Why Businesses Are Fed Up With MSPs And Top Tips to Win Back Their Trust

Due to the talent gap, MSPs are struggling to solve some of the major problems plaguing their clients, leading to a misalignment between potential value and actual benefits. This article discusses what MSPs are doing incorrectly, their biggest problems, and the best practices they can employ to win back customers. Continue reading.

Around 80% of businessesOpens a new window are so fed up with their managed service providers and cloud service providers (MSPs and CSPs) that they’re looking to fully replace these services within the next year.

So what went wrong? Five years ago, companies were moving in droves from on-site services to MSPs and CSPs as cloud, and mobile management became too much for internal teams to handle. How are these providers suddenly on the wrong side of business buying decisions?

Ultimately, it comes down to five key frustrations. Let’s break down each of the top five and explore what MSPs can do to get businesses back on board.

See More: 5 Ways for Enterprises to Manage Cloud Costs

The Present State of MSPs

MSPs offer marked benefits for businesses. By shifting the burden of cloud and service management — in whole or part — from local teams to off-site providers, companies can reduce total IT costsOpens a new window by 25-45% and increase efficiency by 45-65%. It’s no surprise that the global MSP market was worth more than $167 billion in 2021 and is predicted to nearly double in the next five years.

The challenge? With technology advancing at a breakneck pace, providers are struggling to keep up. Consider the skills gap. Over the past few years, IT skills gaps have increasedOpens a new window by 145% across departments, leaving businesses struggling to stay on pace with developments such as multi-cloud deployments and analytics-driven insights.

This same gap has also hit MSPs, in turn leaving them less equipped to address some of the key issues now affecting their customers and creating a disconnect between potential value and actual benefits.

The Top Five MSP Frustrations

When it comes to MSP frustrations, the top five look like this:

Inability to optimize cloud spend (60%)

First up is the inability to help companies optimize cloud spending. With cloud deployments quickly becoming more varied and complex, coupled with the increasing volume and velocity of data these clouds handle, managing cloud spend is critical for these services to deliver value. If MSPs can’t help companies optimize spending, they’re not doing their jobs.

Lacking multi-cloud options (58%)

Gone are the days of large-scale, one-size-fits-all cloud solutions. Now, companies are using a mix-and-match approach to cloud services that helps them make the most of what they have and sets the stage for streamlined deployment of new solutions. More than 50% of customers, however, report that their MSP offers limited (or non-existent) multi-cloud options.

Inadequate support for cloud automation (50%)

Automation is critical to managing complex services at scale. But with half of the providers unable to support cloud automation at scale, businesses are looking for alternative options to help them access the key benefits of automation, such as reduced data entry error rates, streamlined processes, and improved issue response.

Limited visibility into cloud spend (41%)

Companies can’t measure — or control — what they can’t see. This means that if MSPs can’t provide complete visibility into cloud spending across all instances, it’s simply not worth it for customers to stick around. Here, MSPs simply assuming that current spending remains constant is a good way for enterprises to exceed cloud budgets and put them on the path to finding another provider.

Missing spend remediation (24%)

Finally, businesses want an MSP that automatically identifies and modifies cloud spend inefficiencies. Without this function, companies are effectively doing all the heavy lifting themselves, effectively negating a key benefit of provider partnerships.

How MSPs Can Win Back Businesses

Despite this less-than-rosy picture, there’s also good news for MSPs. In fact, it’s better than good: It’s a golden opportunity.

Here’s why: It’s not that companies are fed up with MSPs and CSPs in general — they’re frustrated with their specific provider. Consider that 91% of enterprises still believe that MSPs increase overall agility, and 85% percent say these service providers make it easier to navigate digital transformation. Moreover, 82% believe that MSPs and CSPs reduce time to market for their customers, and 81% are confident that providers save them money.

The result? If MSPs can address and overcome the top five frustrations, they can position themselves as the go-to option for businesses. Data backs up the assertion: As many as 97% of businesses said they would pay a premium if a new MSP could solve current shortcomings, and 79% percent would be willing to pay 5% or more.

See More: Five Ways MSPs Can Build a Next-Gen Managed Security Practice

Following the best practices

In practice, becoming a provider of choice means listening to what companies want and then making it happen. For example, MSPs need to spend time and effort filling IT skills gaps to ensure they can manage multi-cloud at scale. They need to incorporate automation wherever possible to streamline key processes and add value wherever possible by aligning with market evolution and responding to specific customer requests.

The outcome of this effective frustration fighting is substantial: MSPs and CSPs attract new customers willing to pay a premium for best-of-breed service and solutions, and they can significantly reduce the risk of current customer churn.

According to CloudBolt Software, whose latest research report, Filling The Gap: Service Providers’ Increasingly Important Role in Multi-cloud/Multi-tool Success, revealed businesses’ frustrations with their MSPs, there is much that MSPs can do to win back the lost trust and thrive over the next few years. “Customers are telling them exactly what capabilities they need, and that they’re willing to pay a premium to get them,” said William Norton, cloudBolt’s MSP/CSP practice director.  

“Ultimately, it’s about filling the skills gaps, automating wherever possible, and adding more value at every turn. As the survey revealed, service providers able to offer what customers need most will experience a watershed moment where they significantly increase net-new business while profoundly reducing the risk of churn.”

This way, it’s a win-win for providers willing to do the work.

The questions businesses should ask their MSPs

Paul Brucciani, cyber security advisor, WithSecure, gave some suggestions for MSP buyers. He said that the buyers should look through what security controls they require of their MSP in order to be satisfied with their quality. To achieve so, here are some questions to ask: 

• Can you describe what security controls you have in place that are appropriate for processing personal data? 
• What evidence do you have that your security controls work as you intend? 
• How much control do you have over the infrastructure you use to deliver the service?
• What third parties are responsible for patching and maintaining these technologies? 
• How do you prioritize what software to patch? How do you proactively fix vulnerabilities in software apps? 
• Who will have access to the data? How can we be certain that the individuals delivering the service are competent and trustworthy? 
• What access restrictions exist to prevent unauthorized access to data? How would you know if they had been compromised?’

How do you think MSPs can win back the trust of their enterprise customers? Let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , Facebook,Opens a new window and TwitterOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!

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