You are not imagining it. It’s getting emotionally spongey out there for MSPs processing the current economy. In this blog and podcast, I document this assertion with “facts” from Canalys analyst Jay McBain and ConnectWise/Service Leadership EVP Peter Kujawa in his new research (stick with me and listen to our podcast about this matter).
First - Jay McBain’s take. His team has documented using their research methods. I really don’t curate content ala “copy and paste” but I do the old CTRL-C and CTRL-V this time ‘cause I couldn’t say it any better if I tried:
A concerning drop in channel partner sentiment over the past few months.
We were tracking a surge in partner optimism in 2024, with 64% in growth mode starting the year to 72% by the end of the year. Over 37% of the channel was growing by double-digits.
Fast forward to 2025, and partners in growth mode has shrunk to 49%.
The industry is poised to grow at 8.3% this year (to $5.4 trillion), and several partner-friendly elements are growing in double-digits such as managed services (13%), cybersecurity services (13%), and edge-friendly AI services (59%).
Are we starting to see a bifurcation of haves and have-nots in the channel?
Read the entire McBain post HERE!
Moving forward - A picture and a podcast are “worth a thousand words” when reviewing the 4Q2024 channel partner/MSP sentiment through the eyes of it being an election year based on the research of Peter Kujawa. The context in this slide below is much broader than just the November 2024 fall elections. Every major election cycle, a lot of good business grinds to a cautious halt and then goodness returns after the election when folks fears wane and rationality return to “normal.” I saw this several times in my career. Watch my interview with Peter Kujawa HERE.
Our SMB Nation November 2016 Texas one-day workshop tour during election week.
Okay - lesson learned. Two SMB Nation teammates hit Dallas, Austin and Houston during the infamous election week. We way underperformed because the workshop attendance was really bad. Won’t do that again.
MSPs as election precinct workers. In the mid-2000s, one of pour SMB Nation teammates was politically active, which is a good thang from a participation point of view. However, I didn’t buy into his overreaching philosophy that MSPs and good old fashion computer people won’t attend events in the fiscal quarter leading up to an election cause they are too BUSY. Not sure our audience is that active doing that - I’d see that as other types such as senior citizen working polling places. But I appreciated this chap and his strong opinions. ;)
Channel Conversations
A leading $2B security stack company executive told me on his uber ride to the airport thathe is seeing a bifurcated market (that ten dollar word was used by McBain above - look it up). At the end of last year, its enterprise clients became nervous nellies. However they saw continued strength in its much smaller commercial channel business. Here’s the good news - his team is seeing a pick-up with March and April coming in like lions and not lambs.
Another buddy who serves MSPs with coaching and training services, shared it's been a desert out there the past few months. He’s helping a major OEM that just launched a multi-city one-day workshop tour and reports that the attendance has been strong.
And there you have it. Want more? Make CNBC, the business channel and site, a favorite and a bookmark.