This week's news of mindSHIFT's purchase of ORBIT prompted a few thoughts about our industry and its future. While the deal continues mindSHIFT's expansion through acquisition (following close on the heels of their purchase of Alpheon) it signifies a few important trends that MSPs should be aware of moving forward.
1) MSPAlliance accredited MSPs are either making headlines by acquiring other companies or they are bucking the trends and merging or selling for solid valuations. In the case of buyers these proven MSP operators possess the natural resources (like HR, employment benefits, proven track record of service capability, scalability, etc) along with the financial muscle required to be competitive buyers. Companies like HEIT, mindSHIFT, and ClearPointe fit this profile.
On the sell side we've seen MSPAlliance accredited companies like Do IT Smarter, The IT Pros, O-Tec, Alpheon, Invision, AimNet Solutions, and others receive very respectable valuations (compared to deals where the companies where forced to sell due to a variety of pressures).
2) MSPs either must be growing or they are falling behind...there is no treading water in this market. We have reached a point in our profession where MSPs need to be solidifying their market positions or they will soon find they are becoming irrelevant.
It is not enough to simply get by in today's competitive managed services marketplace. The technology and threats are coming at break neck speed and are changing just as fast. Simply put, there is no longer the luxury to just wait and see. In the words of Yoda "do or do not, there is no try."
3) Good MSPs are finding each other. While I don't believe the market is truly consolidating, the proven MSP operators are definitely seeking one another to aggressively accelerate their service offerings and market presence.
The time has come to really evaluate where your future path is in managed services. What I mean by that is you have to have a plan for the coming 12-24 months. Not having a plan or neglecting to put any thought into it could leave you treading water in the middle of a very large ocean.
