Wait! What? It’s already the second half of 2023?!?! Not only is that true but the first half went very fast. So its time for my predictions before 2024 sneaks up on us (YIKES). These are in no particular order and I’d love your feedback (just hit reply to this newsletter).The categories are Economic Anxiety, Marketplaces, MSPs and AI, Events and Cybersecurity.
- Economic Anxiety. It was well over a year ago that the “R” talk started and I’m sure like you, I was giving that conversation “free rent” in my head. And rightfully so. The business coverage was extensive and there were opinions on all sides (there still are). I believe this is a rolling recession and some sectors have been impacted (houses in my area have fallen 15% or more as one development when from $700k new homes to now $600k prices). My prediction is that there will be NO MSP RECESSION during the balance of 2023. I’ll update this prediction as changes warrant.
- Marketplaces. At the recent Pax8 event in Denver and in the writings of Chief Analyst Jay McBain at Canalysis, the next six months will see even more emphasis on transactional marketplaces. See McBain’s “Top Trends for MSPs for the Remainder of 2023” contribution to Channel Futures where he talks about margins in marketplaces. One to watch: AppMeetup from long-time SMB Nation member Danny Suk Brown
- MSPs and AI. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an AI conversation. So how does it apply to MSPs? For the next six months, I see the primary application being MARKETING for MSPs. Why? Because community thought leader and visionary Herman Pool is at market with an MSP AI marketing tool called WordFaucet that generates MSP customer relevant content for emails, sales copy, etc.
- Events. It’s been great to meet in-person again and there is that “excitement” from events in the air. The RSA conference was a healthy 45K attendees at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco last Spring. In fact, it seems like the majority of successful events are focused on cybersecurity while other events are getting drowned out. You are invited to the MSP Rescue East Coast event (July 27, 2023) and reply to me to a discount coupon 😉 One to watch: Techcon Unplugged (September 7-10) that is co-hosted by well-known community member Paco Lebron with its organic flair!
- Cybersecurity. Finally, the elephant in the room: Cybersecurity for MSPs. Here yesterday, here today, here tomorrow. Interestingly you can often tell the health of a tech company in the Silicon Valley by the number of cars in the parking lot. With some mega layoffs are large cap stocks like Microsoft, Google and Meta clearing the parking lots, the reality is that cybersecurity firms like Fortinet have full parking lots.