Kaseya’s Annual MSP Benchmark Survey Reveals Compliance Challenges, Remote Opportunities

Results from Kaseya’s 2022 MSP Benchmark Survey demonstrate the need for more security, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). The survey also uncovered the need for remote work support services, and integrated applications.

The survey, Kaseya’s 11th, includes data about the priorities, challenges and predictions of more than 1,200 MSPs across the globe. 

Kaseya’s Mike Puglia

“With COVID-19 continuing to affect everything from global logistics to the work environment, it’s no surprise that 76% of MSPs said the pandemic affected their ability to expand services within their customer base,” said Mike Puglia, chief strategy officer at Kaseya. “There’s an increased need for the security, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) and remote work support services that are driving revenue growth for MSPs, and we expect the demand for these services to continue in 2022 and beyond. Efficiency continues to be a top priority for MSPs, with more than half saying integration among core applications is either critical or very important to them.”

Pandemic Wanes, Opportunities Rise

The pandemic might be slowing down, but not the opportunities for MSPs, Puglia told Channel Futures. 

“As we expected, the survey shows that 76% of MSPs say COVID impacted their ability to expand services within their customer base,” said Puglia. “They saw an increase in demand for services around security, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). Efficiency also continues to be top-of-mind for MSPs. More than half say integration among core applications is critical, or very important, to them.”

Another key finding, according to Puglia — compliance concerns. Nearly three in four (74%) MSPs share that their SMB customers struggle to meet regulatory compliance requirements. In fact, 75% of respondents to the survey either offer, or show interest in offering, compliance services. Cybersecurity also remains a major concern. Almost half of MSPs reported that a significant portion of their customers experienced a cyberattack in the last year. 

“On the positive side, cybersecurity has also been a revenue driver,” said Puglia. “50 percent of MSPs review the threat landscape quarterly to add new service offerings for their organizations.”

Key Findings from the Survey — The Staples

• Compliance. This is increasingly becoming a pain point for providers. The ever-evolving compliance landscape has been a significant challenge for SMBs. Three in four (74%) MSPs said their customers struggle to meet regulatory compliance requirements. 75 percent of the MSP respondents either offer or are interested in offering compliance services. Naerly three in five (59%) have clients that were required to comply with HIPAA guidelines. This was followed by PCI DSS (41%) and GDPR (27%).
• Cybersecurity. Unsurprisingly, security remains top of mind of MSPs, and for good reason. Providers are feeling increasingly concerned about the cybersecurity landscape — one-half said their business is more at risk of cybercrime compared to one year ago. This is an 11% increase from 2021’s data. Of course the increased focus is justified. Almost half of MSPs reported that a significant portion of their clients fell victim to a cyberattack within the last 12 months. Though cybersecurity is a significant concern for MSPs, it has also been a revenue driver; the survey found that one-half of MSPs evaluate the threat landscape quarterly to add new services to their lineups.
• Remote work. This new way of working has provided a wealth of opportunities. The pandemic has permanently reshaped the work environment, with 22% of respondents stating that remote workforce setup was the top service requested by their clients — followed by cloud migration (21%) and business continuity (13%). Remote work is also a significant pain point for MSPs’ customers, with 36% of respondents selecting it as one of the top three IT problems for clients in 2022.
• MSPs value integrated solutions. Two in three (64%) MSPs said integration among core applications, including RMM, PSA and IT documentation software, is either critical or very important, with 78% stating that this integration helps drive profit.
• Supply chain issues and hiring. These are two major challenges MSPs expect to face in 2022. The lion’s share (92%) of MSPs have had supply chain issues impact their ability to sell solutions. One in five (19%) said hiring would be their primary challenge in 2022 — a 15% jump from 2021.
• Active incident response plans. These are still a major need for MSPs’ clients. Only 4% of respondents said that their entire client base has an active incident response plan. About half of the respondents reported that only one in four of their clients had an active incident response plan. Eight percent of MSPs stated that none of their clients had an incident response plan in place.
• Disaster recovery capabilities. Most MSPs are testing their capabilities, but frequency varies. IT professionals should test their disaster-recovery capabilities regularly. This is of course due to the increasing complexity of IT environments and the cyber threat landscape. Kaseya’s 2022 survey found 30% of MSPs simulate disaster recovery capabilities quarterly, 25% test annually and 9% test monthly — with 15% admitting that they never test.

To Buy or to Sell

In addition to the focus on key services for their SMB clients, many MSPs are actively surveying the landscape and assessing their readiness to buy or sell. Kaseya’s 2022 research found that nearly 36% of respondents plan to sell or acquire within the next two to three years.

“We hope these findings help MSPs as they assess their business priorities in the year ahead,” said Puglia. “Our research shows that MSPs have the ability to grow their monthly recurring revenue by solving client pain points around security, compliance and BCDR — and it’s most cost-effective to do this with an integrated single solution.”