The CompTIA MSP Guidebook: Cultivating a Culture of Process E昀케ciency Understanding Who You’re Up Against There are a LOT of players in the IT industry, but some are more direct than others. The goal is to identify who your direct competitors are while understanding some secondary and tertiary players you may run into. • Primary competitors are your direct competitors that look similar to your organization from a size and capability standpoint. They o昀昀er a similar version of your solutions and target the same customers or market. • Secondary competitors look similar but may o昀昀er a subset of your solutions and may target the same or di昀昀erent customers or markets. • Tertiary competitors may o昀昀er related products and services but look di昀昀erent 昀椀rmographically. These companies may be bene昀椀cial to partner with further down the line. Use the table below to map out your competition: Competitor Annual Finances # of Services Technology Regions Company Tally Revenue Employees Provided Supported Supported Type Next, circle the cells that match your company’s responses. Then tally the number of circles. The competitors that have the most overlap would be considered primary competitors. The next set of competitors would be tier 2. And the least similar competitors would be considered tier 3. Having trouble 昀椀lling out the table? Use these resources for competitor research: • Google: Search for companies in your region that o昀昀er similar services; for example, MSP in Chicago. • Lists: Award lists like CRN MSP 500 or Channel Futures 501 are great places to start. • Social Media: Social platforms can provide a lot of insight, like LinkedIn company pages. • Competitor Websites: You can learn a lot about your competitors by walking through their websites. BONUS Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. For example, cybersecurity is on the top TIP! of every MSP’s mind and is often included in portfolios. However, what do you mean by cybersecurity? Do you have a SOC? Do you have dedicated cybersecurity experts on your team? Understanding your depth of capabilities helps you make sure you are comparing your company to the right competitors. 7