Presenting the 2019 MSP 501 EMEA Edition

The MSP 501 list is a ranking of the world’s finest managed service providers. The 2019 winners speak to the rapidly changing and evolving IT channel landscape we’re witnessing, and the wide, diverse range of business models and specialties our managed service provider (MSP) community serves.

Beginning in 2019 and moving into the next decade, the MSP 501 is placing greater emphasis on our international markets, applicants and channel constituencies.

First stop? EMEA.

Our goal in this report was to examine the MSP market from the EMEA 501ers’ point of view, providing insight on the services they offer compared to the global 501, how those services are priced and why, and market signals and shifts specific to the EMEA region.

This 2019 EMEA survey and report is intended to provide a snapshot of the major dynamics at play in EMEA.

In terms of pricing strategy and its impact on growth compared to the full list of MSP 501 winners, 501ers in EMEA are charging more per user, per month ($135 for EMEA compared with $116 for the full 501) and far less for everything else. EMEA 501ers, on average, charge less per device, smartphone, tablet, PC and server management.

We’ve seen this dynamic play out in other industries around the world, and in the IT channel in North America. Less mature markets will always compete on price, figuring that the customer will grant the sale to the business that gets them the lowest number on their monthly invoices.

But we can’t just look at outward-facing operations to determine the health of a market or business. We have to look internally, too. One indicator of market sophistication and operational efficiency is revenue per employee.

When we compared the revenue per employee for the EMEA and broader 501 demographics, we found that EMEA partners make less than 30% of revenue per employee than the broader 501 demographic. In 2018, the full MSP 501 clocked in at $382,656 per employee, with EMEA trailing at a shocking $108,494.

In terms of biggest growth areas in 2019, cloud migration was at the top for both groups, but there was quite a discrepancy, with EMEA at 78% and the 501 at 62%. This can often mean that a region is playing catch-up, or, on the flip side, they are ahead of the migration curve. While the EMEA winners might have some work to do around internal processes, some of their technology offerings are actually significantly ahead of their global counterparts.

When it comes to tech surrounding data, EMEA partners have a much higher bar to meet.

“I think EMEA is ahead of the curve here,” said Dave Sobel, longtime channel veteran who today is host of the news and commentary podcast “Business of Tech” and co-host of the “Killing IT” podcast on MSP Radio. “Regulation in the EU is far more established around data ownership and privacy, and thus companies have much clearer expectations and definitions. Moving data into the cloud is more well defined, which allows the market to move even faster.”

The opportunity for the EMEA market, which is indeed ahead of the curve in a lot of ways, is significant. While the EMEA winners might have some work to do around internal processes, some of their technology offerings are actually significantly ahead of their global counterparts. With that, we are pleased to present the Channel Futures MSP 501 2019 EMEA Survey & Report.