groeien als MSP
How do you grow as an MSP now margins are under pressure?
Growing as an MSP rarely sits in selling more of the same, but in specialisation, partnerships and more revenue per employee from the existing client base. Buyers now look at revenue per FTE and net revenue retention, not at the number of contracts.
MSP Late Night · 6 August 2026
Specialise, collaborate or acquire?
Large MSPs can carry a generalist offer by building specialist teams internally. Smaller MSPs make the difference by choosing a niche such as security, MDR or AI adoption and working with equal partners. A partnership only works when both parties feel the same pain and the same success, not when everyone defends their own P&L.
Why does taking the worry away no longer work?
Clients do not know what an MSP does and does not deliver and now expect things like NIS2 governance without paying for them. Making visible what you do deliver, for example tenant management in Microsoft 365, matters more than the catch-all of taking the worry away.
When is a partnership risky?
Poorly drafted partner agreements push your multiple down at a sale and create dependency you cannot escape without injury. Equality, shared interest and an exit clause are the three basic conditions before you sign.
Which metrics do buyers use now?
Revenue per employee and net revenue retention are the two figures MSPs are increasingly valued on. So growth sits in getting more euros out of the same workforce, through tooling, AI or infrastructure as code, plus more out of the existing client base.
More clients is not automatically more growth. Sometimes the biggest opportunity sits in making different choices.
Frequently asked questions
What does revenue per employee mean for the valuation of an MSP?
Revenue per employee shows how efficiently an MSP deploys its workforce. Buyers and investors use this metric to test scalability: can the company grow without hiring proportionally more people. MSPs that prevent standard tickets with tooling, automation, AI or infrastructure as code show higher figures here and are therefore valued more attractively in an acquisition or investment.
When to specialise and when to generalise as an MSP?
Smaller MSPs struggle to stand out with a broad generalist offer and do better choosing a niche such as security, MDR, cloud or AI adoption. Larger MSPs with enough manpower can set up specialist teams internally and carry a more general offer. Generalising can be a speciality too, for example as orchestrator or first point of contact towards the client, provided that role is positioned explicitly.
How do you prevent dependency in a partnership between MSPs?
Set down in advance that both parties carry equal interests and that success and pain are shared. Avoid constructions where one party has all the sales and client contact and the other is completely dependent for revenue. Arrange clear exit terms, transparent margins and separated liability, especially on security. A poor agreement pushes down not only the daily margin but also the multiple in any eventual sale.
Why is NIS2 relevant to the positioning of an MSP?
Clients often assume their MSP is picking up governance and NIS2 obligations, even when that is not in the contract. That creates silent liability. MSPs that mark out explicitly in advance what does and does not fall under their service avoid conflicts and can put NIS2 support down as a separate, paid proposition instead of a free expectation.
What is net revenue retention and why does it count for MSPs?
Net revenue retention measures how much revenue an MSP keeps and expands within the existing client base over a period, including upsell and churn. For MSPs with stable contracts this is a strong growth indicator because it shows whether existing clients buy more as the relationship progresses. Growth through existing clients is usually cheaper than new acquisition and raises the valuation at a sale.