A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that takes over the day-to-day management of a customer's technology environment. This includes IT infrastructure monitoring, security management, cloud administration, backup and disaster recovery, and help desk support, all delivered remotely on a subscription basis.
MSPs operate on a recurring revenue model. Instead of project-based billing, they charge monthly or annual fees for ongoing management. This aligns their incentives with the customer: fewer problems mean lower costs for the MSP and better uptime for the customer.
For technology vendors, MSPs are a powerful channel because they control their customers' technology stack. When an MSP recommends a vendor's product, that recommendation carries weight because the MSP will be the one implementing and managing it. MSPs prioritize tools that are easy to deploy at scale and generate reliable margins.
The MSP market has consolidated significantly. Small break-fix IT shops have given way to larger managed services firms that offer security operations (MSSP), cloud management, and compliance services alongside traditional IT support.
Vendor-MSP partnerships require different program structures than traditional reseller programs. MSPs need multi-tenant management tools, aggregate billing, and per-device or per-user pricing models. Vendors that make it easy for MSPs to deploy and manage their product across hundreds of client environments win MSP loyalty.