Our friends @ Comptia have released their 5th Annual Trends in Managed Services Research Report which outlines some intersting metrics around the state of the industry.

Some things you will find in this report:

Section 1: Market Overview & MSP Demographics Section

2: MSP Internal Operations Section

3: Commercial Software Tools Usage Section

4: MSP Strategic Planning

Key Points

• Managed services comprises the second most popular business model in the channel today. Three in 10 respondents ranked managed services as the leading generator of revenue in the last 12 months, second to the 44% that cited IT solutions (e.g. projects with elements of hardware, software and services) as the No. 1 revenue source. This compares against a list of 12 other potential business model choices including VAR/reselling, IT support and help desk and consulting services.

• The market is also maturing. Forty-three percent of MSPs say they’ve been in the market for five years or more, with another 45% offering these services between two and five years. That leaves just 12% of MSPs that are less than two years old.

• Two thirds of respondents this year describe themselves as a skilled expert at managed services. That’s a big leap from CompTIA’s study in 2012, when 39% of MSPs described their acumen at that high level. And there’s more change from 2012 when 52% of respondents said their MSP skills were competent and getting better. In this year’s study, that number dropped to 33%, reflecting the jump in MSPs that now rate themselves full experts today.

• Half of respondents expect the managed services piece of their business to undergo high growth and comprise three quarters or more of total annual revenue. Another 45% said predicted that managed services dollars are increasing and will make up half or more of total revenue within the next two years.