The Future Is About Fixing Business Problems: Inside New Charter's AI-Native MSP Strategy
New Charter Technologies is rebuilding the MSP model around business outcomes, not ticket queues. CEO Peter Melby puts it plainly: "We've been good at fixing IT problems. The future is about fixing business problems."
From help desk to autonomous core
Over the last year, New Charter acquired Orchestrate AI and stood up an automation-first service layer across its operating companies. The focus: self-healing tickets, automation-led workflows, and technicians amplified by AI instead of buried in noise.
"MSPs have traditionally lived in the middle. Help desk. Devices. Reactive support," Melby said. "What we're doing is leading the automation of that core so it becomes effortless. We're building the scaffolding ourselves: connecting the products, not just deploying them." That's an AIOps mindset in practice-linking data, events and workflows to reduce toil and speed resolution as defined by Gartner.
For leaders modernizing support operations, this shift aligns closely with reskilling technicians and rethinking service design. Practical playbooks for frontline automation and augmentation are here: AI for Technical Support Specialists.
Why hire a CRO now
New Charter brought in Microsoft veteran Michelle Curtis as CRO to architect a go-to-market system that matches the AI-native service core. Her mandate spans SMB, midmarket and enterprise-plus national sales execution with consistent standards across local companies.
"I truly believe this company can deliver outcomes in a different way," Curtis said. "AI can qualify opportunities before a human adviser steps in. But as much as AI improves reach and speed, it's the people and relationships that create durability." She's also reading the shift in buyer demographics: Gen Z owners expect digital-first engagement, fast response and useful insight-without losing the human touch.
The three-phase roadmap
- Phase 1 - Automate the core: AI-assisted ticketing, predictive maintenance, and a unified client engagement model across operating companies.
- Phase 2 - Extend to the edge: AI-powered consulting in cybersecurity and transformation, plus deeper automation for verticals like health care and the public sector.
- Phase 3 - Executive alignment (continuous): Boardroom-grade AI strategy sessions to tie tech investments to measurable business outcomes.
The company appears on the 2026 MSP 500 Elite 150 and serves more than 5,000 clients. Scale is used to surface patterns nationally while acting locally-advisory councils, client effort scoring, and a consistent engagement framework across every operating company.
What this means for executives
If your MSP still operates as a ticket factory, you're paying for friction. The operating model is changing: fewer tickets, more automation, and human experts focused on exceptions and advisory work. Here's how to evaluate maturity.
- Scorecard to track: percent of self-remediated incidents, MTTR, first-contact resolution, automation coverage across the service catalog, technician-to-endpoint ratio with AI assist, client effort score (CES).
- Questions to ask your provider: How are you connecting tools and data vs. just deploying products? What's your automation backlog and hit rate? How do humans stay in the loop for safety and client experience? How is AI use reviewed for security, privacy and bias? Which vertical playbooks are proven, and what outcomes do they guarantee?
- Operating changes to expect: technicians upskilled into automation builders and advisors; incentives tied to ticket reduction and business outcomes; shared data layer with auditability; executive reviews that link automation to revenue protection and risk reduction.
Go-to-market, tuned for modern buyers
Curtis' remit is orchestration across segments with one standard of execution. The system qualifies, personalizes and sequences engagement before a human steps in-then measures client effort after every interaction. That loop guides where to invest next.
"We can see patterns across 5,000 clients but still act locally," she said. That's the edge: national insight with community roots.
Outcome-first leadership
Melby's benchmark for the next three years is clear: lead the industry in automated core IT services. "Our biggest competition is ourselves," he said. "When we move beyond selling a SKU and start enabling strategy, clients realize, 'Oh, this is possible.' Our job is to give them belief."
If you're building a similar playbook in your organization, start with a tight strategy-to-operations link and a simple KPI set. For executive-level frameworks and case studies, see AI for Executives & Strategy.
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