What We're Learning From the MSP Community
We talk to a lot of MSPs: people running companies, building systems, keeping operations running. We've spoken with teams from all over, from small local shops to bigger operations spanning multiple cities. One thing keeps coming up in these conversations: the industry is shifting underneath everyone's feet, and people are feeling it every single day. And here's what we're consistently hearing.
Updated: May 2026
1. SaaS Costs Are Killing Margins
Nearly every MSP we speak with is dealing with the same problem: their software bills keep climbing while their profit margins keep shrinking.
It's not just the price tags, it's the way these platforms trap you in. Your data isn't portable, the pricing changes without warning — the classic vendor lock-in trap. The constant pressure to upgrade. The nickel-and-diming for every extra feature.
Meanwhile, clients expect the same level of service (or better) without wanting to pay more. The math just stops working.
What people keep saying is: "We can't keep being middlemen for other people's products. We need to actually own what we're selling." The per-seat reselling model is at the heart of this frustration.
2. Small Teams Need Real Automation, Not Fancy Tech
MSPs aren't looking to hire data scientists or build research departments. They want practical tools that actually solve problems.
Especially smaller operations. They need ways to handle the boring stuff automatically: sorting tickets, summarizing long email chains, pulling together reports, spotting patterns in their data.
Nobody's interested in buzzwords. They want things that save time and let them do more with the people they already have.
3. People Are Realizing Their Data Is Valuable
There's been a real shift in how MSPs think about data ownership.
When everything you know about your clients and their systems sits in someone else's database, you're stuck. You can't move. You can't negotiate. You can't build anything unique.
The questions we're getting now are different:
- "Can we actually run this stuff ourselves?"
- "What if we hosted our own models?"
- "What's our backup plan if this vendor doubles their prices next year?"
This used to be something only the really technical teams worried about. Now everyone's asking.
4. Open Source Isn't Just for Hobbyists Anymore
This shift has been fascinating to watch. Interest in open-source tools has absolutely exploded.
Sure, saving money matters. But that's not the whole story.
MSPs want flexibility. They want to modify things to fit their specific needs. They're tired of submitting feature requests and waiting forever for some vendor's product team to maybe consider it.
They want options. They want control over their own destiny. And Open source delivers that!
Why Does Any of This Matter?
The entire MSP world is changing, and it's happening quickly. Teams are rethinking how they spend money, what they actually control, and what makes them different from their competitors.
These aren't theoretical trends we're reading about in reports. These are real conversations we're having with real people running real businesses.
And honestly, it's exciting. This is exactly the moment when open approaches to building things actually make sense. It's why we're building what we're building with Flamingo.
Head of Operations and HR
Our flock-keeper - scouting the brightest flamingos, welcoming them into the colony, and making sure they have everything they need to stay vibrant, collaborative, and unstoppable.