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James Davis, Founder

Fractional CSO for APAC MSPs: operations, PSA implementation and leadership for the move to Technology Success Partner.

Works with
Any PSA
Region
APAC

James helps hundreds of MSPs across APAC grow from technical service providers into strategic Technology Success Partners (TSPs). As the region’s first MSP operations consultant, he works as a fractional Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to align operations, optimize PSA implementation, and build leadership teams.

James co-hosted a podcast series with Wim on MSP project management, from scoping and the sales handoff to closing projects out and getting paid. Every episode is below.

Book a free strategy call to learn how to

  • Move from technical firefighting to business partnership
  • Simplify operations with visual PSA tools
  • Develop leaders who drive your TSP transformation
  • Shift from reactive to proactive technology success

James Davis on becoming a Technology Success Partner

Intro · May 2025 · 17 min

Joint podcast episodes

Lift and shift or transformation: know which project you are running

Podcast · February 2023 · 35 min

Wim Kerkhoff hosts James Davis from Pax8 in Australia for episode 16 of the TopLeft podcast. They talk about why MSPs run lift and shift projects and transformation projects the same way, and what goes wrong when they do. The last part covers who to hire first for transformation work and when to partner with a systems integrator.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Cold open on ideal hire
  2. 1:02Intro and why this topic
  3. 2:03Defining lift and shift
  4. 3:34SharePoint and client ownership
  5. 5:05MSP mindset and skill gaps
  6. 7:06Selling to the top of the business
  7. 9:09Host's failed file server migration
  8. 11:41Owner mindset and partnering with SIs
  9. 14:13Charge for discovery
  10. 17:45Why owners are slow to move
  11. 20:19Security focus and two client phases
  12. 21:51Commodity risk and Canada's CDAP funding
  13. 23:55Know your clients' life cycle
  14. 26:26First hire for a transformation team
  15. 31:34SI partnerships and ERP parallels
  16. 33:06Older MSP owners as talent

Project closure: stop zombie projects and get paid

Podcast · September 2022 · 30 min

Episode 11 of the TopLeft podcast covers how to close projects so they get billed and don't linger open in the PSA. Host Wim Kerkhoff talks with James Davis of Sea-Level Operations in APAC, who is back for another episode in the series on projects in MSPs. They cover client sign off, handoff to the service team, PSA admin mistakes that hold up billing, and the retrospective (a regular meeting where the team agrees what to change).

Chapters

  1. 0:00Zombie projects and getting paid
  2. 1:32Techs chase perfection, scope defines done
  3. 4:09Someone must own client communication
  4. 6:42Client experience and frequent calls
  5. 10:18Proactive updates, issues lists and sign-off
  6. 14:25Methodology fits the project type
  7. 17:00Handoff to the service team
  8. 19:03PSA admin mistakes cost billing
  9. 22:07Completion is the least looked-at phase
  10. 23:09Five retrospective questions
  11. 27:15Untrained project managers and wrap-up

Project coordinator or project manager: who does what

Podcast · September 2022 · 30 min

Wim Kerkhoff, founder of TopLeft, talks with James Davis (Sea-Level Operations, Pax8, APAC) about who should run projects in an MSP. They cover why the senior tech turned project manager stops working, why a non-technical project coordinator is often the better hire, and how to structure and lead a project team as the MSP grows. It is part of their series on project management.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Intro and the roles question
  2. 1:02Why the senior tech as PM stops working
  3. 3:08Hiring a big-corporate PM fails
  4. 6:11Hire a non-technical project coordinator
  5. 9:15Titles: coordinator, lead project engineer
  6. 12:49Pod structure and team size
  7. 16:23Coordination versus managing big projects
  8. 17:25When to hire and splitting out services
  9. 21:31Who leads the project team
  10. 23:34Caring for people and growth ceilings
  11. 26:38Closing advice

Client communication: what clients actually notice

Podcast · September 2022 · 31 min

Wim Kerkhoff and James from Sea-Level Operations APAC continue their project management series with a look at how MSPs communicate with clients and their own teams during projects. They cover touch points by project size, who owns the communication, end user emails, and client sign off.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Why communication comes before project closeout
  2. 2:01No standards, so everything is assumed
  3. 3:34Scaling communication by project size
  4. 5:38Touch points for a 10 to 20 hour project
  5. 10:14Medium projects and dependencies
  6. 13:19Burnout, key-person risk and onboarding
  7. 15:55End-user broadcast emails for migrations
  8. 18:27Training clients to cut follow-up calls
  9. 19:27Templates and repeatable communication
  10. 21:00Milestones, meeting rhythm and client sign-off
  11. 23:31End-of-project feedback and sprint reviews
  12. 28:03Wrap-up and what is next

Define done and fix your project flow

Podcast · September 2022 · 27 min

Episode 8 of a podcast on MSP project management. The speakers cover how to write project tickets with a clear definition of done, why project work needs a defined flow the way service tickets have one, and what to monitor to find bottlenecks. Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, co-hosts with James Davis.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Right-sized tickets and a definition of done
  2. 1:32Backlog breakdown and lean principles
  3. 2:34Vague scope keeps techs chasing perfection
  4. 4:36What visualization adds on top of the PSA
  5. 8:42Hidden bottlenecks and the Phoenix Project
  6. 10:47PSA workflow rules, BrightGauge and boards
  7. 13:19What to monitor and flow stages
  8. 14:50Projects lack a defined flow
  9. 17:20One-day review and documentation
  10. 20:23TopLeft's vision: all data in the PSA
  11. 20:53First step: delegation and mapping the flow
  12. 24:26Wrap-up: flow, leadership, then visual management

The sales-to-project handoff, part two

Podcast · September 2022 · 12 min

Wim Kerkhoff, founder of TopLeft and owner of two MSPs in Canada, talks with James, managing director of Sea-Level Operations in Australia, who coaches MSPs. It is the second conversation in their series on projects, and it covers what goes wrong when a sold project is handed to the delivery team and what to do about it.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Series intro and today's topic
  2. 1:00Why sales and projects clash
  3. 3:01Write down what was promised
  4. 4:31Internal kickoff and client reconfirmation
  5. 6:03Put the project lead in front of the client
  6. 7:35Owner-as-salesperson and the feast and famine cycle
  7. 9:06Involve the team earlier in scoping
  8. 10:06Sales needs to know project load
  9. 11:37Scheduling projects and budget

The sales-to-project handoff: why projects fail at the start

Podcast · August 2022 · 22 min

Wim Kerkhoff talks with James Davis about managing projects on a kanban board on top of ConnectWise. Most of the episode is a screen share of TopLeft boards, plus talk about dependencies, Gantt charts and the partner program. The last few minutes start on the sales-to-project handoff and how it goes wrong.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Small talk about illness and travel
  2. 1:01Busy Linux business and project flow
  3. 3:02TopLeft roadmap: Kanban reports and technician experience
  4. 5:36Gantt charts and dependencies
  5. 6:38Live demo of project and people boards
  6. 9:42Predecessors, workflow rules and project management
  7. 13:49Project overview board, flow charts and timers
  8. 17:53Partner program and joint training
  9. 19:24Sales-to-project handoff mistakes

Project scoping: why MSPs undercharge

Podcast · August 2022 · 30 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James Davis, managing director of Sea-Level Operations and a peer group facilitator with IT Nation Evolve (formerly HTG). This is episode 6 of their project management series, and it covers pre-sales and project scoping. They discuss why owner-led selling and a lack of standard solutions lead to underscoped, underpriced projects, and Wim shares his own examples of getting it wrong.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Series recap and intro
  2. 1:33Owner-led selling and no standard offer
  3. 4:05Skipping the client's real problem
  4. 6:39Consultative questions in sales
  5. 9:11Standardize by client size
  6. 11:14William's own standardization journey
  7. 13:19Proven process, SOPs and lean improvement
  8. 17:26Find the 80/20 similarities
  9. 19:28Paid discovery and a Linux scoping miss
  10. 21:30Charging for project management
  11. 26:06Keep it simple: start with a spreadsheet

Why MSP projects stay broken

Podcast · August 2022 · 28 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder and CEO, talks with James, managing director of Sea-Level Operations APAC in Tasmania and an MSP coach for about four years. It is the first of a series on project management problems they both see in MSPs. They cover five issues at overview level and say scoping and standardization will get its own episode.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introductions and series goal
  2. 2:03No big picture in the PSA
  3. 4:35Workarounds outside the PSA
  4. 7:09No methodology, owner-built projects
  5. 9:12Kanban board demo
  6. 10:44Shared resources and priorities
  7. 12:48Splitting project and service teams
  8. 16:21Demo: project versus service tickets per person
  9. 18:22Role clarity and the senior tech trap
  10. 23:28Pairing technical and non-technical PMs
  11. 25:01Scoping, standardization and profit
  12. 27:04Recap of the issues

Project team roles: from solo tech to a structure that scales

Podcast · June 2022 · 35 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James Davis of Sea-Level Operations (APAC) about who should fill roles on an MSP project team. It's part of their series on project management. They cover the first project hire, titles, pod structure, splitting projects from the service desk, and who leads the team.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Intro and the roles question
  2. 1:02Why the senior tech as PM stops working
  3. 4:06Hiring a corporate PM fails
  4. 7:49Hire a non-technical project coordinator
  5. 10:52Project manager is the wrong title
  6. 14:59Team size and the pod model
  7. 18:02When a real project manager is needed
  8. 21:09Tipping point and professional services team
  9. 25:17Who leads the project team
  10. 31:27Closing advice
  11. 34:00Off-topic chat

Project closeout: define done and get paid

Podcast · June 2022 · 34 min

Wim Kerkhoff hosts James Davis of Sea-Level Operations (APAC) for the sixth episode in their series on MSP projects. They talk about closing projects so they get billed and don't sit open for a year, covering client sign-off, handover to service, PSA admin mistakes and retrospectives.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Zombie projects and unbilled work
  2. 2:04Techs chase perfection, scope undefined
  3. 4:39Someone has to own closure
  4. 6:43Client relationship and frequent communication
  5. 11:54Issues lists and simple sign-off
  6. 16:00Match closeout to project methodology
  7. 19:37Internal handover to service
  8. 22:13PSA admin errors and billing gaps
  9. 25:21Completion is the neglected phase
  10. 26:52Five retrospective questions
  11. 29:26Write it down and assign owners
  12. 32:01Underprepared PMs and next episode

Scope creep: billing, write-offs and the client conversation

Podcast · March 2022 · 39 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James Davis of Sea-Level Operations APAC about managing scope creep once a project is under way. They cover how to write scope and assumptions, how out-of-scope work gets spotted, who decides on it, and how to bill it. This is the second session in a series, following one on client communication.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Recap and today's topic
  2. 2:04You need a scope first
  3. 3:36Lessons from scope creep losses
  4. 5:38Writing exclusions and assumptions
  5. 9:12Settle billing in the sales conversation
  6. 11:14Retainers, separate phases and prepayment
  7. 14:18A VoIP migration that went over
  8. 16:21Four ways scope changes arrive
  9. 18:53Who decides if it's out of scope
  10. 24:32Sign-off, insurance risk and free projects
  11. 29:10Onboarding, hybrid models and stabilization
  12. 33:14Tools: PSA, dashboards, scope software
  13. 37:48Wrap-up: start early, improve in small steps

Why clients feel left out on projects

Podcast · March 2022 · 35 min

Wim Kerkhoff and James from Sea-Level Operations APAC continue their project management series with client communication on projects. They cover how touch points change between small, medium and large projects, who owns communication, and how to make it repeatable.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Intro and why communication matters
  2. 2:32No standards, and sizing projects
  3. 5:04Small projects: few touch points
  4. 9:36Methods and fewer site visits
  5. 11:40Medium projects and dependencies
  6. 13:15Who owns client communication
  7. 15:18Onboarding and client perception
  8. 18:20End-user emails for migrations
  9. 22:23Templates and repeatability
  10. 23:56Meeting rhythm for medium and large projects, and sign-off
  11. 26:31End-of-project feedback and touch points
  12. 29:03Sprints for large projects
  13. 32:08Takeaways and wrap up

Project delivery: where your PSA lets the team down

Podcast · February 2022 · 35 min

Wim Kerkhoff of TopLeft and James Davis of Sea-Level in APAC continue their series on MSP project management. This episode covers the delivery stage, after scoping and the sales handoff. They talk about where PSAs fall short for project work, how to size tickets, and where to start improving.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Series intro and delivery focus
  2. 1:00Where PSAs fall short for projects
  3. 5:37Getting ticket setup right
  4. 8:09Checklists and defining done
  5. 11:43Why visualization matters
  6. 16:19Hidden bottlenecks and workflow noise
  7. 20:54What to monitor in the flow
  8. 25:02Reviews, documentation and rework
  9. 29:16First step: delegation and mapping the flow
  10. 33:25Leadership first, then tools

The sales-to-project handoff: stop setting your team up to fail

Podcast · January 2022 · 29 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James, managing director of Sea-Level Operations in Australia, about what goes wrong when a sold project is handed to the delivery team. It is part of their series on projects and covers the sales handoff, billing, procurement and scope. It ends with a plug for a TopLeft webinar on agile (working in short cycles and adjusting as you go; it suits service and project teams, not only software) project management and a preview of the next episode on scope creep and change management.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Series intro and guests
  2. 2:04Why sales and projects clash
  3. 4:09Internal kickoff and client kickoff
  4. 8:16Owner-as-salesperson and the feast-famine cycle
  5. 10:18Involving the team earlier in scoping
  6. 13:28Finance, cash and profitability
  7. 17:05Fixed fee, scope boundaries and change requests
  8. 21:09Procurement misalignment
  9. 25:13Takeaways and webinar plug
  10. 27:00Next episode and closing advice

Project scoping: write a SOW that works

Podcast · January 2022 · 33 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James Davis of Sea-Level Operations (APAC) about scoping projects and where it goes wrong before delivery starts. They cover owner-led selling, standardizing what MSPs sell, charging properly for project management, and starting simple. It is the second episode in their series, and the next one is about the handoff from sales to delivery.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Series intro and guests
  2. 1:32Biggest pre-sales blind spot
  3. 4:34Selling outcomes, not tech features
  4. 9:06Standardizing solution stacks by client size
  5. 12:38Crafty Penguins: standard process and saying no
  6. 16:42Lean thinking and starting small
  7. 21:15Paid discovery and scoping misses
  8. 24:47Charging for project management and underpricing
  9. 28:50Keeping it simple: spreadsheet and review
  10. 31:20Renovation contract analogy and next episode

Five project management problems costing MSPs profit

Podcast · December 2021 · 31 min

Wim Kerkhoff, TopLeft's founder, talks with James, managing director of Sea-Level Operations APAC in Tasmania and a coach to MSPs for about four years. It's the first in a series on project management problems they both see in MSPs. They cover the problems at a high level, with a kanban board example from Wim, and say scoping and standardization will get its own video.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introductions and series purpose
  2. 2:32PSA gives no bigger picture
  3. 5:04Workarounds outside the PSA
  4. 6:35Keep data in the PSA, fix the method
  5. 8:06No project methodology in MSPs
  6. 10:09Kanban board demo
  7. 12:10Shared resources and priorities
  8. 14:14Splitting project and service teams
  9. 18:16Board for shared-resource teams
  10. 20:17Wrong people and unclear roles
  11. 25:51Pairing technical and non-technical staff
  12. 27:21Scoping, standardization and wrap-up

Work with James

Fractional CSO for APAC MSPs: operations, PSA implementation and leadership for the move to Technology Success Partner.

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