My impression is that being an MSP is a turn-key solution. A bigger company sells you the tools, training and support staff so you can cosplay as an IT company. The companies providing the tools, training and staff are making you dependent on them too, as well as making bank referring you to their partner solution providers.
This one doesn’t surprise me. I remember a recording of a guy in India doing a job interview over the phone. He had a friend on a other phone giving him the answers to the test questions. The person giving the interview heard enough in the background to figure this out, and gave the cheater tips on how to be less obvious next time.