Research on how managed services businesses work and change.
Managed service providers sit between technology vendors and the organisations that depend on technology every day. We study that layer directly: its economics, operating model, routes to market, workforce, technology adoption and changing role in the digital economy.
Six questions underneath most MSP decisions.
The themes below are deliberately broad enough to matter for years, but specific enough to produce testable questions, recurring datasets and useful practitioner outputs.
What makes an MSP economically durable?
Pricing, gross margin, service mix, customer concentration, scale thresholds, M&A and the relationship between recurring revenue and delivery effort.
How do MSPs win and retain customers?
Referrals, search, AI-mediated discovery, marketplaces, partnerships, vertical positioning, sales efficiency and proof of value.
Where does AI change the operating model?
Service desk automation, technician productivity, new managed-AI services, governance, pricing and the gap between customer demand and monetisation.
How do upstream platforms shape MSP choices?
Cloud marketplaces, security platforms, RMM/PSA vendors, distribution, channel programmes, incentives and concentration risk.
Which skills become more valuable?
Technician shortages, automation, leadership transitions, apprenticeships, specialist roles and how service organisations redesign work.
What happens when MSPs become critical infrastructure?
Cybersecurity, supply-chain risk, buyer due diligence, regulatory exposure, incident responsibilities and the resilience of smaller providers.
AI-mediated discoverability of MSPs
When a buyer asks an AI system, marketplace or search engine for a shortlist, the intermediary increasingly shapes which providers enter consideration. We are studying that transition from the MSP side and, over time, through repeated observation of recommendation systems.
Open the programme →A recurring view from MSP operators.
One-off surveys are useful; longitudinal evidence is better. The Global MSP Research Panel is designed to ask the same population short questions over time, then return useful findings to the people contributing.
Short pulse questions
Customer demand, pricing pressure, vendor relationships, hiring, AI adoption, service mix and other issues where direction matters.
Interviews when depth matters
Not every question belongs in a survey. We use practitioner interviews and small-group discussion where context matters more than a percentage.
Findings come back
Panel members receive summaries and early briefings rather than disappearing into a database after contributing.
Different questions need different outputs.
We do not force every useful finding into a 40-page PDF. Research should be as rigorous as the question requires and as usable as the audience needs.
Deep evidence
Methods, findings, limitations, sources and implications.
One finding
A smaller question or time-sensitive observation with enough method to interpret it.
Repeated measures
Comparable data tracked across time, segments or regions.
What to do with it
The implications translated for operators without pretending advice is a research result.