Survey: More Managed Service Providers Managing Endpoints

It appears that endpoint management has become an important point of emphasis among managed service providers (MSP). A recent survey conducted by Decision Tree Labs on behalf of Autotask, the 2015 Managed Services Market Study, asked over 1,800 MSPs about their business. Sixty-two percent currently manage anywhere from 100 to 2,500 endpoints. Over half of those surveyed will put more emphasis on managing endpoints moving forward. More than 80 percent used remote monitoring and management (RMM) solutions.

East Greenbush, New York-based Autotask Corporation develops cloud-based solutions for IT business and endpoint management. According to its site, the Autotask Cloud Platform (ACP) has several features that make it a reliable solution. Data is protected through 256-bit TLS 1.2 encryption and by setting up a separate database for each customer. Hardware, power, and data connections are redundant to prevent a single point of failure from bringing the IT system down. Autotask also states that it subjects itself to third-party audits to comply with SSAE 16 Type II certification.

Not surprisingly, managed services are the top revenue producer for MSPs. A total of 55 percent of MSPs stated that managed services accounts for at least half of their revenue. Three quarters of MSPs intend to grow their managed services in order to increase revenue. The top three services for MSPs in terms of revenue potential ordered from the top first are backup and recovery, security, and office and productivity apps.

In terms of what the clients of MSPs want, the survey found that while cost was important, it was not the most important. The five top factors in retaining customers were quality of service, having a good relationship, being a trusted adviser, providing a single point of contact and finally, the cost of the service.

The survey seems to paint a bright future for MSPs and agrees with other surveys indicating profitability in cloud technology. It’s no surprise that quality was the top factor in retaining a customer. If a company is going to outsource its IT resources to a provider, that service must be reliable and secure. In other words, it must function from a remote site without appearing to do so.