Network Depot LLC, ranked No. 75 in last year’s MSPmentor 100 survey, is transforming itself into a Master MSP. The company has introduced a hosted Kaseya platform, known as Virtual Administrator, that small VARs can leverage.
Hosting managed services for other VARs is part of a growing trend across the MSP landscape. But in addition to offering new revenue opportunities, becoming a Master MSP also involves some challenges.
The Upside
First, the good news: Roughly 15 percent of the MSPs that have completed our current MSPmentor 100 survey (yes, you can participate too) are hosting services for peer VARs. That suggests a growing level of trust between MSPs and VARs — which should lead to more reliable, more comprehensive solutions for customers.
Also, Master MSPs can scale their business quickly by sitting closer to the top of the managed services pyramid. Revenue from VARs — who, in turn, collect monthly fees from end-customers — flows in every month.
The Master MSP model has attacted some rather innovative competitors — including smaller firms like Do IT Smarter and MSPSN, and larger organizations like Ingram Micro’s Seismic team. Other key Master MSPs include ATS Managed Services; Brookland Computer Services of Surry, England; and NetEnrich.
The Challenges
Still, the Master MSP market is getting crowded.
- Dell is moving in and plans to offer hosted Silverback, Everdream and perhaps even MessageOne services to VARs and MSPs.
- Startups such as MSP Warehouse (from the folks who launched Secure My Company) are quietly formulating comprehensive hosting strategies.
- And MSP platform providers themselves are introducing complementary managed services to assist their VAR and MSP partners. A prime example is Kaseya’s NOC Assist effort.
It’s still early in the Master MSP game. But I sense we’ll reach some sort of critical mass in the next 18 months or so, with an industry shakeout to follow.
When I hear about Master MSPs, I’m reminded of Yogi Berra’s famous quote about a St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Similarly, I sense the Master MSP market will fill up fast, too. But it’s hard to argue with the upside for getting in the market now.
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Posted In: Finance | Sales | Service Level Agreements
Tags: ATS Managed Services | Brookland Computer Services | Dell Everdream | Dell managed services | Dell MessageOne | Dell Silverback | Do IT Smarter | Hosted Managed Services | Ingram Micro Seismic | Master MSP | MSP Warehouse | MSPmentor | MSPSN | NetEnrich | Network Depot LLC | Secure My Company
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Joe, are you seeing any master msps pop up outside of the US? I’m wondering how things are trending outside of north america.
Rich S: Brookland Computer Services (Surry, England) seems to have considerable momentum. I will also be in Australia Oct. 27-31 speaking at three separate MSP conferences, and I’ll be sure to investigate whether the Master MSP model is taking hold there.
This will be interesting to watch. Leading office stationary supplier Staples too is entering the managed services market, and with billions of dollars of potential business this market will attract some big giants. Tomorrow it could be Google may be. You never know.
Prakash: Great to hear from you. Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot and other big box retailers all have their eyes on this market. But I think we’ll see some clear categories emerge. Some potential segments:
1. MSPs serving SMBs
2. Large service providers targeting enterprises
3. Vendors pushing direct to enterprises
4. Vendors struggling to balance direct vs. indirect to SMBs
5. Cloud companies like Google, Amazon sorting out their strategies
6. Open source SaaS providers disrupting many segments
7. Big box retailers providing break-fix on site service. But I don’t think they will succeed with remote managed services. Personally, i wouldn’t trust my small biz to a big box retailer.