We’re proud to announce that Adelvium co-founder Richard Shuker is now a Service Leadership Certified Coach, officially accredited in both the Service Leadership Index® (SL-I®) and SLIQ™ frameworks, the global standards for benchmarking and improving Managed Service Provider (MSP) performance.

The Illusion of Governance

If you run an MSP and meet regularly with your leadership team, chances are you think you have a functioning board.

But for many MSPs, the “boardroom” is little more than:

• a list of operational problems
• a financial report
• and a few action points no one reviews next time.

This isn’t strategy. It’s survival with a nicer spreadsheet.

So What’s Actually Missing?

From working with dozens of MSPs, we consistently see these four missing elements:

1. An Outside Perspective

You’re too close to the day-to-day.
Even the smartest owner can’t challenge their own assumptions — and internal voices often play it safe.

A good external advisor brings:

• Unbiased challenge
• Pattern recognition from other MSPs
• No emotional stake in legacy decisions

2. Clarity of Roles and Accountability

Too often, decisions are blurred.
Is this Dan’s call? Does Emma own that KPI?
Or are we going to “circle back” to it next month?

Proper governance means:

• Clear ownership
• Formal decisions
• Documented follow-ups

3. Structured Tension (the good kind)

Healthy boards thrive on constructive discomfort.
Ideas get tested. Strategies get pressure-tested. People grow.

When everyone agrees, you’re not innovating, you’re stagnating.

4. Commercial Focus

This might be the biggest one.
Many board meetings obsess over internal operations — but miss the big levers for growth.

• Is our GTM working?
• Are we aligned with our ICP?
• Where are we investing margin back into the business?

A strategic board meeting asks questions that move the needle.

What We Do at Adelvium

We chair and shape board meetings that:

• Challenge groupthink
• Focus the agenda on high-leverage decisions
• Introduce proven frameworks from MSP growth playbooks
• Keep leadership accountable to the plan

We’re not your coach, and we’re not your supplier.
We’re the external partner that turns your boardroom into a growth engine.

Too many MSPs treat account management as an afterthought.

A few “How’s everything going?” emails. The occasional review meeting (when someone shouts loud enough). Maybe a QBR template floating around in a dusty SharePoint folder.

But true account management isn’t reactive, it’s proactive, structured, and revenue-generating.

At Adelvium, we work with MSPs of all sizes to build proper account management functions that do three things:

• Retain clients longer
• Uncover project and upsell opportunities
• Strengthen the overall client experience

So if you’re ready to get serious about account management, here are five practical steps to get started:

1. Define the Purpose of Account Management

Start by asking: what do you want your account managers to own?

At a minimum, they should be responsible for:

• Retaining and expanding existing clients
• Running structured client reviews (QBRs or QBXs)
• Identifying risks, needs, and upsell opportunities
• Acting as the voice of the client internally

Without a clear purpose, your AMs will default to firefighting, or worse, become glorified inbox managers.

2. Create a Client Engagement Framework

Every client should know what to expect from you over the year. That means:

• Scheduled QBRs (ideally quarterly or biannually, depending on revenue tier)
• Roadmap sessions aligned to client goals
• Surveys or feedback loops to track sentiment
• Clear points of contact for strategic conversations vs. day-to-day support

Pro tip: Start small. Even a light-touch framework across your top 10 clients will have a massive impact.

3. Standardise the Tools & Templates

Most MSPs reinvent the wheel every time they meet a client.

Instead, build out a basic toolkit for account managers:

• QBR deck template (with service metrics, roadmap, etc.)
• Opportunity tracker or CRM view
• Client health scorecard
• Account plan template (goals, risks, revenue potential)

We often seen Strety used or embed into CRMs like HubSpot to make these processes repeatable and reportable.

4. Align Account Management with Sales & Service

Account Management sits at the intersection of Sales and Service, but too often gets lost between the two.

Make sure your AMs are:

• Included in service review meetings
• Briefed on sales campaigns or target offerings
• Empowered to raise client issues internally
• Not overloaded with support tasks, they need headspace for strategy

This is how you transform AMs into true client advocates, not just inbox sweepers.

5. Measure What Matters

What gets measured gets managed. Consider tracking:

• Client churn rate
• QBR completion rate
• Project/upsell revenue from existing clients
• NPS or CSAT feedback trends
• Account manager utilisation vs. impact

Even a few simple KPIs will help you spot issues, track ROI, and celebrate success.

In today’s fast-moving business landscape, especially in the world of Managed Service Providers (MSPs), expertise is more valuable than ever, but full-time roles aren’t always the smartest move. Enter the era of fractional leadership.

At Adelvium, we’re seeing a significant rise in the demand for fractional roles, and for good reason. Whether it’s a Fractional Marketing Director, Business Development lead, or Finance head, these part-time roles offer full-time impact at a fraction of the cost and risk. But what exactly are fractional roles, and why are they becoming a go-to strategy for growing businesses?

What Is a Fractional Role?

A fractional role is a part-time executive or leadership position held by an experienced professional who works with one or multiple companies simultaneously. Rather than hiring a full-time C-level leader (with all the salary, benefits, and long-term commitment that entails), businesses bring in a seasoned expert for a specific number of days per month or hours per week.

Think of it as “renting” senior talent, getting strategic firepower without the full-time burden.

Why They’re Gaining Traction

Fractional roles aren’t just a cost-saving move, they’re a growth strategy. Here’s why more MSPs (and SMEs in general) are adopting this model:

1. Expertise on Tap
   You gain access to senior-level insight that would otherwise be out of reach. For example, a growing MSP may not be ready for a full-time Sales Director, but a fractional one can build a repeatable sales process and coach the team while keeping costs lean.

2. Scalability Without Commitment
   As businesses evolve, their needs change. Fractional leaders offer flexibility, start with one day a week and scale up or down as needed.

3. Focus on Outcomes, Not Hours
   Fractional leaders are laser-focused on delivering impact quickly. They’re not there for internal politics or “just being in the room.” They’re there to move the needle.

4. Speed to Value
   Onboarding a full-time leader can take months. A fractional leader can be embedded and delivering results in weeks.

Where We See the Trend Going

The rise of fractional roles isn’t just a temporary post-COVID phenomenon, it’s a structural shift in how small and mid-sized businesses access senior expertise. As remote work becomes normalised and more executives step away from traditional roles to work independently or portfolio-style, the talent pool for fractional roles continues to grow.

In the MSP space, we’re seeing demand rise across:

• Fractional Marketing Directors – to drive demand generation, refine positioning, and manage outsourced delivery.
• Fractional Business Development Directors – to instill discipline in sales functions and accelerate pipeline growth.
• Fractional COOs / Integrators – to bring structure and accountability across teams using frameworks like EOS.
• Fractional CFOs – to guide financial strategy, forecasting, and funding decisions.

Most MSPs know they should be doing more marketing, but what does that actually mean? A few LinkedIn posts here, a newsletter there, and maybe sponsoring a local event isn’t a plan. It’s noise.

A solid marketing plan helps you focus your time and money on what actually works. It aligns your sales and marketing activity, targets the right clients, and delivers consistent, measurable results.

Here’s how to build a marketing plan designed specifically for MSPs.

1. Anchor Your Plan to Business Goals

Start by looking at your growth targets. Your marketing plan should exist to support these.

Ask yourself:

• How much MRR or project revenue do we need to add in the next 12 months?
• Are we looking to grow in specific verticals like legal, finance, or construction?
• Do we want to push specific services like cybersecurity, compliance, or cloud migration?

🧭 Set clear, measurable marketing objectives that align with your revenue goals.

2. Get Crystal Clear on Your Ideal Client

Most MSPs waste money marketing to the wrong audience, or worse, everyone.

Define:

• Your sweet spot (e.g., 20–100 seat companies in professional services)
• High-value verticals you want more of
• The pain points your services solve (downtime, compliance, poor support, etc.)

🎯 Create 1–3 Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and speak directly to their challenges.

3. Audit Your Current Marketing

Before layering on new activity, assess what’s already in place.

• Is your website converting visitors into leads?
• Are you regularly posting on LinkedIn and sharing valuable content?
• Are you making the most of vendor MDF?
• Are you tracking referrals and word-of-mouth?

📋 Use a simple scorecard to rank each marketing channel by consistency and results.

4. Define Your Messaging

Clear beats clever, especially in a crowded MSP market.

Clarify:

• What makes your MSP different from competitors?
• How do you communicate your services in a business-focused way (think “protecting your team from cyber threats,” not “we offer MDR and patching”)?
• Do you have strong calls to action that make prospects want to take the next step?

📢 Build a simple messaging matrix with value props, proof points, and CTAs for your ICPs.

5. Choose Your Channels Wisely

You don’t need to be everywhere, just in the right places.

For MSPs, this often includes:

• Inbound: SEO blog content, downloadable guides, and email nurture campaigns.
• Outbound: LinkedIn outreach, email sequences, and direct mail.
• Community: Vendor co-marketing, webinars, local partnerships.
• Referrals: Incentivised referral programs and proactive partner outreach.

📬 Focus on 3–5 core channels and commit to showing up consistently.

6. Build a 90-Day Plan

Avoid “set and forget” annual plans. Work in short sprints so you can adjust fast.

Plan for:

• 2–3 campaigns (e.g., cybersecurity month, reactivating dormant leads)
• Weekly content (LinkedIn posts, email sends, blogs)
• Clear accountability (who’s doing what and when)
• Tools you need (CRM, email platform, analytics dashboard)

🛠️ Start small, stay consistent, and scale what works.

7. Track What Matters and Iterate

Don’t just guess, measure.

Review:

• Web traffic and conversion rates
• Lead volume and source
• Email open and click-through rates
• Campaign ROI

📈 Set monthly reviews to double down on what’s working and tweak what’s not. Marketing is momentum, build it, track it, and refine it.

Another event. Another flight. Another set of slick keynotes, breakout sessions, amazing conversations… and a notebook full of ideas.

Then Monday hits.

Your inbox is overflowing, the support queue’s backed up, a team member’s off sick, and your roadmap suddenly feels like a luxury. That game-changing idea you had in Berlin? It’s now somewhere between “I’ll do it later” and “What was that again?”

Sound familiar?

The Problem Isn’t the Event—it’s What Happens After

Let’s be clear: events like N-able’s Empower are incredibly valuable. You get access to vendor roadmaps, peer insights, strategic thinking, and a big-picture view of where the industry’s heading. You might even get a shot of motivation you didn’t know you needed.

But here’s the thing MSPs rarely say out loud:

You get home, and absolutely none of it gets implemented.

Why?

Because you go right back to firefighting. Your business is running you, not the other way around. You’re working in the business, not on it.

And all that value from the event? It dies in your notes.

Let’s Call It What It Is: A Cycle

You attend events to “step back” and get perspective.

You get that perspective—and some great ideas.

Then you step right back into the same whirlwind.

And because there’s no structure, no accountability, and no system for implementation, the ideas collect dust.

Breaking the Cycle: Inspiration is Only Step One

If you’ve just come back from Empower, you’ve got a window. A few days—maybe a week—before the buzz wears off and you’ve accepted that none of it is getting done.

So don’t let that happen.

Worse still? You beat yourself up about it. You want to work on the business. You know it’s what’s needed. But the daily reality doesn’t allow for it.

At Adelvium, this is why we run advisory programs. Because we know the value isn’t just in what you learn, it’s in having the structure and support to do something with it.

Real Talk

Events without action are just expensive excuses.

If you’re serious about growth, you need more than motivation. You need execution, accountability, and space to work on your business, not just in it.

So if Empower sparked something? Don’t let it fade.

Let’s turn your ideas into outcomes.

In the fast-moving world of Managed Service Providers (MSPs), it’s easy to get caught in the daily whirlwind, putting out fires, chasing the next ticket, managing growth, and trying to stay ahead of cybersecurity threats. But when you zoom out, one truth becomes clear: you’re not alone. And more importantly, you don’t need to go it alone.

At Adelvium, we’ve seen time and again how transformational it can be when MSPs tap into the collective experience of a like-minded community. It’s not just about networking. It’s about shared growth, mutual accountability, and learning from those who’ve walked the path ahead of you.

Strength in Shared Experience

Communities like Network Group are built on a foundation of trust and collaboration. With over 90 members from across the UK tech channel, Network Group isn’t just a buying consortium—it’s a brain trust.

Within this kind of environment, you can:

No sales pitches. No posturing. Just honest conversations between leaders who understand your world.

Learning That Sticks

You can read articles, watch webinars, and attend vendor events, but nothing beats peer-led learning. When you’re sitting across the table from someone who’s dealt with the same challenges, whether it’s transitioning to MRR, improving service delivery, or scaling sales, you’re not just hearing theory. You’re getting actionable insight.

Communities like Network Group also bring in world-class speakers, workshops, and curated content that’s relevant to MSPs, not just generic business advice. Combine that with real-world discussions, and you’ve got a powerful formula for growth.

Accountability Drives Progress

One of the underrated benefits of being part of a peer community is accountability. It’s one thing to set goals. It’s another to have a group of peers ask how you’re progressing toward them.

At Adelvium, we often talk about the “loneliness of the MSP leader.” You’re the final decision-maker, the motivator, the problem-solver. But when you’re part of a community like Network Group, or an accountability-driven peer group, we find that leaders make faster progress, stay more focused, and feel more supported.

Bigger Than Business

And finally, community is human. The relationships you build in groups like Network Group often go beyond business. These are people who understand your world, share your values, and genuinely want you to succeed.

The camaraderie, the stories, the shared wins and challenges, these connections often turn into lifelong friendships and partnerships.