By Vikas Bhonsle, CEO, Crayon Software Experts India
Over the years, the MSP solution market has matured well, and there is no shortage of similar solution stacks to choose from. Also, the solutions have increasingly become easier to maintain and are cost-efficient. But for an MSP, the competitive advantage of their product stack has also decreased. Hence, they should now focus on improving the quality of their services and align their offerings with the unique business challenges of the customers. With ever-changing market trends, it is important that MSPs keep track of new business needs, and accordingly update their stack of solutions. For 2022, here are four MSP industry trends that will impact their business.
1. Going the Cloud and Multicloud Way
Post-COVID, when workforces got scattered across locations, managing on-premises servers became increasingly difficult for enterprises. Thus, MSPs need to provide an array of different cloud services. Instead of going for local file servers, network shares and local AD environments, there are tons of cloud options that MSPs can offer to their customers. In place of local servers, for workloads such as custom applications and databases, MSPs must add cloud-based virtual machines in their stack of offerings.
Also, with different cloud providers coming into the market, companies can start thinking beyond a single provider. For example, some clients may already be integrated into Microsoft Azure AD and use Microsoft Azure as their main cloud provider, but others might need specific Amazon Web Services (AWS) offerings as well.
2. Managing Remote Workforce
Pandemic disrupted work operations for everyone. Workloads and operations were shifted to home offices. There was an instant requirement for VPNs, relocation of PCs, devices, web-meeting solution updates, and the need to support remote workers.
But that is old news. Enterprises are already making plans to return to work in some capacity. We have ushered into the hybrid model of work, where the remote workforce is predicted to rise to 300% of pre-COVID levels. Companies will need VPNs and remote desktop services for workforces as on-premises support sessions will not be possible. Companies are now looking to automate as many processes as possible. Many end-users will work from their desktops and laptops. MSPs can come with solutions that enable them for patch management and security policies for remote teams.
3. Managed Security Service Providers
There is a buzz that MSPs are increasingly becoming MSSPs (Managed Security Services Providers). With a raging cyber-pandemic going on, security services have taken a critical turn. It is expected that all MSPs will provide security solutions into their offerings and rethink their services, policies, and training to align to the new threat perimeters. That must include a standard security package for remote workers with antivirus software, a VPN for remote connection, multi-factor authentication, and a backup solution. MSPs can also provide SOC (Security Operation Centre) services to organizations that are not equipped internally to manage and monitor the entire security infrastructure of their business.
4. Prioritizing Business Continuity
Business Continuity has become a serious challenge for businesses after the pandemic arrived. With the constant threats of ransomware attacks and disruption caused due to remote work, several businesses are facing downtime issues. Here, MSPs must ensure that their customers and business prospects get the best of solutions that will ensure their business continuity and disaster recovery, even if they are under any ransomware attack, data breach, or system failure.
The last two years have prepped the industry for a new era of digitization, and 2022 will be about running the show with all the tried and tested solutions. Hence, the focus should be more on addressing the customer needs. MSPs should carefully research industry trends, redefine their offerings, sales, and marketing messaging to target the needs of the post-pandemic times.
