It appears that the combination of the value proposition for managed services and the economic environment are driving explosive growth in this market, according to new research from AMI-Partners. In an 11-country survey, including the U.S. and Canada, there's been an almost 100-per cent increase in interest in managed services and software-as-a-service over the last three months. According to the data, nearly 60 per cent of SMBs are now interested in managed services, and nearly 40 per cent in SaaS.

AMI has been tracking the SMB MSP market for several quarters now, and the latest data indicates not only explosive growth in interest, but a substantial change in what SMBs are interested in, said AMI VP Chad Thompson. "What we are seeing in the SMB space right now is anything but 'business as usual. SMBs are re-evaluating the way their businesses run on a number of fronts, including where and how they spend money, how they drive revenues and how IT supports these goals."

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As the economy started to collapse, SMBs seemed to be "shell-shocked" and were taking a "shotgun" approach to address two needs, cut costs, and increase revenues. Thompson said they're now seeing the next phase. The new study found most SMBs feel the economy is starting to stabilize, but "just because SMBs believe it may not be getting worse as fast as it has in the past and may have hit the bottom, we don't see the SMBs easing up on what they're doing."

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