It's that time of the year again as we reflect on the year past and turn our attention to the year ahead. The cloud and managed services profession has witnessed some amazing things in 2013 and 2014 is shaping up to be another record year of growth. So, what are some of the things MSPAlliance is tracking and predicting for 2014? Here is our list.
Private Cloud Increases in Demand
Cloud has been popular for a while now, but 2014 will see a sharp increase in the demand for private and hybrid cloud solutions. Naturally, there will be a continued increase in the divide between those MSPs who can deliver private/hybrid cloud solutions and those only playing in the public cloud arena.
Private Cloud Becomes More Affordable
As demand increases for private/hybrid cloud solutions, so will the pressure to bring costs down. MSPs are already facing customers who want these solutions; 2014 will be the year when vendors (including the distributors) will play a more hands on role in helping equip and finance MSPs with private cloud essentials.
"Born in the cloud" service providers face M&A consolidation
2013 saw significant M&A activity but non of it we can call "consolidation". 2014, however, will see consolidation driven M&A activity, particularly around the more commodity based cloud service providers, especially those designated as "born in the cloud."
PSA/Storage M&A
Just like the RMM community saw its own M&A activity, other vendor groups like PSA and storage will likely also see M&A pressure in 2014. The reason for this M&A activity will include a) need for technical innovation, b) pressure from larger public cloud storage vendors, and c) demand for acquiring pre-existing MSP channels.
Service Provider Transparency
Customers today are now on their fourth or fifth managed service provider relationship; that's how long managed services have been in existence. With maturity comes knowledge and awareness and customers are becoming more capable when it comes to questioning MSPs about their capabilities. MSPs need to become more transparent in their operations, including better documentation and willingness to share that transparency with clients.
