Managed services provider (MSP) sitting at desk in front of four monitors with code on them.

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At a time when experienced technology professionals are hard to find and expensive to hire, many organizations are turning to managed service providers (MSPs) to handle their security and IT services. As a result, the majority of MSPs (53 percent) are optimistic or very optimistic about the prospects for their business over the next year.

For companies looking to augment their current IT team with managed services, here’s a list of the best U.S.-based MSPs for cloud services, IT services, and more.

What To Look For in an MSP

Not all managed service providers are created equal, but it can be difficult to differentiate between them. Here are some things you should consider when choosing an MSP.

Service-Level Agreements

Service-level agreements (SLAs) outline all the responsibilities of the MSP and what your company will retain responsibility for. Additionally, SLAs may guarantee response times for open tickets or the amount of uptime for services. For example, a cloud services provider may guarantee 99.9% uptime, meaning they’ll reimburse customers if they experience more than 0.1% of downtime.

24/7 Support

Depending on the type of managed service provider you need, you may want to ensure that the MSP offers 24/7 customer support. Problems don’t always happen between 8 AM and 5 PM, so you want to make sure you can contact your MSP if you need help outside of normal business hours, a time when many businesses are short staff and an MSP to cover for them. Additionally, some MSPs will only offer one type of live support (typically phone or chat), so make sure that your chosen MSP offers your preferred contact method.

Get 7 Tips for Improving MSP Operations.

Good Customer Reviews

Because MSPs are service-based businesses, customer reviews are one of the best ways to determine whether or not a provider will meet your needs. If the same problem is mentioned in several customer reviews, it’s likely that you’ll experience the same issues. If you can’t find reviews online, you may consider asking a potential MSP to provide customer references that you can contact to learn more about their experience. And contact people within your own network, often a top information source for companies looking to add IT services and solutions.

Service Bundles

Small businesses may want to consider MSPs that offer multiple services, rather than just specializing in one. This way, they can bundle services and have one point of contact and potentially get a cheaper overall price. Enterprises, on the other hand, may prioritize specialists when choosing an MSP if budget isn’t their main concern.

Need help with cybersecurity? Here are the Top 15 Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs).

Best MSPs of 2022

All Covered

Best for organizations that want to outsource their hardware, software, and IT support needs and would benefit from bundled services. There are solutions available for businesses of any size.

All Covered logo.

Part of Konica Minolta, All Covered has locations all over the United States, as well as Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean and offers IT services, including application development, cloud services, IT helpdesk, and security. You’ll get a customized service plan, allowing you to supplement your existing IT staff for the long-term or on specific projects. They offer 24/7 phone and live chat support, and the client portal makes it easy to see the status of support tickets or schedule a maintenance visit.

Key Service Offerings

  • IT strategy
  • Application development
  • Cloud services
  • Cybersecurity
  • Infrastructure management
  • IT help desk

Learn more about Assurance: All Covered’s IT platform for SMBs.

Clearpath Solutions Group

Best for businesses of any size looking to bundle multiple IT services with one provider. Organizations without a dedicated in-house IT team should consider Clearpath.

Clearpath Solutions Group logo.

Clearpath Solutions Group offers IT managed services for cloud, data, security, and more. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with locations in Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Floria, they take a consultative, holistic approach to IT support, giving their customers access to best-of-breed software solutions and seasoned IT professionals. Clearpath can help you analyze your IT needs and set up a customized solution that will work for your business and within your budget. However, they do not offer live chat support.

Key Service Offerings

Burwood Group

Best for organizations looking to jumpstart a digital transformation through strategy improvements or new technology deployments.

Burwood Group logo.

Burwood Group has its headquarters in Chicago but can support clients across the nation virtually or in person. They offer IT consulting as well as 24/7 network infrastructure management, supporting on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments. You’ll get dedicated monitoring and event management to handle ticketing, uptime monitoring, and issue tracking to free up any in-house IT staff.

Key Service Offerings

  • Network management
  • IT strategy
  • 24/7 monitoring and event management
  • Cloud migration mapping
  • Data protection and governance
  • Vulnerability assessments

Dataprise

Best for small businesses that want to outsource management of their cybersecurity, infrastructure, and disaster recovery. There are fully-managed IT solutions available as well.

Dataprise logo.

Dataprise is headquartered in Rockville, Md. but has offices in Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Pennsylvania; New Jersey; New York; Tennessee; Florida; Texas; and California to support a larger client base. They offer a 24/7 service desk as well as on-site support to keep your business running smoothly. Clients can choose individual or bundled services to best fit their needs.

Key Service Offerings

1Path

Best for small businesses that need fully-managed or co-managed IT support to align their technology operations with growth goals.

1Path logo.

1Path has headquarters in Kennesaw, GA and North Andover, MA but provides virtual services to clients across the country. With end-to-end IT solutions available and over 20 years of experience, you’ll get to customize your managed solutions, so they align with your business objectives. There are fully-managed or co-managed options available to support both businesses with no internal IT staff and those that just want to reduce the workload of their internal IT department.

Key Service Offerings

  • Disaster recovery
  • Cloud services
  • Security
  • Application development
  • Procurement services
  • Process automation

NetGain Technologies

Best for small to medium-sized businesses in the Midwest or Southeastern United States that don’t have an in-house IT department. NetGain specializes in Microsoft products.

NetGain Technologies logo.

NetGain Technologies is headquartered in Lexington, KY, but also has locations in Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, and Indiana to provide hands-on IT consulting and managed services to their clients. They’re a Microsoft Gold partner, making them a great option for organizations that do most of their work with Microsoft products. NetGain provides 24/7 IT support and can help small businesses scale their IT operations to improve their efficiency.

Looking for help with your Microsoft products? Here are the Top Microsoft 365 Service Providers & Partners.

Key Service Offerings

  • IT consulting
  • Help desk
  • Cloud services
  • Cybersecurity
  • IT project management
  • Disaster recovery

NexusTek

Best for businesses that need help with their Microsoft solutions and want to bundle managed IT services.

NexusTek logo.

NexusTek has headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colo., and offices in Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, and Massachusetts. They offer 24/7 IT support and bundled services to help you improve your IT operations without adding in-house staff. NexusTek can help you plan your technology roadmap before executing services to ensure that the solutions you choose will help you achieve your business goals.

Key Service Offerings

  • Cloud services
  • Microsoft solution support
  • IT consulting
  • Managed IT 
  • Security
  • Disaster recovery

Right! Systems

Best for organizations located in the Pacific Northwest that want a hands-on IT management experience complete with project management services and cloud and datacenter options.

Right! Systems logo.

Right! Systems are headquartered in Lacey, Washington, with offices in Bellevue, WA; Portland, OR; and Meridian, ID with a focus on serving clients in the Pacific Northwest, however, they can virtually serve clients all over the nation. You’ll get a customized technology roadmap that aligns with your business goals and helps you determine which services you’ll need to achieve them. They offer 24/7 customer support along with scheduled and emergency IT support services.

Key Service Offerings

  • Security
  • Cloud services
  • Data center management
  • Network management
  • Project services
  • Help desk support

Marco

Best for organizations located in the northern United States that want secure and scalable IT managed services to augment an in-house IT department.

Marco logo.

Marco has headquarters in St. Cloud, Minn., with offices in South Dakota, North Dakota, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New Jersey. Along with IT managed services, they also offer managed print services, physical security, voice services, and audio-visual services. You can choose from long-term services or project-based options depending on your needs.

Key Service Offerings

  • Security
  • Network management
  • Helpdesk
  • IT project management
  • Asset management
  • Vulnerability assessments

UDT

Best for healthcare organizations that need help improving their cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.

UDT logo.

UDT works with healthcare organizations, allowing them to outsource the lifecycle management of their devices and software and improve their readiness for cloud computing. They help their clients improve operational efficiency while controlling costs and reducing security risks. The solutions are flexible and customizable with a focus on interoperability to help healthcare organizations access all the data they need to improve patient outcomes.

Key Service Offerings

Choosing the Right MSP(s) for Your Business

When choosing an MSP, it’s best to choose a provider that has an office located near you so you can get in-person support if you need it. However, many of the best MSPs are great at providing virtual support, which is often cheaper. It’s important to read customer reviews of the providers you’re considering to determine whether they’ll meet your needs. Additionally, ask other business owners in your network which services they’ve used in the past and what their experiences were. Be sure to understand what use cases a service provider is best for to better match your needs with the right one.

Ultimately, MSPs are service-based businesses, so you need to meet with potential providers and make sure they fit what you’re looking for and you’ll be comfortable working with them before signing a contract. Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a couple of providers, schedule an initial consultation with each of them. Many MSPs offer free roadmapping services during their sales pitch which should give you a good idea of what working with them will be like.

Find out How to Choose the Best IT Managed Service Provider.