The 2020 MSP Benchmark Survey results are finally here. The latest findings stress the needs of MSP clients regarding security and compliance, while also cementing the importance of a remote monitoring and management (RMM) application for MSP operations.
The survey findings are gathered from owners and professionals of nearly 1,300 MSPs spread across more than 50 countries. About 40 percent of the respondents came from MSPs with fewer than 10 employees, and only 15 percent of respondents are from MSPs with more than 100 employees.
Let’s take a look at the key themes that emerged this year:
Security Tops MSP Client IT Problems and Service Needs
In the 2020 survey, the majority of the respondents (about 29 percent) cited “meeting security risks” as their top IT problem. Another 14 percent of respondents listed cybersecurity services as a top need. This doesn’t come as a surprise since data breaches and security threats have become the new normal in the current IT climate.
With companies losing tens of thousands of dollars to hackers infiltrating their systems, they now rely on MSPs for guidance and advice more than ever before. Almost all respondents (about 95 percent) have had either some or most of their clients turn to them for counsel on cybersecurity plans and best practices.
Compliance Requirements Drive Opportunities for MSPs
With the increasing number of regulations, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data (SHIELD) Security Act, data privacy has become a necessity for small and large organizations alike. Two-thirds of respondents report that their clients struggle to meet compliance requirements. This hints at an incredible opportunity for MSPs, with the need to provide compliance services increasing in the past two years for nearly one-third of the respondents.
Application Integration to Boost MSP Revenue
Streamlined and simplified operations are a boon to MSP success. While most MSPs understand the value of RMM, with 61 percent of them claiming it to be very important for their operations, they finally seem to accept the importance of streamlined workflows through the integration of applications such as RMM, Professional Services Automation (PSA) and IT documentation.
About 81 percent of the respondents said that this integration could enable their organization to drive better bottom-line profits.
Diversification of Services – A Key Growth Driver
As per the 2020 survey, MSPs are expanding their portfolios to provide new products and services rather than by partnering with other businesses or acquiring much smaller businesses.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents consider the expansion of their service offerings important. Diversification can help MSPs to maintain their revenue performance by adding new services and cross-selling value services over time.
According to the survey, high-growth MSPs (with an average monthly recurring revenue (MRR) growth greater than 20 percent) have added about 4 to 5 new services to their offerings in the past two years.
This and many more detailed findings can be found in our 2020 MSP Benchmark Survey Report. To get your hands on this wealth of information and to benchmark your company against your peers, download the whitepaper here.
