ISG Report Observes Challenges and Opportunities COVID-19 Presents to MSPs

By Tracey E. Schelmetic

It’s not news to anyone that COVID-19 have played a major role in a disruption of the growth of digital services in the U.S. this year. Many enterprises have seen their long term-goals knocked off course and have been forced change their priorities and look toward a more risky future that will require greater agility, according to a new research report published by Information Services Group (ISG). It might, however, also present new opportunities.

ISG’s “2020 ISG Provider Lens Digital Business – Solutions and Service Partners” report for the U.S. found that although managed services spending fell in the second quarter as the pandemic took hold, enterprises continued to invest in ongoing digital transformation efforts this year and even accelerated them to adapt to the new conditions.

“Projects that were supposed to take two years were compressed into two months,” said Jan Erik Aase, director and global leader for ISG Provider Lens Research. “Companies know that digital transformation can help them respond to disruptions, whether they are caused by health crises, political uncertainty or market fluctuations.”

According to the report, the pandemic has caused many enterprises to shift their focus from growth to sustainability and cost-cutting, as well as to technologies such as remote collaboration for the new reality of work. The drive to adopt digital business solutions is more powerful than the macroeconomic challenges that companies are currently facing, and enterprises that have already embarked on this transformation journey may recover from the current crisis more quickly, ISG said.

Indeed, new opportunities have arisen from the challenges, and are being seized with the help of the cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). U.S. enterprises have begun concerted efforts to reimagine the experiences of customers, employees and suppliers amid changing market dynamics and working conditions, the report noted.

To learn more about how managed service providers (MSPs) can bolster your company’s agility in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, make plans to attend MSPEXPO, part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW series. MSPEXPO has been designed to help service providers understand how they can drive more recurring revenue, increase the valuation of their companies, grow their networks and deliver better customer service. It will also help companies looking for MSP partners to understand how MSPs can help them grow. 


Edited by Maurice Nagle
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

MSPToday Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Free Ticketing Is Lowering the Barrier to Building a Professional MSP

By: Erik Linask    8/4/2026

Free ticketing and entry-level IT management tools are helping small and startup MSPs organize support, automate service workflows, and build more pro…

Read More

Putting Expert Network Troubleshooting in Every Technician's Hands

By: Erik Linask    7/28/2026

Giving field technicians step-by-step network troubleshooting guidance can help MSPs reduce escalations, shorten resolution times, avoid repeat truck …

Read More

5 Strategies for Advising on AI System Security

By: Contributing Writer    7/28/2026

Managed service providers (MSPs) face a complex challenge as their clients rapidly adopt artificial intelligence systems. These AI implementations exp…

Read More

AI for Security Infrastructure: Rebalancing Cybersecurity for the Decade Ahead

By: Special Guest    7/27/2026

AI-powered cybersecurity infrastructure can help security architects detect configuration drift, optimize existing controls, reduce exposure, and shif…

Read More

Why DNS Security and Threat Detection Need to Work Together

By: Erik Linask    7/21/2026

DNSFilter and Blumira have launched a native integration that combines predictive DNS threat blocking with continuous security monitoring to help orga…

Read More