Mike Vizard

All posts by Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard has covered IT for more than 25 years, and has edited or contributed to a number of tech publications including InfoWorld, eWeek, CRN, Baseline, ComputerWorld, TMCNet, and Digital Review. He currently blogs for IT Business Edge and contributes to CIOinsight, The Channel Insider, Programmableweb and Slashdot. Mike blogs about emerging cloud technology for Smarter MSP.

The talent strategy behind the most profitable IT service providers

The talent strategy behind the most profitable IT service providers

A global survey of IT services providers finds that the most profitable organizations tend to spend less on payroll by relying more heavily on junior staff to fulfill clearly defined roles. Conducted by Service Leadership, the survey also reveals that the...

/ March 19, 2026
Survey shows channel partners are seeking more vendor support

Survey shows channel partners are seeking more vendor support

A survey of 400 technology channel partners suggests that the level of support they expect from IT vendors is shifting in an era marked by rapid innovation and economic uncertainty. Rising expectations for vendor support Conducted by the Futurum Group,...

/ March 12, 2026
Why sovereign clouds are becoming a massive growth engine for MSPs

Why sovereign clouds are becoming a massive growth engine for MSPs

Early indicators suggest that MSPs guiding customers toward sovereign cloud solutions could be heading into a period of strong growth. Worldwide spending on sovereign cloud infrastructure‑as‑a‑service is expected to reach roughly $80 billion in 2026. This represents over 35 percent...

/ February 26, 2026
Survey: IT teams relying on third-party expertise for agentic AI

Survey: IT teams relying on third-party expertise for agentic AI

A survey of 625 IT professionals with cloud computing expertise finds that well over two thirds (69 percent) plan to source agentic artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities through IT or consulting service providers—second only to agentic AI platform vendors, which came...

/ February 19, 2026
Wave of AI agents creates major new opportunity for MSPs

Wave of AI agents creates major new opportunity for MSPs

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) agents is unlike any past technology shift. It creates a significant opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs) to expand and enhance their offerings. AI agent adoption accelerates at unprecedented speed A survey of...

/ February 12, 2026
MSPs need to move beyond monitoring to embrace observability

MSPs need to move beyond monitoring to embrace observability

Monitoring has long been a foundational element of any managed services portfolio. But as IT environments grow more distributed and complex, organizations now expect service providers to go further—beyond simply tracking metrics to truly observing what’s happening across their systems...

/ February 5, 2026
Survey: Kubernetes growth unlocks new MSP opportunities

Survey: Kubernetes growth unlocks new MSP opportunities

A global survey of 628 IT professionals shows that internal IT teams are increasingly struggling to manage cloud‑native applications running on Kubernetes clusters—creating new opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs). Steady Kubernetes adoption puts pressure on IT teams Conducted by...

/ January 29, 2026
Report shows slower MSP contract growth heading into 2026

Report shows slower MSP contract growth heading into 2026

The latest report from the Information Services Group (ISG) finds that global demand for managed services slowed in the fourth quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline in the value of large contracts. Contract growth shows signs of...

/ January 23, 2026
Report: Global managed services market to exceed $1 trillion by 2035

Report: Global managed services market to exceed $1 trillion by 2035

A new report from Market Research Future (MRFR) projects that the managed services market in North America will grow at a CAGR of 7.18 percent between 2025 and 2035, reaching $419.7 billion, up from $209.9 billion in 2025. Globally, the...

/ January 15, 2026
Mergers and acquisitions: Disruptions and opportunities for MSPs

Mergers and acquisitions: Disruptions and opportunities for MSPs

Few business events are as challenging as a merger or acquisition. Even with the best intentions, outcomes rarely align perfectly with expectations. For managed service providers (MSPs), these transactions can create significant uncertainty—but also open doors to new opportunities. Three...

/ January 8, 2026