In this episode of the AI Savants Podcast, host John Rice sits down with Ilya Rubinshteyn, founder and President of Aegis IT Solutions, to unpack the evolution of managed services and why a cybersecurity-first approach is non-negotiable today. Ilya shares his 20+ years in IT — from working with Fortune 100s at GE to building an MSP rooted in compliance and proactive education.

We cover the major shifts facing MSPs, the talent gap in cybersecurity, how AI is both a challenge and an opportunity, and why the best MSPs lead clients instead of waiting for direction. If you’re in the IT services world (or just curious where it’s heading), this is a masterclass in staying ahead of the curve.

Episode Highlights:

• Ilya’s journey from enterprise IT to launching Aegis IT Solutions (1999 → 2015 → now)

• Why “cybersecurity add-ons” don’t make sense — it should be built into every package

• The biggest challenges MSPs face today: skill shortages, compliance risk, and AI misunderstandings

• How Aegis dedicates 20% of staff time to training to keep pace with rapid change

• Why being proactive with clients beats waiting for requests

• The danger of being “the best engineer” in your own company — and how to scale past that

• Emerging trends: Zero Trust adoption, private equity consolidation, and AI’s disruptive role

• Parting advice: Love what you do, and do what you love — even the unglamorous parts

Tags/Keywords:
MSP, Cybersecurity, Compliance, IT Services, Managed Services, Zero Trust, AI in IT, MSP Growth, Talent Gap, Cloud Services

Call to Action:
To connect with John Rice and AI Savants:
🌐 Website: https://www.aisavants.io
📧 Email: john@aisavants.io
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rice-31329526/

To connect with Ilya Rubinshteyn and Aegis IT Solutions:

🌐 Website: https://aegisitsolutions.net/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilya-rubinshteyn-7467b34/