Managed Services On The Rise: The CRN 2026 MSP 500

The IT industry continues its rapid shift to a services-led model in the channel. Once again, we present the annual CRN Managed Service Provider 500, the comprehensive list of managed service providers that are leading the way.

Net at Work, a leading solution provider headquartered in New York, last month acquired Kansas-based managed services provider Network Computer Solutions in a move the company said accelerated the growth of its MSP division, which has recently nearly doubled in size.

Net at Work isn’t alone as many leading channel companies, including AHEAD, Aqueduct Technologies, Blue Mantis and NWN, continue to grow their MSP businesses organically and through acquisitions as the demand for managed services shows no signs of slowing.

Estimates of the current size and growth rate of the MSP market vary. Fortune Business Insights valued the market at $330.4 billion in 2025 and forecasts it to grow at a CAGR of 14.8 percent to $370.5 billion this year and $1.12 trillion by 2034. Grand View Research says the global managed services market was $401.2 billion in 2025 and will grow at a CAGR of 9.9 percent to $847.4 billion by 2033.

Whatever the statistics, there’s no disputing that the MSP space is on a rapid growth trajectory.

Businesses (especially SMBs) and organizations are enlisting MSPs and managed security service providers (MSSPs) to meet their IT needs as they look for ways to reduce capital spending, enhance service reliability, optimize multi-cloud environments, accelerate business transformation initiatives and find a solution to the shortage of skilled IT workers.

Modernizing IT infrastructure and quickly gaining access to leading-edge information technologies are also major drivers of managed services adoption. That’s been especially true as the wave of new AI products and services sweep though the IT industry: Businesses, especially SMBs, are looking to MSPs to provide AI and its highly anticipated benefits, but without the expected complexity.

Increasingly, clients want more than just “IT-as-a-service” and are looking to MSPs for guidance and professional services.

“People think of managed services as hands-on keyboard work,” said Adam Caponigro, senior vice president of services at Blue Mantis, in an interview with CRN.

“But what often gets overlooked is the governance around it like client success managers, security advisers, technical account managers and service desk leadership. All of that is about putting the client at the center and making sure we’re delivering consistently and effectively. We want to be a trusted adviser at every level,” he said.

CRN has assembled the 2026 Managed Service Provider 500, an annual list that recognizes North American MSPs and managed security service providers (MSSPs) that have proven track records of innovation and growth. A sampling of the list appears on the following pages and the complete list can be found on CRN.com.

The MSP 500 is organized into three categories. The MSP Elite 150 have an extensive managed services portfolio, including on-premises and off-premises capabilities, weighted toward midmarket and enterprise customers. The MSP Pioneer 250 have largely built their business model around providing managed services to SMB customers. And the Managed Security 100 spotlights MSPs with cloud-based security, services and expertise.

In their applications for this year’s list, MSP executives also answered a number of questions about their businesses and their outlook for 2026, including the single most significant change their company made in the last year to drive success, what emerging technology areas they see as presenting the biggest opportunities, and what they anticipate will be the biggest challenge to their MSP business this year.

We also asked MSPs to describe the most significant factors contributing to their outlook for 2026.

A sampling of their answers to these questions can be found in slide shows running on CRN.com through this week and answers from all MSP 500 companies can be found in their profiles.

CJ Fairfield contributed to this story.