IT procurement continues its rapid shift to a services-led model in the channel. Once again we present the annual CRN Managed Service Provider 500, the comprehensive list of managed service providers that are leading the way.
The demand for managed services shows no signs of slowing. Businesses and organizations continue to enlist MSPs and managed security service providers to meet their IT needs as they look for ways to reduce capital spending, accelerate business transformation initiatives and find a solution to the shortage of skilled IT workers.
Quickly gaining access to leading-edge information technologies is also a major driver of managed services adoption. That’s been especially true as the wave of new AI products and services sweep though the IT industry: Businesses, especially SMBs, are looking to MSPs to provide AI and its highly anticipated benefits, but without the expected complexity.
The global managed services market is forecast to grow from $365.33 billion in 2024 to $511.03 billion in 2029 at a CAGR of 6.9 percent, according to a report from researcher MarketsandMarkets. That includes managed IT infrastructure and data center services, managed network services, managed security services, managed communications and collaboration services, managed mobility and managed information.
CRN has assembled the 2025 Managed Service Provider 500, an annual list that recognizes North American MSPs and managed security service providers (MSSPs) that have proven track records of innovation and growth.
In their applications for this year’s list, MSP executives answered a number of questions about their businesses and their outlook for 2025, including the single most significant change their company made in the last year to drive success, what emerging technology areas they see as presenting the biggest opportunities, and what they anticipate will be the biggest challenge to their MSP business this year. We also asked what they see as the biggest opportunities in GenAI in 2025.
A sampling of their answers to these questions can be found in slideshows running on CRN.com through this week and answers from all MSP 500 companies can be found in their profiles.
The MSP 500 is organized into three categories. The MSP Elite 150 have an extensive managed services portfolio, including on-premises and off-premises capabilities, weighted toward midmarket and enterprise customers. The MSP Pioneer 250 have largely built their business model around providing managed services to SMB customers. And the Managed Security 100 spotlights MSPs with cloud-based security, services and expertise.
