It’s official! There are 11,492 managed service providers in the UK

The MSP market consists of an estimated 11,492 active providers, it found.

These firms generate annual combined revenue from managed services activity of £52.6bn, the study concluded.

The sector employs an estimated 294,340 full-time employees, it added.

Conducted by Perspective Economics (with data support from glass.ai) between June and September 2023, the study takes a wide view of managed services, lumping in international IT services and outsourcing goliaths with micro-businesses providing IT support to a small local clientele.

The study’s definition of managed services aligns with that outlined in the Government’s response to the call for views on proposals to improve the UKs cyber resilience. Namely, that MSPs are entities that provide:

• A service which is provided by one business to another business (i.e a third party) and,
• A service which is related to the provision of IT services such as systems, infrastructure, networks and applications , and/or the security thereof and,
• A service which relies on the use of network and information systems, whether these are of the provider, their customers or a third party’s and,  
• A service which provides regular and ongoing management support, active administration and/or monitoring of IT systems, IT infrastructure, applications and/or IT networks, and/or the security thereof.

UK MSPs have achieved an annual growth rate of 12% over the last five years, the study claimed.

Large MSPs account for just 4% of firms but generate 74% (£38.8bn) of total estimated revenue, the study found.

Mid-sized MSPs made up 9% of firms but generated 16% (£8.4bn) of total estimated revenues. Small and micro MSPs made up 28% and 59% of firms, respectively, but generated just 10% of total revenues, according to the research.