MSP Market Size in 2025: What the Numbers Really Mean

People ask me all the time how big the managed services market actually is.

It’s a fair question. Everyone throws around numbers, but when you dig into the data, the story gets more interesting—and a lot smaller than most people expect.

The Big Picture

In 2024, global IT services spending was roughly $1.5 trillion.

That includes everything from project work and cloud services to outsourcing and managed operations.

Out of that total, managed services accounted for around $441 billion, and by 2025, that figure has likely passed $500 billion.

Here’s how the growth breaks down:

• Global IT services growth: roughly 7–9% per year

• Managed services growth: around 11–14% per year

Managed services have outpaced general IT growth for well over a decade, and that trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

What’s Driving the Growth

A few core forces are pushing this market forward:

• Cybersecurity: Every business depends on digital infrastructure, which means protecting that infrastructure is now mission critical.

• Cloud adoption: More workloads move off-premise each year, fueling recurring revenue for MSPs.

• AI infrastructure: The rise of AI is creating massive demand for compute, storage, and energy—areas that MSPs are uniquely positioned to support.

Each of these factors adds momentum to a market that’s already expanding faster than most other areas of IT.

How Many MSPs Are Out There?

Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 companies worldwide calling themselves MSPs.

But that number doesn’t tell the full story.

When you apply any kind of maturity model or consistent definition, the number of truly credible, established MSPs drops sharply.

• Estimated total “MSPs”: 150,000–200,000

• Estimated mature/certifiable MSPs: 5,000–10,000

That means only a small percentage of providers are actually equipped to meet enterprise or regulated-market expectations.

And it’s exactly why there’s more demand for managed services than there are capable MSPs to deliver them.

Why Definitions Matter

Part of the problem is that there’s no licensing body for managed services.

If you want to practice medicine or law, you need credentials.

If you want to call yourself an MSP, you just need a website.

That lack of structure makes it hard to get accurate numbers and easy for the term “MSP” to lose meaning.

That’s why frameworks like the Unified Certification Standard (UCS) and programs like MSP Verify exist.

They give the industry measurable criteria—proof that a company actually runs like a professional service provider.

When MSPs follow those standards, you can finally compare providers and market data on an even playing field.

The Divide in the Market

We’re starting to see two clear groups form:

1. Certified and mature MSPs

• Follow control-based frameworks

• Document processes and prove compliance

• Win most of the growth and regulated business

2. Non-certified or early-stage providers

• Lack consistent standards or reporting

• Operate with limited transparency

• Are slowly getting locked out of higher-trust markets

The difference between these two segments is widening every year.

Regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and defense are already requiring proof of maturity before signing contracts—and cyber insurers are following the same pattern.

Where the Market Is Heading

If you’re modeling forward, here’s what’s realistic over the next couple years:

• Revenue growth: high single digits for total IT services, low-teens for managed services.

• Market share shift: mature, verified MSPs continue to absorb more of the total spend.

• Consolidation: smaller or non-compliant providers will need to evolve, merge, or risk being left behind.

The total addressable market isn’t shrinking—if anything, it’s expanding—but the share of qualified players controlling it is getting smaller and stronger.

What This Means for MSPs

If you’re running an MSP today, the opportunity is enormous—but it’s also competitive.

Here’s what matters now:

• Transparency: Be able to show clients how your business operates.

• Documentation: Keep records for processes, contracts, and security controls.

• Verification: Third-party certification builds trust and opens doors to new sectors.

Certification isn’t just a marketing tool. It’s a signal to buyers that your organization is mature, secure, and ready for long-term partnerships.

Quick Takeaways

• The global MSP market is about $500 billion and growing at 11–14% annually.

• There are likely 150k–200k companies calling themselves MSPs—but only 5k–10k meet a verifiable maturity level.

• Demand for trusted, certified providers far exceeds supply.

• Growth is being driven by cybersecurity, cloud expansion, and AI infrastructure.

• The future belongs to MSPs that can prove their competence, not just claim it.

Final Thoughts

The managed services industry is strong, expanding, and becoming more essential every year.

But its real value—and its real size—depends on one thing: maturity.

As more organizations adopt standards, verify their controls, and operate transparently, we’ll start seeing more reliable data, stronger trust, and better outcomes for everyone involved.

That’s the story behind MSP market size.

It’s not just about how much revenue is out there—it’s about who’s truly capable of earning it.