International research shows that organizations are increasingly relying on external expertise for their security strategy.
More and more organizations in the Benelux are opting for the support of a managed service provider (MSP) in the field of cybersecurity. According to the MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 from Barracuda, 81 percent of companies with up to 2,000 employees in the region are already working with an MSP.
High Dependence
The study was conducted in collaboration with market research firm Vanson Bourne and surveyed 2,000 IT and security decision-makers worldwide. The results show that companies need support from MSPs to manage the complexity of IT security. In the Benelux, 55 percent of respondents rely on their MSP for continuous security monitoring. Another 53 percent say their MSP helps them develop a suitable security strategy.
In addition, 44 percent expect help managing a growing number of security tools and vendors. The majority of organizations are already working with an MSP or plan to. In total, 98 percent of surveyed companies in the Benelux are considering or investigating a collaboration with an MSP.
Larger Customers
The customer profile of MSPs is changing. While they previously mainly targeted smaller companies, it now appears that globally 85 percent of organizations with 1,000 to 2,000 employees rely on an MSP for security support. In comparison: for smaller companies (50 to 100 employees), this is 61 percent.
In the coming years, organizations primarily expect support in the areas of AI, machine learning, incident response, and network security such as zero-trust. Financially, customers are also willing to invest in this: 93 percent of Benelux companies are willing to pay extra for advanced support in integrating security tools.
However, expectations are high. Half of the Benelux respondents would switch to another MSP if their current partner does not offer sufficient 24/7 support. Other reasons to change service providers include a lack of growth support (44%) or insufficient confidence in recovery capabilities after a cyberattack (38%).