Growth in cloud tops the list of 2023 trends.
What’s on the horizon for 2023? Pax8 experts put their heads together and came up with these top five trends that will shape the world of cloud for business in the coming year. One thing is certain: transitioning to the cloud and outsourcing IT to managed service providers (MSPs) will enable businesses to save money, create efficiencies, and reduce risk. MSPs who have adapted to this new evolution in business will lead the charge and continue to see growth in 2023. Read our top five 2023 trends below to gain a competitive edge.
Trend 1: Cloud Computing Will Become Even More Necessary
Cloud computing enables efficiencies, faster go-to-market plans, improved security, better decision making, and reliable hybrid work for both MSPs and the small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) they serve.
Cloud consumption in 2023 will be driven by several factors: the continuation of hybrid and remote work; the potential for cloud services to reduce the impact on the environment of energy consumption (given the shared model and commitment all hyperscalers are making in the environmental, social, and governance, or ESG spaces); and major advances in software that help MSPs and their end-customers better orchestrate to optimize their cloud spend.
With the possibility of a recession in 2023 – and at a minimum economic turbulence – SMBs will be impacted by inflation and other macroeconomic factors, including talent shortages, supply chain issues, and more. SMBs that entrust an MSP with their technology needs and computing security – and leverage the cloud while doing so – can gain a competitive advantage.
For MSPs, basic and essential business applications can be offered as a service – for example, the popular Microsoft Office 365 and related Teams voice, messaging, and video collaboration platform. Other cloud opportunities include the management of distributed internet of things (IoT) implementations, shipping data from the edge into the cloud for analysis with all the benefits of centralized operations, the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented reality, and other emerging technologies.
Gartner forecasts that in 2023, worldwide public cloud spending will grow 20.7% to total $591.8 billion, up from $490.3 billion in 2022.
Trend 2: Smart MSPs Will Find Opportunities to Grow and Defy Macroeconomic Forces
According to Grand View Research, the global managed services market size was valued at $239.71 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% from 2022 to 2030. Grand View attributes this surge to the COVID-19 pandemic, which “triggered the need for business automation as businesses aggressively resort to remote working.”
For MSPs, the keys to growth in 2023 will include leveraging cloud technologies, improving sales and support operations, maintaining a laser focus on revenue growth and profitability, and focusing on the needs of their SMB clients. That focus must include finding and procuring the right technologies, including cybersecurity solutions.
MSPs also need to become more comfortable with the e-commerce world that consumers, including their SMB clients, already live in. That means enabling clients to discover and research products, place orders, and use self-service offerings like customer support and help tickets. MSPs need to be able to offer a combination of customer service and self-service to their SMB clients.
Trend 3: Education and Enablement Will Help You Improve Your Business
Upskilling your enterprise and taking advantage of education opportunities, networking, and developing peers to help solve business and technology challenges will help you grow and save time and money.
Peers, colleagues, and coaches can help you identify best practices without having to re-invent the so-called wheel. MSPs can become even more efficient within their business and grow revenue by learning from others. Pax8 Academy offers On-Demand Learning, Instructor-Led Courses, Peer Groups, and Business Coaching, with a combined 600 years of industry expertise. There is strength in learning from others in non-competitive, targeted growth plans that focus on MSP success.
Trend 4: Globalization and Automation Will Accelerate
MSPs, wherever they are located and whatever their market, are increasingly affected by global economic forces. That may include supply chain issues, inflation, or one of any number of security threats circling the globe. But there is great upside for MSPs that continue to innovate, invest, and bring the services and applications their customers need to grow.
Automation leveraged by artificial intelligence provides one such opportunity. The global artificial intelligence market size was valued at $93.5 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.1% from 2022 to 2030. AI has already been paramount in building automated security systems, natural language processing, face detection, and automatic threat detection, among others. 2023 will bring smarter systems that can predict new attacks and notify admins in real time.
Trend 5: Cybersecurity Risks Will Continue to Grow
A huge area of growth and focus for MSPs in 2023 has to be cybersecurity. That means understanding your own security footing as well as that of your SMB customers.
The global threat intelligence security market size is expected to increase by $14.03 billion, accelerating at a CAGR of 23.96% between 2021 and 2026 according to a recent report published by Technavio.
Consider the cyberthreats with email alone: globally, roughly 15 billion spam emails make their way across the Internet every day, which means that spam filters are working overtime and are liable to permit malicious phishing attack emails to slip through. More than 80% of organizations said they experienced phishing attacks last year, and experts predict another six billion attacks in 2022. 30% of phishing emails are opened. This increases the probability of an individual unintentionally clicking on a malicious link or downloading a compelling looking document that’s laced with malware.
Smaller businesses may think cybersecurity is not relevant for them, or that they won’t be attacked. That isn’t true, and every enterprise needs a security plan.
Pax8 Cybersecurity Hub Offers One-Stop Experience
The Pax8 Marketplace offers curated security solutions for MSPs, and the new Pax8 Cybersecurity Hub is a one-stop security experience, featuring vendor trainings, on-demand courses, compliance frameworks, and expert highlights. Pax8 CTO Scott Chasin, who has spent his career in cybersecurity, talks about the current state of cyberthreats for businesses today in this new video: Is Your Business Prepared for Modern Cyberthreats?
Beyond Is the Future
Pax8 invites our partners to step into the future with our inaugural global event, Beyond 2023, taking place in Denver, CO, from June 11 to 13. Beyond is a three-day immersive experience centered on innovation and community. Register now to discover what the future holds for the channel.
