The actual future of IT services from the data

Two pieces of market news today.

Gartner thinks IT spending will rise 4% this year, and specifically cites technology service providers are increasing prices due to a lack of IT talent and more competitive salaries. This is helping drive spending on IT services up 6.8% this year and 8.5% next year.  Gartner’s analysis of IT spending over the next two years demonstrates that the path toward digital transformation takes longer than two years, with IT spending rising and forecasted to rise significantly in each year since the pandemic.   companies are channeling cash where they can ease operational constraints and boost cash flow.

Information Services Group’s report says similar stuff – The global market for IT and business services grew at its fastest rate ever in 2021.  Quoting venture beat,

A key takeaway from the study is that Managed Service Providers (MSPs) face a market of bountiful opportunities, but must prepare for this growth by embracing complex technologies like hybrid cloud management, root cause analysis and automation.

OpsRamp also asked MSPs to name just one technology that would get the most traction in 2022. Managed cloud services and managed network services tied for the top spot, each garnering 20% of responses, outpacing managed security services at 16%. IT infrastructure monitoring was the clear winner for the most critical technology needed to manage delivery of those services, selected by 55% of respondents, followed by network performance monitoring at 47%.

This would normally be my lead story – I knew the audience can’t resist the Datto story, but these data points are more important.  

Listen to what the survey said – while respondents said that IT infrastructure monitoring is the most important technology, the key takeway is that hybrid cloud management, root cause analysis and automation are the needs.

In the deal we talked about before, I’d argue that root cause analysis isn’t in there, hybrid cloud management barely is, and only automation is a core expertise.

Rather than spend time looking at the past, spend time looking to the future, and addressing the real needs ahead.   That’s why we care.