Should Your MSP Vibe Code Its Own Software?

Before your MSP vibe codes its own software (PSA software included), answer five questions. An MSP is the company a small business hires to run its IT, and a PSA is the software the MSP runs on: tickets, time, billing. Vibe coding means you describe the software to an AI and it writes the code. Five yeses, go build it. Any no, close that gap first.

I saw a post on Facebook from an MSP who'd built their own PSA, and I get it. Fight with your software long enough and you start thinking you could build it the way you want. Now you can open an AI tool and actually try.

So picture Monday morning. The PSA won't load, your team can't see their tickets, and a customer is on the phone. Who gets that call? You do. You're the vendor now.

The "You're the Vendor Now" test:
1. Can you name one thing you need that your current software can't do?
2. Have you asked your vendor whether there's already a way to do it?
3. Have you set aside time and money to maintain what you've built?
4. Do you have a backup plan if it stops working tomorrow?
5. Is there someone besides you who can fix it?

I build with AI myself. I built an automation for our month-end financial reporting, and at the time I estimated it was saving me about 12 hours a month. That one was worth building: I had work I was already doing, I understood the result I needed, and I could put a number on the time. And back when I owned a PSA implementation company, we worked through more than 1,500 different MSPs, so I've had this conversation a lot.

Chapters:
0:00 Should an MSP Build Its Own PSA?
2:34 The You're the Vendor Now Test
2:48 Q1: What Can't Your PSA Do?
5:00 Q2: Did You Ask Your PSA Vendor?
7:45 Q3: What Does DIY Software Cost You?
10:24 Q4: What's Your Software Backup Plan?
12:34 Q5: Who Fixes It If You're Gone?
13:57 When Building Your Own Software Works
15:03 The 5 Questions Before You Build a PSA
15:44 You Build It, You Own It

Kyle Christensen is a business coach for MSP, IT, and cybersecurity leaders. He spent 20+ years running and scaling tech businesses, including an MSP he ran as its operator, and co-founded the largest MSP software consulting firm. He coaches good owners to grow fast without burning down what they built.

Coaching and the weekly newsletter: https://k7leadership.com
Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylechx
Subscribe so the next one lands in your feed: https://www.youtube.com/@K7Leadership?sub_confirmation=1
Free download, the one-page "You're the Vendor Now" test (a fillable PDF of the five questions): https://k7leadership.com/build-or-buy

What have you built that you're now responsible for keeping alive? Tell me in the comments.

Sources:
Stack Overflow, 2025 Developer Survey, AI tool frustrations: of the 31,476 developers who answered, 66% said AI solutions are "almost right, but not quite," and 45.2% said debugging AI-generated code is more time-consuming. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/ai
Goldratt Research Labs, "Introduction to Theory of Constraints": find the constraint, get the most out of it, and organize the rest of the work around it before you expand it. https://www.goldrattresearchlabs.com/introduction-to-toc

Music: "Thief (Instrumental version)" by Dorothy, IamDayLight, and Folly Tree, via Artlist (courtesy).
Intro and outro music: "Action trailer promo rock" by MagpieMusic via Pixabay (courtesy, no attribution required).
Sound design: "Retro Devices - Cordless Handset Phone, Ringing" by Soundkrampf and "Bureaucracy - Large Self Inking Stamp 2" by Cyberwave Orchestra, via Artlist (courtesy); "Dark Industrial Ambience" via the Sonniss #GameAudioGDC bundle (courtesy, no attribution required).
Film clips quoted briefly: Jurassic Park (via Lovep0cket), Weird Science (via Movieclips), The Money Pit (via Movieclips), Clerks (via Rest in PS2), Home Alone (via Agent Orange).

-kC
#MSP #PSASoftware #ManagedServices #StayAccountable

Видео Should Your MSP Vibe Code Its Own Software? канала Kyle Christensen