Automation over Accumulation: How NinjaOne Reframed MSP Economics

It has become a familiar refrain for MSPs: clients expect higher uptime, tighter security and cleaner compliance trails, yet behind the scenes margins are squeezed and senior engineers are in short supply.

The traditional response to these kinds of shortages: add more tools and more people, now only compounds cost and complexity. The alternative now gaining ground is far simpler: automate the work you already do, then standardise it so junior technicians can deliver reliably at scale.

But doing that requires a different kind of investment.

C4X Technology Architects, a Sydney-based MSP founded in 2015, is an example of how the shift can play out when planned well. Co-founder and Director Leo Raikhman says the company’s early years were spent solving the “hard 10–20 per cent” of problems other MSPs couldn’t reach—work that built a brain trust of architects and engineers and, crucially, a culture of systematising what works.

“We all use the same general tool set, offer many of the same services, and focus on the same types of clients,” he said. “To differentiate, we focused on the challenges others couldn’t solve… as we transitioned into a traditional MSP, we threw all that brainpower at building new automation and delivering creative solutions.”

That mindset shaped C4X Technology Architects' decision to replace its remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform and adopt NinjaOne. For Raikhman, it was less about switching tools and more about enabling a new operating model.

“Atera is really built for smaller MSPs,” he explains. “Once we passed five or six engineers and complexity increased, we needed a more powerful solution… NinjaOne has all the capabilities and feature maturity we need, while also being cloud-native, easy to implement, and easy to learn.”

NinjaOne’s platform was built precisely for that inflection point—when MSPs move from incremental gains to systematic automation. By consolidating endpoint visibility, ticketing, scripting, and patching into a single interface, it reduces context switching and enables automation to become part of everyday delivery, not a side project.

As Raikhman puts it, “NinjaOne is a huge force multiplier for us. It’s effectively like hiring two full-time employees.”

The Shift from Tool Chaos to Platform Control

For many MSPs, the story begins the same way: a patchwork of tools and manual processes slowly becomes a drag on both profit and performance. What differentiates high-performing providers is how they respond.

NinjaOne has built its platform around the principle that automation isn’t about reducing people so much as friction. By consolidating endpoint visibility, ticketing, scripting, and patching into a single, intuitive interface, NinjaOne enables MSPs to scale service delivery without scaling complexity.

“Managed service providers are under immense pressure to do more with the same headcount,” Geoff Davies, NinjaOne VP and Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand said. “They don’t need another platform that adds steps. They need one that gives their technicians the power to automate routine work, detect issues earlier, and resolve them faster. That’s where NinjaOne’s strength lies.”

That vision has translated into measurable outcomes for MSPs like C4X Technology Architects, who report significant time savings in device setup, onboarding, and maintenance. But beyond individual tasks, NinjaOne’s focus is on turning best practices into repeatable processes that even junior technicians can execute.

“Our approach has always been about empowering teams,” Davies said. “When every device build, patch, and policy deployment happens through a consistent automated workflow, you remove human error and free up senior engineers to focus on innovation rather than maintenance.”

Features such as auto-remediation scripting, centralised patch management, and conditional alerts allow MSPs to pre-empt issues before they affect clients. “The result is less noise, fewer escalations, and a far more predictable service model,” they added.

A Platform Built for Modern MSP Realities

As MSPs consolidate their technology stacks, NinjaOne continues to extend its platform to meet regional and operational challenges—particularly in the Australian market.

Recent product updates in version 10.0 of NinjaOne include:

• Patch Caching, which allows designated devices to host patch files for others at site or organisation level—addressing bandwidth constraints common in regional environments.
• macOS FileVault management, providing centralised encryption control and key escrow for consistent compliance evidence.
• Integrations with Freshservice and ServiceNow, streamlining device data into tickets and change records to eliminate manual entry.
• Early-access capabilities such as Microsoft Intune integration, Backup Boot Verification, and long-term data retention graphs, expanding visibility and resilience across devices.

“These updates reflect what we’re hearing from MSPs every day,” Davies said. “They want fewer moving parts, cleaner audit trails, and smarter automation that fits seamlessly into how they already work. We’re making sure the platform evolves with them.”

The lesson from C4X Technology Architects' experience, and others like it, is that automation isn’t a side project or a buzzword. It’s the foundation for sustainable growth.

For MSP leaders, the most effective starting point is with high-volume, repeatable processes: onboarding, patching, and routine software rollouts. Codify the right way once, instrument it with automation, and monitor outcomes to continually improve.

“Automation gives MSPs their time back,” Davies said. “Every hour saved on setup or remediation is an hour that can be reinvested into client strategy, security hardening, or proactive optimisation. That’s how the economics shift from reactive support to value creation.”