By Marina Wikner, Vice President – Permanent Placement Services, Technology Talent Solutions, Robert Half

Any business trying to staff IT roles knows there’s a shortage of skilled technology professionals available for hire. Robert Half’s research underscores the challenge: 90% of technology hiring managers in the U.S. who we recently surveyed told us that finding tech talent is difficult. Competition is likely to remain intense given how important technology skills are to running any modern business, and how quickly the technology landscape changes.

Managed services providers (MSPs) are feeling the talent shortage acutely, as they need highly skilled staff to help them manage the various and fluctuating IT needs of their customers. Their clients, primarily small and midsize businesses (SMBs), count on them to provide high-quality reliable services, whether they’re managing their networks, infrastructure, cybersecurity or all of the above.

Many MSPs are looking to expand their services so they can compete effectively for more complex projects, take on larger accounts, and increase revenue and drive profitability. A diverse and deep talent bench helps MSPs to be versatile and agile so they can respond to their clients’ ever-changing IT requirements — including to support new ways of working.

Some MSPs are also evolving their own business models and mastering new areas of expertise to take advantage of fast-growing markets like:

Cybersecurity

Many MSPs are building a formal cybersecurity practice, offering services like ransomware, phishing and email security, and taking more of a platform approach with their cybersecurity offerings so they can add and deploy capabilities more easily. Some are going so far as to become managed service and security providers (MSSPs), hiring security analysts and other specialists, investing in technologies to enable real-time threat monitoring, setting up a security operations center (SOC), and more.

And there is certainly market share for these enterprising MSPs to grab: Fortune Business Insight projects that the global cybersecurity managed services market will essentially double over the next seven years, from $15.8 billion in 2023 to $32.7 billion in 2030. Providing high-quality cybersecurity services can also help MSPs protect their hard-earned business: IBM’s research shows that the average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million. Such a loss could easily shutter the operations of an SMB.

Cloud migration

While large businesses have been the frontrunners in cloud adoption and migration for years, enterprise-grade cloud solutions have become more accessible — and affordable — to businesses of all sizes. However, smaller businesses typically lack the internal resources to focus on a cloud migration project, which can be a heavy lift. So, they will instead seek an MSP to help them transition to the cloud securely, cost-effectively and swiftly. Some also want a partner for post-migration support.

According to a report from ResearchandMarkets.com, the fastest-growing segment of the cloud market through 2028 will be small and medium enterprises, which are target customers for many MSPs. And the Global State of the MSP report from software provider Datto notes that most MSPs expect at least 75% of their clients’ workloads to be in the cloud this year, up 25% from last year. 

Finding cloud specialists can require help from hiring specialists

Of course, no matter what cloud computing platform a company wants to migrate to, they will expect their MSP partner to dedicate people with the right skill sets to the project. Given the shortage of technology talent available for hire, and the range of cloud solutions in the market, that expectation can be challenging for MSPs to meet on their own.

Research for Robert Half’s latest Salary Guide shows that competition for cloud talent is extra fierce: 51% of technology managers said they would pay higher salaries to professionals with cloud skills. (MSPs should also take note that an even higher percentage of employers — 55% — said they would pay more for cybersecurity skills.) We also know from our company’s research that cloud architecture and operation is one of the top five areas where U.S. technology employers are struggling to hire talent, as this post on the skills gap in tech explains.

Now, if you want to hire professionals with specific cloud skills, the challenge is even greater. As an example, given that nearly 56% of businesses around the globe use Microsoft Azure, there is no doubt, you have customers who want to migrate to this platform, especially if you’re part of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program. 

You will need to have access to specialists who have worked with Azure migrations. Not to mention, Microsoft specialists are always in high demand to begin with, given that most companies rely on Microsoft products for everyday business. In short, tech pros with Azure skills don’t have to look long to find job opportunities.

However, by working with a specialized talent solutions firm, your MSP business can connect with in-demand technology professionals, including those with cloud and cybersecurity skills, faster than you likely would on your own. You can tap into new and larger networks of highly skilled talent and have access to dedicated help from a recruiter to hire permanent professionals with the experience your company needs.

Meanwhile, if you need more flexibility with your hiring model to immediately meet your customers’ needs or ramp up for a big project, consider hiring contract professionals for an easily scalable staffing solution or while you search for permanent hires. Bringing on contract support during peak busy periods is also a smart approach to avoid burnout — and turnover — on your team.