Nice discussion.

Having spent time working for a managed service provider, I completely agree with your reasoning. The "your mess for less" type of solution doesn't solve anything. Customers will be just as frustrated as they were before using the MSP, and maybe more so.

If the managed service provider does not cultivate a trusted advisor status with their customer, their services become just another commodity driven solution and no collateral has been established to talk about transformational services.

What kind of business model does the managed service provider want? Big box, low touch? Or, white glove, trusted advisor? One model is based on cost. The other is based on a relationship.

Relationships always matter.