There’s no shortage of conversation right now about the huge opportunity that MSPs have to create entirely new revenue streams by becoming SaaS management champions for their customers.

According to Gartner, for instance, by 2026, 50% of organizations using multiple SaaS applications will centralize management and usage metrics using a SaaS management platform, an increase from less than 20% in 2021.

Additional research shows that, on average, large companies are ready to use a SaaS management platform once they adopt just 33 SaaS apps—but will they be equipped to do so alone? Probably not. Gartner estimates that by 2024, some 70% of IT departments will lack the relevant roles, skills, and tools to support SaaS-enabled digital transformation.

All of this points to how leading players in the MSP space are in a prime position to help fill this SaaS management void.

But aside from the scope of the opportunity at hand, what kind of return on investment can MSPs expect when taking the helm of a robust, multi-tenant SaaS management platform? There are at least three ways to answer that question, one to do with revenue, one to do with a competitive advantage, and one to do with gains in operational efficiency for the MSPs themselves.

Ramping up revenue
Let’s go straight to the bottom line and start with the most tangible form of SaaS management ROI: revenue. Adding SaaS management platform capabilities to their range of services offerings will help MSPs not only earn more business from existing customers but also add new customers from among the SaaS-saddled organizations in need of expertise.

With existing customers, SaaS management and security services are an easy add-on (either as a premium tier or an extra line item) that can generate significant new revenue as an à la carte offering or as a premium service that generates Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). By its very nature, SaaS is an ever-present and around-the-clock resource that needs continuous monitoring and operational improvement. Smart organizations will prefer to contract ongoing management from MSPs as opposed to sporadic assistance requested when difficulties arise. The recurring revenue prospects are where MSPs stand to gain the most.

A sharper competitive edge

In a time where IT evolves at an accelerating rate, the most adaptable MSPs can differentiate themselves as SaaS custodians for customers and jump ahead of the curve. All they need is the initiative and the right kind of platform partner.

A recent analysis from MarketsandMarkets made it clear how “MSPs face a big challenge as most of their business is from referrals … [T]hey must find new avenues to bring in business by repositioning themselves in the market. They need to increase their offerings and promote them.”

To that end, partnering with a proven SaaS management platform vendor and acquiring the skills to operationalize the platform is a vital way for MSPs to stand out against 1) competitors not yet offering SaaS management, and 2) their customers’ internal IT teams that are taking on more of the managed services themselves. Increasingly, the core value of IT expertise has “left the laptop” and made the leap to the cloud. The sharper MSP competitors are making that same leap with SaaS management services offerings that set them apart.

Matching the task with the technician

The third form of ROI from SaaS platform adoption is a smoother in-house performance that MSPs can leverage into substantial business gains. It all begins with simplification-via-automation.

MSPs now performing SaaS management quickly learn that not all IT tickets are created equal. In initial results from market research, we conducted at Augmentt, MSPs using Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace reported that common daily requests are by far the most time-consuming. Some 75% said that password reset, user onboarding, and user off-boarding are the IT tickets they deal with the most.

One of the many benefits of a SaaS management tool like Augmentt Engage is that it empowers MSPs to assign those common tickets to L1 technicians and channel the more complicated requests to the higher-level technicians.

This automated channeling means that the common tickets are closed faster, operations run smoother, and customers are happier. This much-streamlined automation will also let MSPs increase sales velocity, even if this is something that they may not be experts in. Top-tier vendors of SaaS management platforms should also be partners, however. MSPs who work with Augmentt receive extensive sales assistance, including access to in-depth training and the applied wisdom of a dedicated success manager.

Resources and guidance for MSPs

MSPs seeking a SaaS management solution along with the guidance to help it drive ROI within their business model would do well to explore things like Augmentt Assist SaaS Operations Services (SaaS-Ops) as well as the Augmentt Academy training program.

Regardless of where MSPs are on their SaaS services journey, Augmentt Assist can be integral to success, helping with key steps including SaaS Operation Center set-up, SaaS integration and migration, custom reporting, and SaaS stack optimizing and security auditing.

Augment Academy, meanwhile, is delivered via a state-of-the-art learning management platform and is loaded with insights on topics such as a SaaS audit checklist and go-to-market strategies. It’s a free resource that includes multimedia content, blended course delivery, progress reporting, certification, and even gamification to keep MSP teams engaged.

All told, the opportunity is wide open for MSPs to integrate SaaS management into their services offerings and drive several forms of ROI as discussed above. A partner like Augmentt can deliver both the platform and the push toward new expertise that will set new revenue-generating wheels in motion.