AI is now vital to MSP growth, but adoption challenges could hamper success

Nine-in-ten MSPs say they view AI as a top priority for their growth ambitions in the year ahead, according to new research from Lansweeper.

Findings from the firm’s ‘AI Adoption in Managed Services’ report found MSPs believe the technology will be a key differentiator in promoting services moving forward.

However, despite viewing AI as a key priority, adoption is still a work in progress for MSPs, with just 41% of reporting integration levels higher than 25%.

In terms of where the technology is being utilized, the top use-cases were found to be IT monitoring (66.7%), followed by ticketing and incident management (54.4%).

“AI adoption is not a nice to have tech innovation - it has become an essential tool for MSPs looking to optimize operations, enhance service offerings, and drive new revenue opportunities,” commented Christina Klein, vice president of global MSP business at Lansweeper.

MSPs face major challenges with AI

With implementation still in its infancy, MSPs highlighted a number of key challenges with regard to adoption. These included data quality issues (93.3%), legacy system integration (52.8%), and shortage of skilled AI professionals (51.8%) as the top barriers.

Businesses also highlighted ethical concerns and cost considerations. Issues such as these are limited to MSPs, however. Enterprises across a raft of industries have raised concerns over growing costs over the last 18 months.

There were also some differences between the two surveyed regions. MSPs in EMEA, for example, said they view AI as more critical to their businesses but are more impacted by budget constraints and integration issues.

In contrast, those in North America appear to face a bigger uphill climb in sourcing skilled talent capable of managing new AI solutions (60.2%), the report revealed.

AI gains are on the horizon

As AI-driven tools and processes continue to gain prominence, industry data points to operational efficiency increases of up to 20%, as well as a hike in client satisfaction, Lansweeper noted.

As a result of these increases, the report found that 76.4% of MSPs anticipate AI-driven services to contribute between 11-50% of their revenue over the next two years.

The top three revenue streams for those that have already implemented the technology were found to be AI-powered cybersecurity (56.4%), automated client support solutions (55.4%), and predictive analytics (51.3%).

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