Monday Morning Impact – November 21

Gartner: Worldwide Public Cloud End-User Spending to Approach $600 Billion in 2023

Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 20.7% to total $591.8 billion in 2023, up from $490.3 billion in 2022, according to Gartner. This is higher than the 18.8% growth forecast for 2022.

“Current inflationary pressures and macroeconomic conditions are having a push and pull effect on cloud spending,” said Sid Nag, Vice President Analyst at Gartner. “Cloud computing will continue to be a bastion of safety and innovation, supporting growth during uncertain times due to its agile, elastic, and scalable nature.

“Yet, organizations can only spend what they have. Cloud spending could decrease if overall IT budgets shrink, given that cloud continues to be the largest chunk of IT spend and proportionate budget growth.”

Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is forecast to experience the highest end-user spending growth in 2023 at 29.8%, by all segments are expected see growth in 2023.

Gartner expects that platform-as-a service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) will see the most significant impacts from inflation due to staffing challenges and the focus on margin protection. However, both segments will still see continued growth, with Gartner forecasting 23.2% growth for PaaS and 16.8% for SaaS in 2023.

“Higher-wage and more skilled staff are required to develop modern SaaS applications, so organizations will be challenged as hiring is reduced to control costs,” said Nag. “But since PaaS can facilitate more efficient and automated code generation for SaaS applications, the rate of PaaS consumption will consequently increase.”

Gartner clients can learn more in “Forecast: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2020-2026, 3Q22 Update.”

Channel Impact^®
The report demonstrates that cloud uptake will continue to rise despite inflationary pressures and trends toward reduced spending.

Datto Global State of the MSP Report Reveals Challenges Facing MSPs

Kaseya, a Miami-based provider of unified IT management and security software for managed service providers (MSPs), small to mid-size business (SMBs) and mid-market enterprises (MMEs), has released its Datto Global State of the MSP Report, which surveyed 1,800 MSPs worldwide about key concerns.

Among the respondents, 29% rated competition as their top concern. Revenue growth and profitability were tied at 28% as pressing challenges. Acquiring new customers and hiring were tied at 24%.

“For the second year in a row, the Datto Global State of the MSP Report shows that our partners are worried about the competition,” said Fred Voccola, CEO, Kaseya. “This comes as no surprise. The pandemic led to an increase in need for IT services and produced savvy customers who like to shop around. MSPs have had to evolve to keep pace with the competition.”

The report also found that revenue generated from break-fix is increasing. Internal IT departments are reluctant to work with new vendors, and MSPs often penetrate the market by focusing on fixing a problem for them. For example, they may offer a compliance audit and the results may lead to the MSP helping via a co-managed service.

Cloud integration ranked as another top trend as more clients look to the cloud for better storage design and implementation to increase productivity and collaboration. About 95% of MSPs surveyed found cloud solutions as a new market opportunity, although many have resisted moving to the cloud due to compliance, security, or budgetary concerns. Yet half of MSP respondents said they expect 75% of workloads to be in the public cloud in three years.

The top three managed security services currently offered are email security, followed by security framework and compliance auditing, and identity access management, according to the report. Several areas are expected to grow, with managed detection and response, dark web monitoring, compliance monitoring, and privileged access management taking the leading spots.

Channel Impact^®
Partners are worried about competition, revenue growth, profitability, customer acquisition and hiring, but the report also spotlights key areas where MSPs are seeing growth opportunities.

Trustwave Launches Enterprise Pen Testing

Trustwave has rolled out its new Enterprise Pen Testing (EPT) offering, designed to meet the complex testing needs of large organizations.

The Trustwave SpiderLabs team supports EPT clients with a mix of onshore, nearshore, and offshore pen testers, testing within a CREST-endorsed methodology. The EPT service is augmented with a local Technical Account Manager to further assist customers.

The program is designed to meet a number of client needs, including regulatory and compliance issues, (e.g., PCI DSS, CPS234, MAS) and Financial Service compliance wherein regular third-party testing services are required. The company also promises value-based pricing for its offerings, and leverages a global footprint.

Trustwave’s approach is designed to uncover the potential business impact, in addition to the detailed technical findings. Upon completion of the test, the company helps clients prioritize and apply remediation actions.

Trustwave specializes in managed detection and response (MDR), managed security services (MSS), consulting and professional services, database security, and email security.

Channel Impact^®
While ad-hoc testing can deliver useful point-in-time insights, having a pre-established security testing program provides a more holistic view of enterprise risk over time.