The top trends in managed services, from AI to IoT.
As a managed service provider (MSP), organizations rely on you to stay up to date on the latest trends in technology so they can focus on their own business. After all, you’re responsible for maintaining and managing your clients’ IT infrastructure, systems, and networks, as well as delivering services such as cybersecurity, cloud migration, and big data analytics, so it pays to be in the know.
Businesses are increasingly relying on MSPs to operate at their fullest capacity, as a recent report showed more than 60% of organizations are expected to depend on MSPs by 2025. To help you keep delivering top-tier services to your clients and grow your business, we’ve pulled together the top five trends in managed services that MSPs should have on their radars.
Trend no. 1: AI and automation
As with just about every industry, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are rapidly changing managed services. This year, more than 50% of organizations are planning to incorporate AI and automation technologies, according to Deloitte.
As one of the top trends that MSPs should leverage, AI technology can accomplish tasks humans previously needed to address, such as monitoring network traffic, identifying and mitigating threats, and predicting system failures, among many others. Automation allows you to automate routine tasks and workflows, saving time and increasing efficiency — so you can focus on managing and growing your business. By harnessing AI and automation, MSPs can ensure their clients are secure and compliant to save them money, all while improving service delivery and the customer experience.
Trend no. 2: cybersecurity
Security breaches can be very costly for both you and your clients, which is why cybersecurity is mandatory in order to maintain trust with your clients and keep your business growing. Cyber threats are evolving rapidly and cost organizations an average of $4.35 million, meaning you and your clients need to be proactive in protecting networks and data.
MSPs providing security services are responsible for identifying and mitigating cyber risks, securing networks, and ensuring compliance with regulations. You’ll be tasked with facing emerging threats such as cloud vulnerability, data breaches, risks associated with remote work and mobile devices, phishing, ransomware, cryptojacking, and more. To combat these threats, employ tactics such as enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), using strong passwords, recognizing and reporting phishing attacks, and keeping your software updated.
While getting into managed security services can seem daunting, Pax8 can be your trusted advisor to finding the right vendors so you can set yourself up for success. Providing these services has the potential to help you grow your business, particularly as the managed security services provider industry has reached $13.9 billion in revenue.
Trend no. 3: cloud migration
Cloud computing, or utilizing hosted computing resources in public, private, or hybrid clouds, is only growing in popularity. Moving IT infrastructure to the cloud offers several benefits for your clients, including increased scalability, flexibility, and cost savings.
As an MSP, providing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) through providers such as Microsoft or AWS can help you tap into a huge new revenue stream. The IaaS market is projected to grow to $96.93 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.4%.
Even if your customers aren’t ready to go full IaaS, you can encourage them to move their other solutions to the cloud to take advantage of cost savings and the ability to enable remote and hybrid work. For MSPs, it also makes user management easier, compared with on-premise solutions. You can add and remove users remotely, and all of your clients can receive the same new features for the solutions you offer by making one simple coding change. Even though you may face challenges such as compatibility issues, data migration, billing issues, and security concerns, Pax8 can help get you and your clients set up with white-labeled professional services and a PSA integration that simplifies billing.
Trend no. 4: big data analytics
By leveraging big data, or large data sets that can include both structured and unstructured data (e.g., video and audio), MSPs can gain insights into their clients’ operations and make data-driven decisions. Big data analytics can help you identify trends, anticipate your clients’ needs, and improve service delivery.
First, your clients need to give you access to their data, safely and securely. Then, you can add new data sources, such as that acquired from marketing automation or recruiting software. MSPs can help this process by getting their clients to update their data management program and data governance systems to ensure data is clean, secure, and reachable.
Doing so can help you deliver to your clients benefits such as better network performance, improved cybersecurity, better marketing efforts, and a more productive workforce. For example, think about how Amazon is able to predict what you’re looking to purchase by looking at how you’ve navigated their site and what you’ve reacted to, among other data inputs; that couldn’t be done without big data, and even SMBs can tap into its power.
Though not without challenge, leveraging big data analytics is a way you can offer more value to your clients and differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Trend no. 5: internet of things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected devices that can exchange data and communicate with each other. By tapping into the large volume of data these devices generate, organizations gain benefits such as reduced costs, higher efficiency and productivity, more business opportunities, a better customer experience, and increased mobility and agility.
To take advantage of IoT at a medical organization, for example, devices need to be procured, validated, configured, outfitted with mobile device management software, and shipped to various locations. The data pulled from the devices will also need to be managed in order to draw insights from them.
As an MSP, you can aid your clients with this process by procuring, managing, and monitoring IoT devices, ensuring that they are secure, operational, and deliver value to the business. You can offer them greater speed to market, reduced costs, increased scale, and a wider scope of services with a greater network of partners and expertise than customers who go it alone.
Why you need to stay informed about the top trends in managed services
It’s important to keep up with emerging trends in managed services to stay ahead of the competition. By taking advantage of AI and automation, cybersecurity, cloud migration, big data analytics, and IoT, you’ll continue to innovate and offer value to your clients while growing your business.
Pax8 is here to help you tap into the latest trends in managed services, from allowing you to quote, order, bill, and provision cloud solutions via the Pax8 Marketplace, to offering consultative professional services for cloud migration, cloud architecture, security strategy, and more. Peruse the Pax8 Marketplace and schedule a consultation with one of our experts to get started.
