There's A Broader Menu Of Service Options

Nearly three-quarters of the firms surveyed offer security, server management, storage, network management and desktop management as part of their catalogs, the survey found, and nearly all firms will continue or plan to offer them. That list is nearly identical to the top service offerings identified in the 2012 survey, although security and server management are the top two this year, CompTIA found.

But businesses want more advanced services from MSPs, such as cloud infrastructure management, application management and business process outsourcing, and many MSPs will have to find people with the right skills to fill that demand, or train employees, CompTIA concluded.

For example, security has become increasingly complicated over the last five years and requires new or upskilled talent, John Motazedi, CEO of SNC Squared, an 18-employee MSP in Joplin, Mo., told IT Best of Breed. If he can't find it, he may face the option of having to outsource some work to a third-party provider, but that cuts into his margins and impacts delivery times, he said.