Report: MSP Investments On the Rise

The study, released Tuesday, also said MSPs reported that they will spend more than 20 percent of their total operating budgets on new service-enabling technology this year, up from 17.5 percent in 2003.

"As go the needs of the consumer, so go the technology needs of MSPs, which in turn create new demand for the technology-enabling providers," said Charles Weaver, president of the Tracy, Calif.-based MSPAlliance. "MSPs are allocating greater portions of their budgets to new technologies in an effort to meet the ever-growing needs of their clients, and service-enabling technology providers need to be aware of the rapidly changing needs of their MSP partners so they can meet those demands."

The report, the second such study in the past two years, included input from 53 MSPs. Respondents participated in a Web-based survey from March to May 2004 and answered questions on topics such as management of help desks, desktops, security, messaging and applications.