Omdia Research Highlights Significant Cost Savings and Operational Gains for MSPs and IT Teams Adopting Unified Management Platforms

In an era defined by tightening budgets and an explosion of digital complexity, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT departments are increasingly turning toward platform consolidation to maintain operational integrity. A comprehensive new study conducted by technology research firm Omdia, and commissioned by Kaseya, has quantified the tangible business value generated when organizations move away from fragmented toolsets in favor of a unified IT service delivery solution. The findings suggest that standardization is no longer merely a matter of convenience but a critical driver of financial performance and scalability.

The study, which involved deep-dive interviews and data analysis across eight MSPs and eight internal IT teams in North America, as well as a control group of five non-Kaseya customers, offers a granular look at the shift toward "unified IT." By integrating endpoint management, service desk operations, and IT documentation into a single, cohesive workflow, organizations reported substantial improvements in efficiency, a reduction in overhead, and a significant boost in overall service capacity.

The Strategic Shift Toward Consolidation and Efficiency

The backdrop for this research is a challenging economic environment where IT leaders are under mounting pressure to optimize their resources. Devan Adams, principal analyst at Omdia, noted that the current landscape requires IT organizations to "do more with less." As the number of remote users and connected devices continues to climb, the traditional model of adding more staff or niche software tools to solve specific problems has become unsustainable.

According to the study, the consolidation of IT solutions has emerged as a top priority for more than 40% of IT organizations. This represents a fundamental shift in strategy. Rather than engaging in a "best-of-breed" approach that often results in a "Franken-stack" of disconnected tools, businesses are looking for ways to maximize their existing investments. The focus has moved toward finding platforms that allow a single technician to manage more endpoints and resolve more tickets without a corresponding increase in stress or errors.

Adams explained that the outcomes reported by the interviewed organizations—ranging from better operational efficiency to higher-quality service delivery—were direct results of standardizing on a unified approach. By reducing the "swivel-chair" effect, where technicians must constantly jump between different applications to find information or execute tasks, companies are reclaiming lost hours and redirecting them toward higher-value initiatives.

Measuring the Financial Impact for MSPs and Internal IT

The financial data uncovered by Omdia provides a compelling argument for the ROI of unified IT management. For MSPs, the study found that those utilizing Kaseya’s integrated ecosystem—specifically Datto RMM, Autotask PSA, and IT Glue—reported average cost savings of approximately $2,600 per technician per month. When scaled to a modest ten-person technical team, these savings translate to an annual reduction in costs of roughly $312,000.

Internal IT teams, which often face different budgetary constraints than MSPs, saw even higher per-staff savings. The research revealed that internal teams saved approximately $2,900 per staff member per month. For a team of ten, this amounts to a yearly saving of approximately $350,000. These figures are not just abstract numbers; they represent a significant portion of an IT department’s operating budget that can be repurposed for strategic growth.

The study also highlighted broader operational expenditure (OpEx) benefits. MSPs participating in the research reported a 33% lower operating expenditure on average, alongside a 12% increase in contract margins. These improved margins are vital in a competitive market where MSPs must balance service quality with profitability. For internal IT teams, the reported OpEx savings stood at 24%. Perhaps more importantly, these teams were able to redirect nearly one-fifth (19%) of their total budget toward critical priorities that are often underfunded, such as cybersecurity enhancements and professional staff training.

Operational Gains and Enhanced Service Levels

Beyond the balance sheet, the Omdia study explored how a unified workflow impacts the day-to-day productivity of IT professionals. One of the most significant metrics identified was the increase in endpoint management capacity. MSPs were able to increase the number of endpoints managed per technician by 27%. In a traditional environment, managing more devices usually requires hiring more people. However, through automation and centralized management, these organizations were able to scale their operations without increasing their headcount.

Ticket resolution times also saw a dramatic improvement. Organizations reported that the time taken to resolve issues fell by almost a third (32%). This acceleration in service delivery is largely attributed to the integration of documentation (IT Glue) with the service desk (Autotask PSA) and remote monitoring (Datto RMM). When a technician receives a ticket, having immediate access to the device’s history, its current status, and the relevant passwords or network diagrams within a single interface eliminates the "information hunting" phase that typically bogs down resolution times.

Furthermore, the study found a marked improvement in compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). MSPs managed to improve their SLA compliance by 17%, with an average of 83% of all tickets being resolved within the targets set in their contracts. This level of reliability is a key differentiator in the channel industry, where meeting client expectations is the foundation of long-term retention and brand reputation.

Innovation and the Role of AI in Datto RMM

The findings of the Omdia study also serve to validate the recent technological investments made by Kaseya, particularly in its Datto RMM solution. Over the past year, the company has introduced a suite of innovations designed to further automate the mundane aspects of IT management. These include AI-enhanced "smart insights," which help technicians identify patterns and potential issues before they escalate into full-blown outages, and dynamic grouping policies that allow for more granular and automated device management.

Expanded integrations with Microsoft 365 and enhanced API capabilities have also played a role in the efficiency gains reported by users. By bringing more of the modern cloud-centric workspace into the RMM fold, Kaseya has enabled technicians to manage complex environments with greater ease.

Johnny Ghibril, General Manager of Endpoint Solutions at Kaseya, noted that the data from the Omdia report underscores a persistent trend: IT teams are desperate for less complexity. Ghibril emphasized that the AI-driven innovations shipped over the past year are already delivering measurable results. He suggested that when AI is paired with a unified service delivery model, it creates a multiplier effect that helps organizations increase productivity and improve the customer experience simultaneously.

"Datto RMM is proof of what that looks like in practice," Ghibril commented. He added that the goal of these technological advancements is to create "capacity for future growth." By automating the routine, IT professionals are freed from the "treadmill" of reactive maintenance, allowing them to focus on projects that actually drive the business forward, such as digital transformation initiatives or advanced security posture management.

The Broader Implications for the IT Industry

The Omdia research suggests that the "unified" approach is becoming the benchmark for high-performing IT organizations. As the distinction between internal IT and MSPs continues to blur in terms of the tools they use and the challenges they face, the need for a single source of truth becomes paramount.

The shift away from siloed tools is also a response to the growing threat of supply chain vulnerabilities and the need for tighter security controls. A unified platform often allows for better visibility across the entire IT estate, making it easier to identify unpatched systems or unauthorized changes. For the 40% of organizations that have made consolidation a top priority, the motivations are clear: it is about survival and scalability in an increasingly complex digital world.

As the study concludes, the move to a unified IT service delivery solution provides a clear path for organizations to enhance their service levels while protecting their bottom lines. By leveraging the synergies between RMM, PSA, and documentation, and by embracing the efficiencies offered by AI and automation, IT teams are finding they can indeed do more with less—and do it better than they did before. The data suggests that for those still managing a disparate collection of tools, the cost of "staying the course" may soon become too high to ignore.