Demand For MSPs Is At An All-Time High: The 2023 MSP 500

IT procurement is rapidly shifting to a services-led model in the channel. And MSPs are leading the way.

The Managed Service Provider sector is showing no signs of slowing down. After exploding in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to work from home, the demand for cloud-based managed services, including access to business applications, data backup and storage systems, and communications and collaboration tools, has continued to grow.

Along with providing IT services to their distributed workforces – a post-COVID model that appears here to stay – businesses and organizations recognize that relying on MSPs provides a range of benefits including lower capital spending, reduced cybersecurity threats, faster access to leading-edge IT, a way to surmount the continued shortage of IT skilled workers, and a smoother path for cloud migration and digital transformation initiatives.

No wonder, then, that market researcher Precedence Research, which calculated that global spending for MSP services reached $312.7 billion in 2022, will reach $349.3 billion this year and $757.1 billion by 2030 – a 12.6 percent CAGR.

For 2023, CRN has assembled the MSP 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.

In their applications for this year’s list, MSPs answered a number of questions about their businesses and their outlook for 2023, including what emerging technology areas they see as presenting the biggest opportunities. We have included their answers on the following pages along with the previous years each MSP has been on the list.

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.

As part of the MSP 500 project, CRN is also developing a series of slide shows this week highlighting responses from some of the leading MSPs to such questions as what were the most significant changes their company made in the last year to drive success and which emerging technologiesthey see as the providing the biggest opportunities in 2023.