SMEs Demand More From MSPs — Especially in Security

SMEs are starting to demand more from their MSP partners, according to a new study by JumpCloud.

More than three in four (76%) U.S. and U.K. SMEs rely on an MSP for at least some functions — the same figure as a year ago. However, over the next 12 months, 67% of SMEs say they’ll increase their MSP investment.

In the U.K., SMEs are particularly using MSPs for support for internal IT teams, a metric which has increased from 39% to 51%.

When asked about the results of working with an MSP, 56% of all the SME IT pros said MSPs improve security. Fifty-seven percent said MSPs increased their effectiveness at managing IT, and 37% said they saved money for their organization.

However, not all IT teams are eager to work with MSPs. For the 24% that don’t use an MSP, nearly half say it’s because they prefer to handle IT themselves (47%), and 39% say it’s because MSPs are too expensive.

Conversely, of all SMEs, including those that use MSPs, 39% have concerns about how MSPs manage security.

The main reason SMEs stopped working with an MSP was cost (28%). Next, they outgrew the MSP’s service offerings (26%), moved IT in-house (24%), or had a bad customer service or sales team experience (23%).

Security No. 1 Challenge for SMEs

Elsewhere, the report highlighted concerns around managing a diverse IT environment, shadow IT and the continued impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

“As cloud applications increase and AI use grows, IT teams want to mitigate risks by identifying and managing unauthorized apps and resources,” said the report. “Centralizing IT empowers admins to enforce security policies. They could also enforce access controls and data governance across their whole IT system.”

Security continues to be the No. 1 challenge facing IT teams as cyberattacks increase in both frequency and sophistication. Sixty percent of SMEs consider security the biggest IT challenge; yet, 49% of IT teams say that despite their best efforts, their organization lacks the resources and staffing to secure the organization against cybersecurity threats.