There are shedloads of opportunities coming up for MSPs in the coming year, according to a Barracuda report.
Barracuda’s The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, claims that the appetite for managed services is stronger than ever, with many survey respondents identifying managed services as the biggest sales opportunity in the coming year.
The report said that that to seize this opportunity, MSPs can identify areas in which to focus their growth and expand their offerings. This is particularly key for those that are in the early stages of their journey or those that were forced down a specific route due to the demands of the pandemic.
Barracuda spoke to more than 400 partners from across the globe, with the combined answers indicating similar challenges for MSPs worldwide when it comes to service provisioning and meeting the complex needs of their customers. Data from the study also indicates that security remains the number one concern for customers and the leading driver for seeking out managed services.
The report said that increased security concerns and a growing remote workforce are driving the need for third-party service providers. 80 percent of respondents felt Overall Security was a significant business opportunity, but leading the field was Remote Work, which 90 percent saw as a lucrative opportunity.
It highlighted how many MSPs are growing their services portfolios with 59 percent of respondents said they had expanded their services portfolio in the past 12 months.
The report said that security is now the top driver of services. These year security concerns were listed as the main driver behind SMBs adopting managed services, followed by the increasing complexity of IT. In 2020, it was the opposite.
Security services are becoming increasingly important for MSPs. Five security-based services — endpoint security, email security, network security, server security, and endpoint monitoring — all made the top five services in 2021. This is one more than in 2020, and four more than in 2019.
The hybrid approach was still popular, but services are accounting for more business growth. 59 percent of respondents said they expect services to account for 50 percent or more of their revenues this year, with 39 percent saying they expect to generate up to half of their overall business through services.
Barracuda General manager Brian Babineau said: “The appetite is there, certainly among those that have fallen victim to cybercrime as they’ve adjusted to remote working, and it’s now up to MSPs to engage with these customers, offer the skills and knowledge they’re lacking, and become a trusted service provider.”
“In turn, MSPs need reliable vendors that are able to support and value them, offering them everything they need to create the best possible services for their customers,” added Jason Howells, VP International Sales, Barracuda MSP
