MARKET REPORT MSPs
“Even in the current climate, there are still opportunities out there for MSPs that provide a range of
services and can adapt quickly to the changing nature of the business.”
Jason Howells, Director International at Barracuda MSP
MSP Market Report
The Managed Service Provider (MSP) landscape has never faced a bigger challenge than the current fallout
from the global pandemic. Comms Business went to fi nd out if the advantages of turning your reseller business
into an MSP still ring true in one of the most uncertain landscapes the Channel has ever encountered
We are in the middle
of one of the most
signi cant years
(2020) for the partner
community and as we sit
looking at the second half
of the year the extent of the
economic damage is di cult to
predict. Many partners are in
survival mode and the rest are
pondering their futures. Is now
a good time to be an MSP?
Martin Saunders, Product
Director at Highlight, “I think
now is an excellent time to be
an MSP. Enterprises are more
and more dependent on their
IT, but less and less interested
in how it works. e whole
point of an MSP is that you are
removing the complexity of IT
and helping your customer to
focus on their business.
If you’re working in the cloud
and have a handle on the latest
technology, being an MSP is a
big opportunity. However, for
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those still focused just on the
o ce environment and physical
PBX, you are likely to have
di culty.”
Jason Howells, Director
International at Barracuda
MSP, commented “Business
right now is certainly di erent
to 12 months ago, the last few
months have brought new
challenges in many ways and
caused us all to think about
things di erently.
An increase in both the
frequency and sophistication
of cyberattacks, lack of skilled
cybersecurity workers and in
house resources, has led to an
increase in managed security
services - 88 percent of those
questioned in our latest report
said that demand for security
services was either ‘moderately’
or ‘signi cantly’ increasing.
Even in the current climate,
there are still opportunities out
there for MSPs that provide a
range of services and can adapt
quickly to the changing nature
of the business.”
What does the recovery look
like for MSPs?
It’s hard to ignore some of the
Doomsday predictions for the
MSP market (see Jay McBain –
Forrester) but through the chaos
businesses will still need IT and
comms support. So what are
we likely to see from a demand
point of view?
Will Liu, Managing
Director of TP-Link UK “As
networks become ingrained
in the success of recovering
business, the managed
service providers (MSPs)
maintaining these networks,
must be able to make swift and
intelligent decisions to resolve
Tips for making the transition to an MSP
Start thinking proactively – Get out of the mindset of waiting
for something to break—to asking how can we prevent this from
breaking in the fi rst place? A break-fi x service or a VAR can
reactively help a customer when something goes wrong, but a
managed service business has customers’ backs to proactively
protect their data and recover it quickly and easily when needed.
Instead of waiting for outdated hardware to break, implement a
new solution - When you’re a VAR, you see customers continually
try to drag out their refresh cycles because they own the
equipment and want to avoid a big capital expense to replace it.
This leaves them vulnerable to threats, attacks, and potential
data loss. Shifting to the managed service model, you’ll fi nd that
you have an easier time helping customers refresh their outdated
equipment because they can treat it as an operating expense.
Keep profi tability top of mind - Managed service providers have
a consistent stream of monthly recurring revenue and aren’t held
up by waiting for the next project or hoping something breaks,
While you might advertise competitive prices online for break-fi x
services or hardware, publishing your pricing for your managed
services might not be your best bet.
Jason Howells, Director
International at Barracuda MSP
36 | Comms Business Magazine | July 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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