Consumers are changing the way they purchase and utilize technology. In 2011, technology consumerism favored products (60%) to services (40%). In 2020, market share flip-flopped, putting technology services at 61% of the market share and tech products at 39%.
As rapid digital transformation continues to plague organizations, the demand for new tech delivery models will increase, creating a seismic market shift in favor of MSPs that offer services-led technology solutions.
Amid widespread shutdowns, enterprises increasingly searched for Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS) solutions in cloud computing and remote technology to keep businesses in operation. As suggested in the trend above, focus shifted from owning technology assets to working with service providers who can manage technical functions for them.
Tossed into a turbulent sea of change, many organizations found themselves grasping at new opportunities to either stay afloat or sail past competitors. MSPs were not impervious to tsunami-size waves of change and increasingly looked to acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, competitive alliances, and the like to expand geographically, explore new industries, or broaden their service capabilities.
From an industry standpoint, M&A activity means rapid growth as MSPs scale services and attain expertise and technologies faster than ever. The global managed services market size was valued at $215.14 billion in 2020 and is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.7% through 2028.
Society’s reliance on technology broke barriers in recent years, but that’s nothing compared to what lies ahead. As much as 30% of the workforce will still be working from home by the end of 2021. IoT-connected devices are expected to proliferate from about 46 billion today to 125 billion over the next decade. And 66% of US cities are currently investing in smart systems.
As organizations and communities grow more dependent on technology, MSPs in IT service management will be expected to meet higher customer and employee experience expectations. This will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, without Professional Service Automation (PSA) software that automates and optimizes service delivery.
Get these basics right, and you'll be well on your way to conquering the next challenge the tech industry will throw at your MSP team.