Only 30 per cent of SMBs in the United States outsource their IT, according to a new report from Datto, and managed services providers carry a Net Promoter Score of 18, which puts them near the bottom of comparable industries.
Datto’s SMB Market Report for MSPs released earlier this month points to a somewhat satisfied SMB market in the U.S. when it comes to outsourcing IT, despite internal IT efforts in those SMBs garnering mixed satisfaction scores as well. Only 35 per cent of SMBs are completely satisfied with their internal IT, a clear opportunity for MSPs to flex their muscles and make a case for outsourced IT. But when an SMB does completely outsource IT, only 40 per cent are completely satisfied by those efforts. In a co-managed scenario between the MSP and SMB, the satisfaction rates improve a little as 45 per cent of SMBs report feeling completely satisfied by the strategy.
It’s about more than products
Most of the U.S. market is seeking help well-beyond basic product decisions. More than 70 per cent of SMBs want MSPs to drive the IT strategy of their business, and when their IT provider recommends a service, 82 per cent of them believe MSPs are truly trying to help protect their business.
SMBs cited cost as the number one factor driving their buying decision. However, Datto says when SMBs were asked to choose between cost and other factors in subsequent studies, cost fell to the middle of the list.
Security – duh
Security issues, technical support and maintenance, and the complexity of IT are the top challenges for today’s SMBs. The Datto report confirms this – nearly 80 per cent of SMBs cited security and technical support and maintenance challenges as their top technology challenges.
Also, nearly 75 per cent of SMBs reported that cybersecurity was going to be the top technology trend most important for their business three years from now.
