HTG Peer Groups: Larger MSPs Sit Down At New Table

Scores of managed services providers (MSPs) participate in HTG Peer Groups to discuss business, financial and personal development strategies. The typical MSP within HTG has about 15 employees, I believe. But now, HTG has launched a new peer group — called IT Nation 50 Group 1 HTG50+ powered by IT Nation. It’s designed for MSPs with 50 employees or more. Take a closer look and you might spot the next evolution of the SMB managed services market.

Of course, MSPs with 50 employees are small businesses. But many of those 50-person MSPs are big successes compared to thousands of resellers, VARs and aspiring MSPs that are still cutting their teeth in the recurring revenue market. No doubt, the 50-person MSPs will continue to mentor their smaller industry peers. But HTG’s new IT Nation 50 Group 1 HTG50+ powered by IT Nation offers larger MSPs the opportunity to sit with CEOs who run similarly sized businesses. During quarterly HTG meetings, I suspect the IT Nation Group 1 CEOs will spend considerable time discussing business models, organizational issues and scaling questions.

Plus, I suspect hardware and software vendors will watch IT Nation 50 Group 1’s HTG50+ powered by IT Nation’s progress very closely. Chief among them: ConnectWise, the PSA (professional services automation) software provider. CEO Arnie Bellini evangelizes the IT Nation term as a catch-all for VARs, MSPs and IT service providers working within the IT channel. ConnectWise even renamed its annual partner summit as IT Nation. Also, HTG members use ConnectWise’s software to ensure standardized reporting and financial discussions during quarterly HTG meetings.

With all those factoids in mind, I suspect ConnectWise is trying to spot new market segment opportunities for small and midsize MSPs. Likewise, it’s safe to say vendors that sell slightly more sophisticated IT products will seek to engage HTG’s IT Nation 50 Group 1 the HTG50+ powered by IT Nation group. The big question, which I still need to ask HTG Founder Arlin Sorensen: How long until IT Nation HTG50+ powered by IT Nation Group 2, Group 3… and so on?

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