Welcome to Ctrl-Alt-Deliver: MSP Service Delivery Mastery.
I’m Jeni Clift, joined by my husband and business partner Nick. Together, we’ve spent nearly 30 years building, scaling, and eventually exiting our own MSP business.

And here’s what we’ve learned along the way:
Great service delivery is built on clarity, consistency, human connection — and leaders who know how to empower their teams.

In this episode, we’re joined by Patrick Burns, CEO of Dispatch, former SVP of Product at ClickSoftware, and a key figure in shaping how MSPs and service organisations work at scale during his 11 years at Autotask.

Patrick brings a perspective few leaders have — decades spent building platforms that support thousands of service teams, combined with deep experience navigating the evolution from high-touch personal service to modern, scalable service delivery.

He shares insights that are practical, honest, and deeply relevant to MSPs right now.

Patrick talks about what real empowerment looks like on the frontline, why rigid policies kill customer experience, and how AI is reshaping the future of service delivery (but only for those who know how to use it). His leadership lessons come not from theory, but from years spent listening to customers, building teams, and developing products used by MSPs around the world.

This is the episode for every MSP leader who wants to scale without losing the humanity, trust, and judgement that great service is built on.

In this episode, we talked about:

• The early days of Autotask and the insights that still apply to MSPs today
• Why platforms succeed when they stay close to customers
• Patrick’s philosophy on policies: “They should guide — not restrict.”
• Why empowered frontline teams deliver better service than any rulebook
• How AI will reshape service — and why it will replace people who don’t use it
• Lessons from scaling SaaS products used by thousands of MSPs
• What MSPs misunderstand about flexibility, configurability, and “best of breed” tools
• The difference between agility (enterprise) and flexibility (SMB/MSP)
• Why understanding your data is non-negotiable for future success
• The hidden power of customer relationships — and why great salespeople create customers who feel they made the best decision of their lives
• What Zappos taught the world about exceptional customer service
• Patrick’s personal journey: from the dawn of the internet to leading a modern service platform at Dispatch

Patrick’s stories, insights, and leadership lessons will challenge the way you think about service delivery — and might just reshape how you lead your team.

🔗 Connect with Patrick Burns

👉 Follow Patrick Burns on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-burns-b7649a1b/
👉 Explore Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.me
🎧 More episodes: https://www.ctrl-alt-deliver.blog/episodes