Daniel BergThere’s no denying the evolution of technology. With businesses sometimes having a hard time keeping up with this fast-paced advancement, managed service providers (MSPs) have become a critical part of modern business’s information technology (IT) environments.
The managed IT services industry will grow further over the coming years. The need to effectively manage business infrastructure and improve overall business efficiencies will likely influence its growth. Statistics show that the managed IT services industry could reach USD1.8 trillion this year.
That said, the industry only continues to evolve as new trends and innovations emerge to meet the advancing needs of clients. This article will share some of the biggest tech trends and innovations shaping the managed IT services industry today.
1. Security-First Thinking
The past few years have seen unprecedented cyber threats and attacks as hackers and cybercriminals took full advantage of the influx of people working from home on unsecure mobile devices and computers. From phishing scams to brute force attacks, a significant number of businesses experienced data breaches.
Hence, cybersecurity has become a significant concern shaping the IT industry. Managed IT services are responding by adopting security-first thinking in providing support and services to their clients. Besides safeguarding their clients, MSPs like AT-NET at expertip.net are expected to equip themselves with advanced cybersecurity protection while ensuring mandatory training to expand their team’s security skillsets.
In addition, MSPs will play a critical role in ensuring their clients’ new hybrid and remote work environments are fully secured and protected. There’s also an increasing demand for mobile device security expertise as businesses operate with a distributed workforce that relies heavily on mobile devices.
2. Automating Everything (Almost)
Automation isn’t new but only continues to influence the daily processes of managed IT services and how they provide services. After all, the modern business industry, as a whole, is being revolutionized by automation.
Organizations can reduce mundane, repetitive tasks like scheduling and data migration with automation. Thanks to simple rule-based automated tasks, IT teams are becoming more efficient, reducing human error, boosting resolution time, and saving manpower for the more critical tasks.
Likewise, MSPs offering automation services significantly benefit business functions that maximize business profitability.
3. The Rise Of Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS)
The managed IT service for small business industry has seen numerous ‘as-a-service’ models. Another emerging model today is the IaaS. In this model, the MSP hosts the infrastructure elements typically present in an on-premises data center. With this service, you’ll see software and hardware, servers, storage, and networking components, including a virtualization layer to help clients scale quickly to meet demands.
Besides, MSPs offering IaaS have also helped clients cut costs, improve service levels for the end-users, and reduce the time spent handling and managing in-house IT infrastructure. They also help reduce the wait times for hardware and other components and on-site support.
Additionally, the subscription-based billing structure of this model also offers many advantages to clients in terms of security, scalability, and cost. Thus, expect to see more MSPs offering this service model as it gains more traction among businesses.
4. Combining Blockchain And Internet Of Things (IoT)
Blockchain and IoT are two of the most disruptive technologies in the managed IT industry. IoT helps connect devices over a network, enabling these devices to interact without human intervention. Meanwhile, blockchain is a distributed ledger, offering a highly scalable and decentralized environment for IoT devices, applications, and platforms.
With blockchain technology, managed IT service businesses can help specify the nature of communication between devices and monitor their state and processes. This helps enhance security, one of the biggest concerns of modern technology, while bringing much-needed transparency to the IoT ecosystem.
Moreover, applications such as smart contracts can improve IoT compliance while bringing significant improvements in IoT features, improving the technology’s cost-effectiveness and ultimately allowing both MSPs and their clients to stay relevant in the market.
5. Continuation Of MSP Consolidation
Global investors have an increasing interest in MSPs due to their growing demand. Thus, it’s expected that some MSPs may come together under one big umbrella as investors start shopping and buying the most successful firms.
Furthermore, we’re seeing larger MSPs acquiring smaller MSPs to accelerate their growth and help them enter new markets. Therefore, you should expect many MSPs to operate globally within the next few years.
Takeaway
These are only some of the biggest trends and innovations influencing the managed IT services sector. As technology continues to evolve, expect to see the same evolution in how MSPs run and provide IT support to businesses of all sizes and industries.
