According to NTT’s 2021 global managed services survey, the top values of using a managed service provider include improved security, greater flexibility and scalability, access to the highest level of technical and industry expertise, and lower costs.
An MSP can also offer variable billing models based on various metrics. Variable billing can offer a client a great deal of flexibility and scalability while providing additional revenue opportunities for the MSPs. For example, an organization that has invested heavily in hardware and software cannot reverse that investment in times of crisis. Similarly, layoffs can be very costly and, if those employees have since found other jobs, can cause long-term losses when the business turns around. Similarly, adding capacity during temporary business fluctuations can be difficult.
MSPs can also invest in technologies and expertise in ways that individual companies, especially smaller ones, cannot, leading to greater efficiency and performance.
MSPs can also help close skills gaps. Take legacy systems, for example. As older employees retire, young people are increasingly reluctant to learn old languages and technologies. A MSPs can provide not only legacy skills but also training for them given their large customer base.
Organizations can also turn to managed service providers for cutting-edge applications to accelerate adoption even when they do not have the staff to use or implement these technologies.
Current State of the MSP Market
According to Mordor Research, the managed services market will grow from $152 billion in 2020 to $274 billion by 2026, supported by increased adoption of the model, with many companies turning to MSPs last year to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. According to NTT’s 2021 global managed services survey, the percentage of companies using MSPs to manage more than half of their IT needs will increase from 25% last year to 38% in 2021.
The pandemic has also witnessed a surge in demand for cloud-based solutions and a drive to accelerate digital transformations, with customer demand shifting from systems integration and help desk services to remote work support and cybersecurity, according to a recent survey of managed service providers by Acronis.
According to a survey by Kaseva, 54% of managed service providers reported an increase in cloud management revenue last year and 65% increased revenue from cybersecurity services even during the global economic downturn.
As companies send employees to work from home and innovate their business models, managed service providers are in a unique position to help ensure that infrastructure is already in place and remote working becomes the norm rather than the exception.
