MSPs with the highest CSAT scores are more likely to be top revenue earners, with higher recurring revenue, ARPU ($300+), and projected growth rates. What’s driving their high CSAT scores? A combination of strong QBRs, effective AI adoption, and the ability to show clients value. MSPs with above-average CSAT are also more likely to see compliance as “Extremely important” — suggesting a focus on compliance advisement may help boost customer satisfaction.

When asked what’s preventing them from earning higher CSAT, MSPs cited client price sensitivity, increasingly complex technical requests, and inconsistent communication or slow response times — signaling that when complex, higher-value services aren’t delivered and communicated about in a timely or transparent way, customers will become dissatisfied with the costs.

A full 60% of MSPs say they have formal Customer Success programs, which are designed to give clients proactive, long-term technology strategies to achieve their business goals (not just their immediate IT needs). Another 33% say they don’t but would like to, leaving only 7% who are unsure or have no plans to build one. 

The benefits of a Customer Success program are clear: those who embrace Customer Success are more likely to have above-average CSAT (which is tied to higher revenue) and show more growth signals (such as planning to hire in 2026 and rating compliance as “Extremely important”). Top performers and MSPs with higher CSAT are more likely to have a broader set of Customer Success initiatives in place.

When it comes to Customer Success program metrics, MSPs lean on renewals, CSAT, and referrals to determine if their programs are effective. It’s worth noting that only 35% of MSPs reported tracking client churn as a key revenue metric (as discussed in Chapter 1). However, 55% say they track renewals as part of customer success-focused metrics — which are two sides of the same coin. Whether you track it in your PSA or your P&L, understanding client revenue growth or loss is important to maintaining predictable cash flow and gauging client satisfaction.

Technical Business Reviews — also called Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) — are commonly done on a quarterly basis. But MSPs with very effective QBRs and excellent CSAT are more likely to run monthly reviews. MSPs that plan to increase hiring in the year ahead are also more likely to run monthly reviews — suggesting frequent client touchpoints and visibility into upcoming projects may improve hiring predictability.

Most MSPs spend 3-5 hours preparing for each QBR. MSPs with best-in-class CSAT are more likely to be at both extremes of QBR prep time: either <1 hour (suggesting a highly automated process) or 10+ hours (suggesting a highly comprehensive report). However, data suggests there may be a point at which additional preparation time delivers diminishing returns: MSPs where churn is highest often spend more time on QBR prep, indicating that additional effort doesn’t always translate into greater
client impact.

The top QBR challenges include creating reports and visuals, ensuring data accuracy, and collecting and consolidating data. High-churn MSPs are more likely to struggle with data accuracy and relevance, whereas low-churn MSPs more often cite a lack of automation as their biggest challenge. This suggests that MSPs with more mature data foundations are better positioned to scale QBR delivery through automation (vs. those struggling with reporting issues). 

Well-executed QBRs pay dividends, as they’re correlated with higher ARPU, higher CSAT, and increased hiring in 2026. Those with more effective QBRs tend to have more effective AI usage — suggesting intelligent automation can play a role in successful QBR execution. 

The most commonly used metrics in QBRs include CSAT survey results, strategic recommendations and roadmap progress, as well as ROI. Interestingly, those with higher QBR effectiveness are more likely to track response times, resolution times, productivity, and turnover. While big-picture storytelling is important in a QBR, clearly explaining how results were achieved can improve buy-in for recommendations or expose clients to the day-to-day tasks MSPs perform that support overall performance.

Security has emerged as one of the most popular service categories. Last year, cybersecurity management was the fourth most commonly offered service. This year, it occupies the top spot, with 55% of MSPs offering it. Core network management and monitoring services are close behind, with 53% offering them.

Compliance and GRC services also grew this year, with 36% adoption, compared to 24% last year. The growth of compliance services is notable, as we’ve seen it as a major driver of business value and revenue throughout this report.

This year also saw some higher-value, strategic services grow in popularity, including application and software management and data and analytics services — signalling that MSPs are better positioning themselves as true business advisors.

The services MSPs plan to grow in 2026 mirror the three areas where they already see demand and strategic value; 41% of MSPs plan to grow cybersecurity management, which aligns with talent priorities, as Security Specialists are among the top roles MSPs plan to hire; 32% of MSPs plan to grow infrastructure management; and a quarter of MSPs will grow compliance and GRC services.

Executives and client-facing employees differ in their ideas for growth in 2026. The C-suite is more likely to say they’ll grow cybersecurity and vCIO services, while client-facing roles are more likely to report growth in core services, suggesting a strategic push from leadership to uplevel into strategic advisory and security, while frontline teams see continued pressure on core services.

As we highlighted earlier, MSPs that view compliance as “Extremely important” are more likely to project higher growth, report higher CSAT, and have higher confidence in delivering measurable business value. But while MSPs may see opportunity in compliance, many are held back from offering it due to entry barriers, including limited client demand, complexity, and labor costs. 

What should you offer if you’re able to expand into compliance? The top services include data protection (offered by 59% of MSPs who offer compliance services), risk assessments (offered by 54%), and employee security awareness training (offered by 51%).