quite funny because we had people coming to talk to us who came to the sit show and always came to the sit show and we're just, just wandering around the service desk side of things. And they turn around this corner and this big kind of like orange and blue thing going on, and it's like, what is this all about? And we've actually got, we've still got one of the clients we signed from the show, thank you very much. And he walked around the corner and goes, oh, what's an MSP? Oh, that looks like that's me and he was an IT support company in London. And he goes, oh, Growth hub. Oh, I need help. Oh, can you help me? And it was like, yeah, sure. And he is a great client. He's absolutely brilliant. But it was really interesting that people were coming in one door and then you could see him wandering around and stuff like that. Because the makeup of it is like an exhibition, isn't it? It's not like a conference itself where you are sitting there and everyone's in the same place and you've got the vendors coming at you from all sorts of different angles. What does the layout look like this year? You said last year that you've got 30 stands. How does that look now, because I know this number has changed a little bit as we, we has the time we speak, doesn't it?

ALEX: It has, we've got over 80 vendors now in the MSP show, so it's and overall over the whole show, remember obviously there's some crossover with the service desk side, so we've got exhibitors in there as well who also have products and solutions for MSP. So we are looking at over 90 solution and providers for MSP across the whole show.

IAN: So we've got the stands that's going on there. And then last year we had some a couple, is there two theaters last year? Wasn't there?

ALEX: One theater? One theater, one MSP main theater, with 12 sessions over the two days.

IAN: Great.

ALEX: So we instantly added a second theater for this year. So we've got 24 sessions running over the two days.

IAN: Brilliant stuff. So it's a mix of hanging around with the vendors and it is really nice that the feel of it is a really nice relaxed feeling. You don't, you don't feel that it's really spacious actually, I think that is what I'm trying to say. Which just makes it more relaxing because we know sometimes MSPs don't like being crowded areas and when lots of things are going on and lots of noise and stuff like that.

ALEX: And also they're not being ushered anywhere for certain times apart from the agenda in the seminar schedule where they can plan their day as to what they want to go and watch. But it's going the whole time from the nine 30, through to five.

IAN: Yeah.

ALEX: The everyone's there on their stands. You've got the whole day to spend there and do as you please.

IAN: So who's it targeted for? Who's the best people to get the, obviously the service desk show, you can bring, this is the thing you can bring your techies to that side of it. And in the MSP show, is it just focus towards the business owner or is it the senior management team or who's the ideal target? Who's going to get most value out of the days?

DAVID: Yeah. I think we are targeting really at the business owner, but everyone is welcome because we do understand like the senior management team, influence and support the MD and the CEO or business owner, however you want to phrase it in purchasing decisions and how to grow and evolve their MSP business. But it's from the sit side of things, it's more that service desk manager, IT manager, IT director on the service desk. Yeah. And that's where MSP shows pivoted and it's this business owner who's running to grow and develop and sell their business. And yeah, offer really great service at the same time.

IAN: What we saw last year, which was quite good, was, if you are, if you're looking to scale and grow your MSP, which is obviously why you're listening to this podcast, right? But and you want to engage your team we had about four or five clients last year came and they bought their team along as well. Yeah. It was a nice little day out of the office. It was something different. It was a bit of a laugh and a giggle. You could go out for a meal and if you wanted to stay over or whatever it might be, but what you are actually doing, in the, in a roundabout way is you're actually involving people in the growth of the business in, the non-technical side of it. And they can go and have a play around with some tech, or they could come and listen to some things about leadership or wellbeing or some of the subjects. I'll ask you about what some of the great subjects we've got coming up in a minute. And you could really see that, when, obviously some of our clients, 'cause they who spoke to us about it, but other businesses were bringing their teams along as well and I thought that was really cool because it was, there was definitely something for everybody. If you want to get your teams involved in in coming out to events and learning more from the events, then this is a great opportunity, isn't it?

ALEX: Absolutely.

DAVID: I was just going to say as well, I think one thing we take for granted that we need to re-tell everyone it's free. This is free to come along to this, so there's some, which is a great point about bringing your teams it's a brilliant way to inspire, motivate, have a day out from the office. Yeah, see some new ideas. And it's all free. Of course, pay your travel and stuff, but there, there's no ticket price and the quality of speakers that you're seeing such as Ian are there and giving up their time. And it's a really key point that we kind of want to reiterate to people today that this is a free event to come along to, and everyone is welcome.

IAN: Come along and check it out. So let's talk about the content then. How did you even start to think about, so you've got 24 24 sessions over the two days. How did you come to put the sessions together? What was the thinking behind the content flow and the subjects that, that you wanted to include this year?

ALEX: A lot of further feedback, a lot of reading up ourselves as well, obviously, and getting feedback from the experts like yourself. We need to know what people are, what's key for 2025. And it's just such. A broad variety from like AI automation, you've got your cybersecurity, you've got the relationships between vendors and MSPs as well on keeping that key, we've got a great panel on that. We've got things about the wellbeing and work balance growth community, the importance of community for your business. Security risks. We've got writing, having your contracts done correctly, writing the right proposals, these are all really, finance, record keeping and even touching on things like neurodiversity in the workplace. It is, there's something for everyone to ensure you have a successful, thriving business. Yeah. So there isn't a session that can't be missed in my eyes because they're all there to educate you. Everything's thought leadership. No one's trying to sell one of their products. It is a pure education program.

IAN: No vendor pictures then.

ALEX: No vendor pictures. No, not allowed.

IAN: Although last year, one thing I was a little bit annoyed about on day two there was a it's at the Excel in London. There was, event that draw in a rather than large amount of kids who then came in and looted all the merchandise off the cars in the afternoon. They just rolled in and it was a bit of a laugh. It's where's all these kids come from? And then we realized there was a thing next door that they said, go next door. You'll get a lot of free pens and stuff out there pen. How exciting. Yeah, I know.

ALEX: Yeah, anything

DAVID: You might, we'll try and keep those at bay this year. Maybe a bit more stringent, checking at the door, but

IAN: It was quite funny...

DAVID: But also with the content, Alex who's done a brilliant job at pulling that all together this year. We survey our visitors, so after the people visitors came to the show last year, we asked the MSPs that came along, what do they want to see? Next year, what was missing? And we tailor the content to the requirements. It's not just us, deciding it. It's very much guided by the community, and that's key for us. And to stay very neutral, like we say and offer, like Alex said, thought leadership is at the heart of the program.

IAN: So is there networking drinks after day one again?

ALEX: Oh, this is the word free again, isn't it? Free? Three drinks.

IAN: Free bar. Free bar. I should have started the podcast with that one, right?

ALEX: No, you should. Yeah.

IAN: Get straight.

ALEX: Yeah. So free drinks 4:30, day one, we have warranted our own networking drinks within the MSP show as opposed to just the main show bar. Yeah. So there'll be two lots going on, come to the Wonder Years lounge and we'll be giving out some free drinks, time to relax, kick back exhibitors, visitors, make sure you stick around.

IAN: No, that'd be great. That's absolutely brilliant. So we've already said that it's a different type of event. It's a vendor neutral event and it's a great safe space to network and kind of meet up and things like that. But what have you added into the show this year that's different to last year and different from other events that's differentiating yourselves?

ALEX: Sure. We want to touch on the fact that we've got some new technology this year. You'll know yourself hearing from your session. It was standing room only at the back. Yes, it was. It was so people were out the back obviously you've got microphones on anyway, so you can sit and watch the seminar sessions. But we were providing headsets last year, as you see at most events. Yeah. But of course when they've all been used up off the seats, people are then harder hearing. Obviously because they're right at the back. So we have, we are no longer providing headsets. We have got this fantastic new technology. You bring your own headsets and you can basically connect with an app via Bluetooth and listen in to like crystal clear audio. So just to totally enhance your listening experience.

IAN: Brilliant.

ALEX: So it's going to be a big game changer that. That's great. And then what else is going on? We talked about the bar obviously, 'cause that's the most important part.

IAN: But is there any other kind of like subgroups or any sub-things going on at the same time as well.

ALEX: We've got now Tech Tribe, were obviously there last year, but we've got, they've got a proper meeting hub now this year we have, so they've got a little lounge area themselves to invite all of their members down. We've got the GTIA Genius Cafe, so within their stand as well. Nice. They have sending out a link where you can pre-book an appointment. Brilliant. With experts on your sales. Yeah, your marketing and cybersecurity. So as soon as that does get launched, I suggest you, you book in because it's limited spaces. So you can have a one-to-one, private conversation with an expert of anything that might be on your mind, an idea that you have something to reinforce it. So yeah, so that's really exciting. Other new ideas, we've got a Wonder Years lounge which is just to, it's like a nostalgic retreat, David, wouldn't you say?

DAVID: I'll term for it this week. Yeah. This is very much the vision of Alex Harris.

ALEX: Okay. This is when I'm allowed to spend a tiny bit of money and I just rolled with all the things from a, some lovely eras back in the past, some of them pre the technology that we have now, just to really take yourself away. Go and sit down with your coffee and that's where we're serving the drinks from as well. So there'll be some fun things to do in that area as well.

IAN: Is that like nostalgic games and things like that?

ALEX: Nostalgic games. You'll see that there's some sets, there's things related to some nostalgic films. Oh yeah. I mean there's...

IAN: Rick Cup and Paul Green all over that.

ALEX: They'll be all sorts coming around the show. Lots of photo opportunities I would like to add.

DAVID: Yeah, I was going to say photo opportunities to have a bit of fun. We're sounding a bit cryptic, so we don't want to say too much. You have to come to the cryptic, you have to come to the show and register, to see it. But there, there's some stuff I haven't seen at shows before. Some really good photo opportunities.

ALEX: And might, I add that they're different for both days, although the lounge is there. Obviously we've got some exciting things coming in that are different from day one to day two. And I think it is about time as well to just reach back onto that seminar session to say that. Kicking off on day two is one of our most exciting seminar sessions. We knew it was overflowing last year, hence why we've got you kicking off day two for everyone coming back again to fill their second day. So Ian we'll be there with the MSP Growth hub talking about MSP Growth Secrets, three keys to faster growth. What more do you need to know?

IAN: Could not have plugged it even better. Myself could not have plugged it. No, it was great last year. The feedback was amazing and it was, yeah we did run out headsets and it was obviously a topic that hit the hit the mark. So that's looking forward to that again this year, for those MSPs that are listening to this who are all saying, I'm too busy, I haven't got time for this. I don't really see the value, I'm only just going to sit there and listen to some stuff anyway. What would you say to them if we could talk to them right now, which we are about why they need to attend this event?

DAVID: I think attending events there's nothing like having face-to-face time with people. You might be online, you might have seen people on LinkedIn getting some inspiration, but having that face-to-face time with people going to an event like the MSP show it's just unrivaled. There's nothing else. You like it. And you. I guarantee I'm prepared to say that you'll leave with a nugget or a piece of an idea or a new solution that you wouldn't have thought of before. Yeah, absolutely. With the amount of vendors we have under one roof and the amount of speakers it's just that atmosphere that's going to leave you buzzing, inspired, and ready to grow and evolve your business. So if there's only one event you can go out to, we would definitely suggest ours, but also it's an opportunity we've touched on before to bring your team. So it's a great kind of, I'd say motivator, perk to take your team out the office get them inspired as well, and see what you are trying to achieve with your business, take your team along on that journey as well. Yeah, I think there's nothing like a day out and an event.

IAN: Absolutely. And I'll just add to that as well, just if don't come and just wander around and hope to find some stuff come being purposeful with a, I want to learn more about this PSA or how to use my own PSA or my RMM, or I want to learn about these people, I want to get to connect with this speaker or that speaker go through the program order on who's on, what's on, what could they teach you, what could they do to help you, take your business and yourself to the next level. And yeah I'd raise David's standards as you'll come away with at least two or three things, not just one thing or you get your money back.

DAVID: That's true. That's true. And that's a really good point as well, just to plan the show's bigger than ever, we have a show app. So it's a dedicated event app that you can download that really helps you schedule and like certain sessions and plan out your day, our website as well. Have a look at that and just make sure that you've earmarked the people that you want to see, the vendors, the sessions and just make the most of those two days. We also have a great new food offering as well, so you don't even need to leave the hall. Oh, even mention this. I feel like this isn't exclusive.

ALEX: It's an exclusive. This is due to the growth, isn't it? It's so many people booked in. We expanded the floor plan four times, so it again meant that we could have our own food truck in there. We are taking you to another island. We're taking you abroad, aren't we in that area?

DAVID: There's a, yeah, it'll feel like you are on holiday at the London. It'll like you're on Excel. That's not this area. And it, I would say it's the best food I've ever had at London Excel. These three,

ALEX: You haven't even got to go out.

DAVID: I'll be in there a lot. And I tell you, honestly, the food truck and the MSP show is the best.

IAN: So do you know what, I will be there waiting and queuing up for that because, the thought of going out and bracing that concrete channel of people with food who are all going to different events, is that I should be staying in there and looking forward to that.

No, that's brilliant. Guys, any final thoughts? Thank you very much for this. I know this is very different to what we normally do, we really believe in this show to help MSPs, to help them to overcome any challenges they've got, whatever it is, and it really is a great event. So I'd absolutely recommend you come along, I should have been prepared and told you what stand we're on. I haven't got a clue what stand we're on. I think it starts with a five/ Alex is now avidly looking for that number.

ALEX: Do you know what it, do you know what you're on? You're on 8, 6, 5.

IAN: Oh, I've got...

ALEX: To the right of MSP theater one, you'll find Ian and his crew

IAN: Fantastic. And come along and say hello., come along and say that you heard us on the podcast would be amazing, but it'd be great to see you come along. And see what's going on. Any final thoughts guys?

DAVID: Just a huge thank you from us. Thank you to you for having us on podcast. But thank you to the MSP community who've really taken the MSP show to their hearts. And it is that's why we do it. We're doing it to serve the community. We're open to feedback, open to evolving the show for 2026 as well. So please, when you come, if you see Alex or I, any comments, any feedback, the good, bad, the ugly, we are fine with hearing it all. We, you want to make sure that the show is right for you guys. And so yeah, just a huge thank you from Alex and I think.

IAN: Great stuff and we'll put all the links in the show notes so you can book in directly straight from there and Perfect. We look forward to seeing you all there. So that's it from us this week, thanks again guys. Look forward to catching up with you when we you there.

ALEX: Thanks, Ian.

OUTRO: Hang on a minute. Just before you go, and if you're curious about how this episode links with the ability to scale your MSP to a million or, or if you are already there, accelerate to five, then we want to invite you to come and take the MSP Mastery quiz. And in just three minutes, you're going to get a 360 degrees scan of your business where you can identify the one or two tactics that, engage in, align your people and help generate more leads in your MSP. It's really simple, just click on the link in the show notes. And if you have enjoyed this episode, we'd love to get some feedback from you by means of a rating review on Spotify or iTunes, or your podcast platform of choice. We really appreciate every single one of them. Now, you can go and enjoy the rest of your day, and we look forward to catching up and connecting with you soon. All the best.