Partner Content: From storage to strategy: Why the top MSPs are rethinking data in an edge‑to‑cloud era

Andy Palmer on fragmented data estates, service-led growth and the next margin frontier for MSPs

The data economy is accelerating faster than most organisations and their service providers are prepared for.

As data explodes across edge, core and cloud, MSPs face a clear choice: continue selling storage as a product or evolve into architects of the full data lifecycle.

It has rapidly become an operational reality that is reshaping customer expectations, service models and margin structures.

According to Andy Palmer, Enterprise and Cloud Technologies Group Lead at Seagate Technology, those that make the shift will unlock new revenue streams, deeper customer relationships and long-term relevance in a services-driven market.

“Data is growing at an unprecedented rate,” Palmer says.

“By the end of the decade, we’ll be producing hundreds of zettabytes of data.

“That scale fundamentally breaks traditional storage models.”

Why legacy storage models no longer scale for MSPs

For many years, storage was deployed as a discrete project, sized, installed and managed within a defined boundary.

That model has broken down as data creation shifts to the edge and consumption spans hybrid and multi‑cloud environments.

“The idea of data living in one place just isn’t how modern organisations operate,” Palmer explains.

“Today’s MSPs are supporting environments where data is created everywhere, duplicated constantly and expected to be available instantly.”

Edge devices, SaaS platforms, cloud services and regulatory retention requirements have turned data estates into sprawling ecosystems.

For MSPs, that complexity is both a risk and an opportunity.

Fragmentation: The hidden risk in customer environments

Most customer environments, Palmer argues, weren’t architected, they evolved.

That evolution has left MSPs supporting fragmented data estates with limited visibility.

“The average organisation has around ten different data silos,” Palmer notes.

“That’s duplicated data, disconnected systems and information that isn’t ready for compute, analytics or AI.”

For MSPs operating at scale, this fragmentation creates operational drag and commercial risk, particularly around security, recovery and compliance.

“If you’re managing storage without policy, identity or recovery built in, you inherit significant risk when something goes wrong.”

Visibility, Palmer says, is the first priority.

Without a clear view of where data lives and how it is used, MSPs struggle to standardise services or deliver predictable outcomes.

Unstructured data: The real battleground for MSP differentiation

Unstructured data now accounts for the vast majority of enterprise information and it is where many MSPs either lose control or unlock value.

“Around 90 per cent of enterprise data is unstructured,” notes Palmer.

“It’s distributed, duplicated and often classified by default rather than design.”

Misclassification has direct financial consequences.

Treat all data as performance‑critical and costs escalate.

Treat everything as cold and access becomes slow, expensive or risky, especially in cloud environments where egress charges are now front‑of‑mind.

“If you can’t classify data properly, you can’t protect it and if you can’t protect it, you can’t monetise it.

“Treat all data as hot and costs escalate. Treat it all as cold and access, compliance and egress risk quickly surface.”

This is where MSPs can step up: delivering data classification, tiering and governance as services, not add-ons.

From tool sprawl to platform-led services

As MSPs scale, operational efficiency becomes just as important as technical capability.

The Seagate exec adds that many providers are now actively reducing tool sprawl.

“We see customers and MSPs struggling with too many consoles, too many contracts and too many skills just to run day‑to‑day operations.”

The shift is toward platform thinking; fewer tools, tighter integration and more predictable service delivery.

“Top MSPs aren’t selling products anymore.

“They’re selling outcomes, resilience, cost predictability and control, delivered through standardised platforms.”

This approach not only simplifies operations but enables MSPs to protect margin while delivering consistent customer experiences.

Where the next layer of MSP margin sits

While backup and disaster recovery are well‑established services, Palmer believes the next growth phase lies across the full data lifecycle.

“The real value is in helping customers reduce data chaos.”

That includes lifecycle and long‑term retention strategies, intelligent data movement and tiering by design, cyber resilience and immutable data protection, cost governance and avoidance of cloud egress shock

“MSPs that help customers avoid unexpected costs and regain control of their data become embedded strategic partners.”

Selling blueprints, not boxes

Moving forward, Palmer believes the most successful MSPs will be those that productise data services into repeatable models rather than relying on ad-hoc projects.

“It’s about selling a blueprint, not just fulfilling an order.”

As data volumes continue to grow and environments become more distributed, customers are looking for partners who can simplify complexity at scale.

“Customers don’t need another storage product,” Palmer concludes.

“They need trusted advisors who can turn data into a business asset securely, predictably and sustainably.”

The edge‑to‑cloud era will reward MSPs who move first, standardise early and build services around data, not devices.

Key takeaways

For large, growth-focused MSPs, the message is clear.

The challenge is no longer managing growth. it’s scaling data services profitably, predictably and securely.

This is where Seagate partners with MSPs to move faster and lead with confidence.

Storage alone no longer differentiates, lifecycle ownership does

Unstructured data services are the next margin frontier

Visibility and classification enable scale, not just efficiency

Platform discipline protects margin as customer estates grow

Customers will pay for predictability, governance and cost control, not capacity

The MSPs that win in the edge‑to‑cloud era will be those that industrialise data services, standardise delivery and position themselves as strategic data partners not infrastructure suppliers.

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This article is sponsored by Seagate.