Here’s the good news/bad news: 55% of respondents to a recent MicroAge survey say the technological capabilities of their IT managed service providers are “”cutting-edge.”” The rest (45%), however, rate their MSPs’ capabilities as “”middle of the road”” or “”in the Dark Ages.””
Ouch.
According to The State of Managed Services Providers Report 2021, which surveyed IT leaders currently working with MSPs, providers are falling short in three key areas: cloud strategy, security, and IT spending.
For instance, 46% of survey respondents cite either cloud strategy or cloud services as an area where they struggle with a lack of support, yet only 26% think that an MSP could help in this arena. The report finds that just about half (47%) are currently using their MSP for cloud services. Similarly, despite the rise of cyberthreats, only 31% of respondents are using MSPs for security.
The issue may be more a failure to communicate than a lack of services. While 87% of respondents know their provider offers IT services, 23% didn’t know MSPs offer cloud services, and half (50%) were also in the dark about the availability of cloud strategy services. Meanwhile, a whopping 52% didn’t know if their MSP offers security services.
Cost is still the top reason IT leaders may seek to change providers. Other motivators to switch or reevaluate MSPs include IT downtime (22%), obsolete technology (18%), and poor technical support (18%).
Inertia may prevent an MSP from being dumped, however. The research finds that 64% of businesses have only ever worked with one MSP, and 88% plan to stay put.
The report warns that IT leaders partnering with MSPs that are not modernizing risk falling behind, however, and concludes that they must vet MSPs for capabilities to keep them competitive, specifically cloud strategy, cloud services, and security services.
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