Kaseya, a provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced the results of its 2022 MSP Benchmark Survey. The research includes data about the priorities, challenges and predictions of more than 1,200 MSPs across the globe.
“With COVID-19 continuing to affect everything from global logistics to the work environment, it’s no surprise that 76 percent of MSPs said the pandemic affected their ability to expand services within their customer base,” said Mike Puglia, chief strategy officer at Kaseya. “There’s an increased need for the security, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) and remote work support services that are driving revenue growth for MSPs, and we expect the demand for these services to continue in 2022 and beyond.
“Efficiency continues to be a top priority for MSPs, with more than half saying integration among core applications is either critical or very important to them. Kaseya’s IT Complete suite of solutions is purpose-built for MSPs, with users able to reclaim an average of 25 percent of their time back through deep integrations that allow IT professionals to focus on work that directly impacts the bottom line,” Puglia added.
The study’s key findings include:
- Compliance is becoming a bigger pain point for MSPs’ customers. The ever-evolving compliance landscape has been a challenge for SMBs, with 74 percent of MSPs stating their customers struggle to meet regulatory compliance requirements. MSPs have been stepping up to help their customers navigate this complex landscape, with 75 percent of respondents either offering or interested in offering compliance services.
- Cybersecurity remains top of mind. MSPs increasingly are feeling concerned about the cybersecurity landscape. Half said their business is more at risk to cybercrime compared to one year ago, which is an 11 percent increase from 2021’s data. And there’s plenty reason for the increased focus — almost half of MSPs reported a significant portion of their clients fell victim to a cyberattack within the last 12 months. Though cybersecurity is a significant concern for MSPs, it’s also been a revenue driver — the survey found that 50 percent of MSPs evaluate the threat landscape quarterly to add new service offerings for their organizations.
- Remote work has provided a wealth of opportunities. The pandemic has reshaped the work environment, with 22 percent of respondents stating remote workforce setup was the top service requested by their clients — followed by cloud migration (21 percent) and business continuity (13 percent). Remote work also is a significant pain point for MSPs’ customers, with 36 percent of respondents selecting it as one of the top three IT problems for clients in 2022.
- MSPs value integrated solutions. Sixty-four percent of MSPs said that integration among core applications, including RMM, PSA and IT documentation software, is either critical or very important to them, with 78 percent stating this integration helps drive bottom-line profits.
- Supply chain issues and hiring are two major challenges MSPs expect to face in 2022. Ninety-two percent of MSPs have had supply chain issues impact their ability to sell solutions while 19 percent said hiring would be their primary challenge in 2022 — a 15 percent jump from 2021’s data.
- Active incident response plans are still a major need for MSPs’ clients. Though the threat of cyberattacks continues to grow, only 4 percent of respondents said that 100 percent of their client base has an active incident response plan. About half of the respondents reported only 25 percent of their clients had an active incident response plan, with 8 percent of MSPs stating none of their clients had an incident response plan in place.
- Most MSPs are testing their disaster recovery capabilities. Due to the complexity of IT environments and the cyberthreat landscape, IT professionals are instructed to test their disaster recovery capabilities regularly. Kaseya’s 2022 survey found 30 percent of MSPs simulate disaster recovery capabilities quarterly, 25 percent test annually and 9 percent test monthly. Fifteen percent acknowledged they never test.
In addition to the focus on key services for their SMB clients, many MSPs are surveying the landscape and assessing their readiness to buy or sell. Kaseya’s 2022 research found nearly 36 percent of respondents plan to sell or acquire within the next 24 to 36 months.
“We hope these findings help MSPs as they assess their business priorities in the year ahead,” said Puglia. “Our research shows that MSPs have the ability to grow their monthly recurring revenue by solving client pain points around security, compliance and BCDR — and it’s most cost-effective to do this with an integrated single solution.”
For more details and comprehensive analysis of the research, download the 2022 Kaseya MSP Benchmark Survey Report here: https://www.kaseya.com/resource/2022-msp-benchmark-survey-results/.
