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Managed IT services made significant advancements in 2017. Considering these advancements, we can predict a few trends that will shape the industry going forward. Here are some of those trends that you can expect this year, and how they will affect your business.

Cyber attacks are increasing and SMBs are the main target

Cyber attacks such as ransomware attacks are on the rise. In fact, ransomware attacks increased by 36% in 2017. Most of the breaches that are featured in the media are those affecting larger enterprises. However, since these large companies usually have large budgets for data security, they are able to invest heavily into cybersecurity to close any loopholes. Attackers are therefore shifting their attention to easier targets, with lesser security, namely SMBs.

SMBs are much more likely to have security loopholes, which makes them an easier target for attackers. Managed service providers (MSPs) should therefore look to provide SMBs with the adequate tools for enterprise-level protection within the SMB budget.

Smaller, local MSPs are increasingly getting acquired

There was an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions of managed service providers in 2017. “Big box” service providers are entering the U.S. market and absorbing similar smaller branches in local areas. Customers are therefore worried whether they will receive the same high-quality service that they did from the smaller local providers. It is therefore important for regional providers to show customers they can compete with the larger providers by offering a high level of service quality.

Data security and cybersecurity are becoming synonymous

The risks to cybersecurity and data security have always been distinct. However, cybersecurity and data security are increasingly becoming part of the same conversation and are getting highly integrated. The protections required for both remain the same — robust backup and recovery plans, antivirus and anti-malware protection, and disaster recovery.

There is an increasing shift to AI, IoT, and the Cloud

Cloud technology has been increasingly adopted by businesses worldwide, and MSPs must be able to provide cloud-based services. Further, both AI and IoT are considered extremely powerful tools that businesses are starting to adopt. IT service providers therefore must be able to integrate these technologies or partner with other industry experts in order to provide customers with this option.

Security as a service is gaining popularity

A recent survey by SolarWinds showed that up to 60% of enterprise respondents were handling security measures internally — completely or in part — but over 80% of these respondents were planning to switch to an outsourced model during the next year. It is very expensive to hire internal security resources and the pool of security talent is very small, especially for smaller businesses. Here’s where managed security service providers can step in.

When it comes to managed service provider trends, there is no question that things are changing. If you are concerned with your MSP being unable to keep up, now may be a good time to make a change.