I Managed Service Provider (MSP) are following a solid growth path. This is what emerges from a study commissioned by N-able from Canalys. The research, from the title The MSP Horizons Report 2024, was conducted between October 2023 and November 2023 involving 354 N-able B2B channel partners present in EMEA and APAC, North America and Latin America. The report that followed collects the results of the online survey and the qualitative interviews carried out with the interviewees. The majority, equal to 97% of the sample, claims that there will be an increase in turnover during 2024, given that in the 2023 fiscal year the managed services turnover should be around 419 billion dollars.
“MSPs from all over the world – he had the opportunity to comment Jay McBain, Chief Analyst at Canalys – are the most optimistic of all the business areas we cover. 65% of respondents expect double-digit growth in 2024, and we forecast an annual growth rate of 11% through 2027. The report will help these companies capitalize on market opportunities and continue to drive industry growth through 2027 and beyond”. If there is a trend that the survey highlights unequivocally, it is that of “partnerships and alliances: the world is now a team sport” said McBain, noting that the prefix “co-” today guides the relationship with the customer together with which MSPs co-innovate and co-develop.
N-able’s point of view on Managed Service Providers
A trend confirmed by John Pagliuca, CEO of N-able. The company offers IT service providers software solutions to monitor, manage and secure their customers’ systems, data and networks. These solutions are based above all on an organic infrastructure that makes it possible to simplify complex ecosystems. However, teamwork is needed to enhance the services that each MPS is able to provide. “As they look to strengthen and adopt this team approach – underlined Pagliuca while presenting the research – the MPS have a strategic decision to make. They can still be that single point of contact for small and medium-sized businesses, but they can use their partners to empower their team.”
Do you really know how to best manage customers and suppliers? Here are the 10 rules you need to know
Ways to extend partnerships also include operations merger and acquisition. The study data estimates that 2023 saw a 60% decline in global M&A activity, as opposed to 2022. Regardless of how 2024 fares on this front, respondents indicate they are more likely to acquire a company with a clear business model fit and a technological specialization or differentiator. Cultural and economic fit between companies is an important indicator, which can help impact some key metrics including length of customer contracts, churn rates and hardware and software product portfolio mix. To understand what the winning mix is today, the N-able and Canalys document focuses on the IT areas currently most requested by organizations.
Cybersecurity, cloud, hybrid model and AI in the future of MSPs
The cybersecurity, according to what emerges from the research, is one of the areas covered by MSP providers that should increase the most. In fact, a percentage greater than 80% of those interviewed said this. In particular, there are 4 sectors on which cybersecurity solutions are focused: (MDR) Managed Detection and Response, network security, endpoint security e vulnerability scanning. In this framework also the cloud continues to hold a central place, although 66% of the sample agrees that the future lies in a hybrid model, where there is still room for on-premise. On the contrary, only 7% assert that he is “dead”. At the same time, the survey reveals that a unified approach to monitoring and management, with traditional solutions, is gaining popularity RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) to be the master. If anything, the need to integrate them with solutions is increasingly felt EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) incorporate.
Obviously, there is also a focus onArtificial intelligence which is now used by 88% of channel partners as an integrated function in the set of existing solutions. The majority say they use it for content generation, as well as to automate processes in the fields of cybersecurity, backup and data analysis. AI is one of the areas that shows that “MSPs want and need to go further and faster – he declared in conclusion John Pagliuca – and we are proud to help our partners do so. For this reason we have collaborated with Canalys. We cannot answer all the questions this survey poses alone, but we can initiate and facilitate these discussions, which we hope will help lead our partners towards true transformation for long-term success.”