Here Are What 20 MSP 500 Executives See As The Biggest Challenges To Their Business In 2024

We asked top MSP executives to tell us what they see as the biggest challenges to their managed services businesses this year. From the uncertain economy and difficulty in hiring skilled employees, to margin pressure in the competitive MSP market and industry consolidation, here’s what 20 said is keeping them awake at night.

Uncertain Times

The IT industry and the channel entered 2024 with ongoing economic uncertainty and lingering questions about inflation, interest rates and the possibility of a slowdown or recession.

Managed Service Providers, meanwhile, continue to wrestle with some of the same challenges they have faced in recent years including cybersecurity threats that are growing in number and sophistication and the never-ending search for skilled tech workers.

All the while the pace of IT evolution continues to accelerate: MSPs are trying to answer their clients’ questions about potential AI and generative AI applications even as they figure out how AI technology can be used within their own business processes and service delivery operations.

There is quite a list of challenges facing MSPs right now. As part of the CRN 2024 MSP 500 we asked top managed service provider executives to tell us what they expect to be the biggest challenge to their managed services business in 2024. All responses to the emerging technology opportunity question can be found as part of the MSP 500 profiles. The following is a sampling of responses from 20 MSP executives.

Calian IT & Cyber Solutions

Faisal Bhutto, Senior VP, Cloud & Cybersecurity

Houston

A lot of competitors are coming into the market with low-cost prices, but half-baked solutions, which is diluting the value of managed services.

Computer Logistics

Robert Andrews, CEO

Redding, Calif.

Staffing continues to be an issue for us. And we're finding more ways to automate and lessen the trouble tickets from our clients’ environments.

CyberCore

Neal Frick, CEO

Elkridge, Md.

Nefarious actors penetrating the supply chain. This makes it difficult to ensure the supply chain product is free from threats.

DSI Tech

Atul Bhatia, CEO

Ashburn, Va.

The biggest challenge is the time it takes to create specific managed services that are requested by customers, outside of the ones that we already offer. Investment in supporting resources, transitioning the sales motion, etc.

Emtec

Sunil Misra, CEO

Jacksonville, Fla.

The competitive landscape for quality resources continues to be the largest challenge. Finding and recruiting candidates with the right skills to meet client demand is critical to success. We are also keeping an eye on a potential recession, which could impact project and outsourced managed services investment.

Fusion Connect

Brian Crotty, CEO

Atlanta

The fast-paced development of AI will present many challenges including tech complexity roadblocks, skill gaps, integration issues, and costs. It will become increasingly important to stay ahead of the curve so clients can take full advantage of AI in a way that positively impacts their business performance.

Iron Bow

Rene LaVigne, President and CEO

Herndon, Va.

In 2024 our biggest challenge lies in aligning customer network consumption models with as-a-Service offerings. While organizations aim for seamless experiences, some are not ready for new capabilities, leading to integration hurdles.

Additionally, the rapid accumulation of technical debt poses a challenge, straining budgets and hindering digital transformation efforts.

IT GOAT

Mike Murphy, President

Dallas

Human capital growth and development. Our sales and services team continue to expand exponentially, and we will be focused on implementing a companywide training standard with career growth alignment for every team member in 2024.

IT Health Partners

Dan Contaldi, President and COO

Plainville, Conn.

Managing growth while not impacting current customer SLAs.

Mode5

Luke Downing, President

Norfolk, Va.

There is more price pressure out there due to two reasons: One, the cost of capital has businesses tightening their belt. Two, as more business go all cloud with SaaS apps they perceive less of a need for managed services.

MRE Consulting

Shayon Mazumder, Technology Consulting Practice Leader

Houston

The biggest challenge currently within the marketplace of managed services is the highly advanced mergers and acquisitions that are taking place within the industry. Too many times we have seen customers get under-served because of these activities as they had great service delivery provided by an MSP, but not after.

Paragon Micro

Jeff Reimer, President and CEO

Lake Zurich, Ill.

The largest challenge that we'll face is the pressing challenge of delaying integrating intelligent automation into our customers' business operations, for fear of choosing a long-term path prematurely. Another reason for navigating delay is the human element. Teams need to be trained to work alongside AI, rather than their replacement.

PCH Technologies

Timothy Guim, President and CEO

Sewell, N.J.

One of the biggest challenges of 2024 is to maintain EBITDA margins with rising inflationary costs, especially labor. Talent retention and acquisition are part of this challenge as well.

Proda Technology

Marissa Maldonado, CEO

Atlanta

The biggest challenge for our organization is labor. Can we train and onboard new staff as quickly as we can onboard new clients?

PTP

Ethan Simmons, Managing Partner

Norwood, Mass.

Finding top talent and finding potential acquisition targets with engineering skills that align with our team.

SIRKit

Kris Wilkinson, CEO

Edmonton, Alb.

Helping businesses understand that value is more important than price. There is a massive misconception that cheap MSPs offer the same level of security and proactive care. We continue to educate many businesses about the dangers of lowest price.

Success Computer Consulting

Bruce Lach, President

Golden Valley, Minn.

We expect to face continued supply chain shortages. Our partner vendors often have a limited number of the products we need to order, if they even have them at all, as many products are frequently on back order. This impacts how quickly we can schedule and execute projects for customers.

Surelock Technology

Bob Kopesky, CEO

Lawrenceville, Ga.

The biggest challenge for 2024 will be navigating the political climate during an election year. It will create opportunities and challenges that managed IT services can capitalize on.

Vandis

Andrew Segal, President and CEO

Albertson, N.Y.

The competitive landscape has become watered down making it harder for the market to truly identify top managed services partners and offerings. MSPs continue to poorly secure their own environments, which can result in a breach – and cause a breach at their customer – eroding trust in the managed service provider landscape.

VAST

Robert Swanson, President

Downers Grove, Ill.

Always keeping up with the pace of innovation in the industry, especially that which is coming from the biggest US hyperscalers (AWS, Azure and GCP).