From MSP to MIP: Sirrus achieves up to 50% annual growth and 30% efficiency gains with Pax8
Problem
Traditional MSP services no longer created competitive advantage
Sirrus was founded as a cloud-first managed service provider (MSP) focused entirely on the Microsoft ecosystem. For years, the company specialised in migrating and managing Microsoft Cloud environments for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), delivering continuity, security and operational stability through a modern MSP model.
With no legacy infrastructure and cloud-first foundation, Sirrus quickly differentiated itself from traditional IT providers. However, as the market matured, MSP offerings became increasingly standardised, reducing the uniqueness that fuelled Sirrus’ rapid growth.
“Over the past one and a half to two years, I’ve especially noticed that what we do as an MSP is no longer unique the way it used to be.”
– Ricardo van Katwijk, CEO of Sirrus
Solution
Becoming an MIP with Pax8 support
To stay ahead in an increasingly agentic and AI-driven market, Sirrus needed to evolve beyond infrastructure management and deliver greater strategic value to its clients. As a result, the company made a deliberate shift from an MSP to a managed intelligence provider (MIP), building on its cloud-first foundation while expanding its services into process optimisation, automation and AI.
The shift started internally, with Sirrus adopting AI and automation within its own operations to improve efficiency, streamline workflows and better understand how intelligent technologies could deliver practical value for clients. One of the first turning points came through support operations, where AI demonstrated its ability to improve ticket handling and automate repetitive tasks by combining multiple sources of information into ready-made solutions.
The partnership with Pax8 played a critical role in this transformation. Through Masterclasses, training, workshops and Professional Services support, Pax8 helped Sirrus expand its capabilities and confidently take on more complex AI and automation projects. “When we run into resource constraints or anything like that, we can very easily bring in additional support through Pro Services. This also applies to very specific use cases,” explains Corno Christianen, Senior Advisor IT at Sirrus. “We can’t have all the expertise in-house, but it certainly helps to have the right partners around you. In this regard, Pax8 plays a very important role in providing exactly that expertise when it’s needed, enabling you to remain scalable.”
“The shift from MSP to MIP means a lot to us… For us, it’s very important to achieve process automation and optimisation for our clients. We now do that through agentic AI and automation tools.”
– Ricardo van Katwijk, CEO of Sirrus
Benefit
Adding value as a strategic advisor
As Sirrus evolved into an MIP, client relationships became deeper and more strategic. By working more closely with departments and senior stakeholders, Sirrus gained a better understanding of how clients operate day to day. This enabled the business to identify inefficiencies, automate repetitive tasks and implement intelligent workflows that allowed clients to focus on higher-value work. Solutions such as Microsoft Copilot, Power Platform and AI-driven agents became central to delivering measurable impact.
The transformation also strengthened long-term client engagement. Rather than acting solely as a technology provider, Sirrus became a trusted strategic advisor helping its clients rethink how work gets done more efficiently through AI, automation and modern technologies.
“The conversations with clients have shifted from purely technical explanations to more advisory discussions. We show examples, explain how technology can be improved and highlight opportunities.”
– Corno Christianen, Senior Advisor IT at Sirrus
Results
40–50% annual growth, 20–30% efficiency gains and 5x productivity increases
Sirrus’ transition from MSP to MIP has delivered significant operational and commercial impact. The business achieved 40–50% annual growth while increasing headcount by only around 10%, demonstrating how automation and AI can enable organisations to scale far more efficiently.
By restructuring its internal processes through Pax8 support, Sirrus achieved operational efficiency improvements of 20–30% in areas such as ticket handling, support operations and administrative processing. Removing repetitive tasks and reducing manual effort enabled teams to focus on more strategic and meaningful work.
In one legal-sector use case, AI-powered automation reduced the time required to gather data and create a file from around 30 hours to just six – representing 5x productivity increases.
“We’re growing by 40–50% annually, which means we’re achieving tremendous growth, and we’re not doing that simply by adding more people.”
– Ricardo van Katwijk, CEO of Sirrus
About Sirrus
Based in the Netherlands, Sirrus is an MIP specialising in Microsoft Cloud environments. Through AI, automation and process optimisation, the company helps SMBs work smarter and more efficiently. By building agents and improving workflows, Sirrus enables its clients to reduce manual tasks, improve productivity and focus on higher-value work.