Up to 50% of British organisations say their innovation expectations remain unmet by IT services providers, according to a study by Claranet.
The results point to a new imperative for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to work more closely with their customers to ensure that they can help them meet their business objectives by bringing new ideas to the table, claims the firm.
The pan-European research report surveyed 900 IT decision makers in mid-market organisations from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Benelux, and found that organisations overwhelmingly favour providers that can engage with them over those that just 'follow orders'.
In the UK there are large discrepancies between the expectations of IT decision-makers and their experiences with MSPs: 62 per cent look for expert guidance, but just 35 per cent believe their MSPs to be expert guides; similarly, 42 per cent want their MSPs to be innovators, though only 23 per cent views them as such.
Michel Robert, Claranet's UK Managing Director, said: "Given the intense pressures on today's IT departments and the lack of available time to devote to priorities like innovation, organisations should be able to turn to their service providers for their guidance and expertise.
"But it's clear that many users of MSPs are left wanting in this regard. While providers from all countries appear to have some work to do, it's the British MSPs that stand apart as some of the most likely to fail to meet their customers' expectations of innovation, expert guidance and advice."