A fresh breed of managed service provider (MSP) is emerging that is happy to use outsourcing and partnerships to increase the chances of accelerating growth.
Uptime, a specialist in MSP outsourcing, is holding an event later this month to discuss the evolution in the channel landscape and to encourage more to consider operating a different business model.
Ahead of the UptimeLive event, Jason Kemsley, chief revenue officer and co-founder of Uptime, outlined what his business believes is happening across the channel.
Why is it important to focus on this area, the new type of managed service provider?
The new type of MSP is a growth machine. These MSPs are commercially astute and focused, and are excelling in the areas where traditional MSPs typically struggle, specifically sales, marketing and account management.
This new breed is able to, from day one, create trusted advisor relationships that allow them to distance themselves from the day-to-day operations. This small change allows them to be the trusted agnostic party that can assist with issues that arise or need fixing. Without the same emotional and technical perception that traditional MSPs have, this creates longer-lasting relationships that stand the test of time and service issues.
Is this shift in the MSP model happening now, and is it in the early stages or quite widespread?
Outsourcing and the new MSP model have been around for many years, but what has started to change is the transparency and rate at which these new MSPs are forming and growing. With many MSP owners having exited and enjoying some non-compete time off, many are eager to go again, but this time scaling without the growth constraints of building and maintaining internal teams.
With the MSP market maturing at a rapid rate, MSPs are being forced to find new and tested routes to improve whilst maintaining a competitive price. Whilst we have seen this trend for some time now, 2024 is the year it has gained significant market traction.
What do MSPs need to do to either get ready to do it themselves or to become a partner in a wider ecosystem?
To be ready for change and for what comes next, we all need to become business leaders, identifying our own business problems and overcoming them in our own way
Jason Kemsley, Uptime
The MSP market is maturing. To embrace this change, MSPs need to improve their business acumen and become more business-focused in their decision-making and direction. This means stepping off the tools and being led by data, as opposed to only being in the tech and making decisions influenced by emotions.
We see two main types of MSP in the industry: those that are led by the market leaders and those that are leading. To be ready for change and for what comes next, we all need to become business leaders, identifying our own business problems and overcoming them in our own way. The MSP community is great, it is pivotal to the success of our industry and can provide inspiration and influence, but it should not be used to create a cookie-cutter approach to business.
Are you feeling positive about the MSP landscape as we close 2024 and move into 2025?
Positivity is clear in the market – our market sector continues to grow in revenue and numbers. We are optimistic but cautious. We see one clear winner in 2025: MSPs that focus on problems and the subsequent solution for their customers will prevail.
Our caution is born from a continued glimpse into a subset of MSPs that get lost in their tooling and stack. Such distraction will be more detrimental in 2025 than ever before, thus draining more time, energy, resources and mindset. A more mature MSP industry requires a more mature MSP owner in 2025. It’s time to leave the tech hat behind and become more business-minded.
