{"id":30339,"date":"2022-03-16T16:14:44","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T16:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/?p=30339"},"modified":"2022-03-16T16:14:44","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T16:14:44","slug":"why-msp-needs-business-roadmap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/it\/blog\/why-msp-needs-business-roadmap","title":{"rendered":"Four Reasons Why Your MSP Needs to Have a Business Roadmap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here at N‑able, we have identified three key market segments that today\u2019s MSPs fall into: Emerging Market, Growth Market, and Elite Market.<\/p>\n

What we are starting to see happening among these three tiers is a growing disparity developing where MSPs will need to make difficult decisions about the future and how they should be moving their business forward in the years to come. Unfortunately, if MSPs fail to address this growing market disparity, they are going to be left behind.<\/p>\n

In reviewing industry news, you have likely seen a fair bit of M&A activity<\/a> going on. ChannelE2E reported that in 2021 there were over 830 M&A deals that occurred and, as of January 2022, another 80+ deals have already been announced (source: www.ChannelE2E.com\/acquisitions<\/a>). Much of this M&A activity is being propelled by those MSPs who know where they want to take their business and who want to have a hand in shaping their own destiny. It is these MSPs that are actively engaged in the M&A activity today, and this is causing them to pull ahead of their closest competitors.<\/p>\n

So, what can MSPs do to help close this chasm that has been developing in the industry? Ultimately, MSPs need to focus on three key pillars of their practice to drive business excellence and help reduce this gap. This involves:<\/p>\n

1. Having a focus and a direction<\/h2>\n

As an example, if you don\u2019t have a center of excellence in terms of your direction\u2014i.e. if you don\u2019t have a business roadmap in place for your MSP that documents your priorities and your actionable plans\u2014you not be able to identify where new opportunities may lie for you in terms of future revenue and sales growth.<\/p>\n

2. Having your MSP structured in a way that drives efficiency<\/h2>\n

Looking at things from the efficiency side, how you will manage the scalability aspect as you grow? How will you manage your levels of profitability? What are your costs? Where are your cost outlays?<\/p>\n

Often while working with partners on their growth strategies<\/a>, I\u2019ll hear them say: \u201cThat\u2019s too expensive,\u201d or \u201cWe can\u2019t afford that,\u201d or \u201cWe don\u2019t have time for that.\u201d This is typically because they aren\u2019t running as efficiently as they should because they are lacking good automation and standardization processes within their MSP.<\/p>\n

3. Having a good understanding around what needs to be done to increase revenues and improve profitability levels to have sustained growth<\/h2>\n

The last pillar of excellence focuses on growth and all things sales. This requires you to analyze the growth trajectory your MSP is travelling and then assessing whether you are where you want to be today, and, if not, then why not? If you are finding that you are off course and not moving in the direction that you want to be, then you need to make plans to correct that. And that is where building a business roadmap for your MSP comes into play.<\/p>\n

Here are four key reasons why you should implement a roadmap for your MSP:<\/p>\n