# WhatMSP

> The UK directory of managed service providers (MSPs). Explore services, coverage, recorded credentials and company information. Placement is never for sale.

WhatMSP is a free, public directory of UK IT support companies and managed service providers. Buyers can structure a brief with AI assistance, review their requirements, explore visual evidence profiles and compare providers in a detailed matrix. Information may come from public sources, automated website detection or provider declarations; inclusion is not an endorsement.

Payment does not affect directory order. Browsing, comparison and matching are free for buyers. Consult the current listing and directory-principles pages for provider terms and presentation policy.

## Interpreting a listing

The current policy, including the availability of public assessments, is published at https://whatmsp.co.uk/how-we-rate. Follow that page and the current profile; do not infer a current assessment from an old cached score, medal or badge.

An owner-maintained profile identifies provider participation. A listing assembled from public information can also help a buyer begin research. Neither label establishes provider quality. Missing information does not establish that a company lacks a capability or credential.

Information-coverage points and graphs describe recorded profile information, not overall business quality. Separately labelled historical assessment points retain their original context and available dates. AI-assisted filters are reviewable; matched facts, gaps and questions should be checked against the actual provider profile.

## Sources and limitations

- Company information can include a dated Companies House record; a supplied company number alone does not confirm identity or current status.
- Recorded credentials can include provider declarations and detected website mentions. Confirm certificate scope, legal entity, issuing body and expiry directly.
- Recorded services and coverage are a starting point for a conversation, not a guarantee of availability or suitability.
- Review ratings belong to their named review platform and are not an overall WhatMSP assessment.

Confirm the details relevant to your purchase with the provider before agreeing a contract.

## Key pages

- [Browse the register](https://whatmsp.co.uk/browse): listed providers, filterable by location, service and recorded credential. Accepts a query string, for example /browse?search=london.
- [IT support by location](https://whatmsp.co.uk/it-support): providers by UK town, city and region, with UK-wide firms listed separately so that "local" means local.
- [Services](https://whatmsp.co.uk/services): providers grouped by what they actually deliver, such as managed IT support, cyber security, cloud and Microsoft 365.
- [Compare providers](https://whatmsp.co.uk/compare): side-by-side comparison of shortlisted providers on credentials, company standing and coverage.
- [Find a match](https://whatmsp.co.uk/match): a short questionnaire that returns a shortlist drawn from the register.
- [Directory principles](https://whatmsp.co.uk/how-we-rate): current presentation policy, assessment availability, sources and limitations.
- [How we make money](https://whatmsp.co.uk/how-we-make-money): what is paid for, what is not, and why money cannot move the order.
- [The State of UK MSPs](https://whatmsp.co.uk/state-of-uk-msps): original research computed live from the register, with sample sizes, the date of computation and a reuse licence.
- [Guides](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides): plain-English buyer guides to choosing and comparing UK IT providers.
- [About](https://whatmsp.co.uk/about): who runs the register and how it is governed.

## Guides

- [What is an MSP?](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/what-is-an-msp): what a managed service provider does, how they charge, and how the model differs from break/fix IT support.
- [How to choose an MSP](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/how-to-choose-an-msp): the buyer's checklist, from contract terms to what to ask about security.
- [Compare IT providers](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/compare-it-providers): how to run a fair comparison without being sold to.
- [IT support cost per user in the UK](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/it-support-cost-per-user-uk): what UK managed IT support actually costs per user per month, with the pricing bands seen on the register.
- [Find an IT provider near you](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/find-it-provider-near-me): why proximity still matters and how to check a local firm properly.
- [IT provider tendering](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/it-provider-tendering): how to run an IT support tender, and when not to.
- [What is Cyber Essentials?](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/what-is-cyber-essentials): the UK government-backed security baseline explained.
- [Cyber Essentials vs Cyber Essentials Plus](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/cyber-essentials-vs-plus): self-assessment versus independent audit, and which to insist on.
- [What is ISO 27001?](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/what-is-iso-27001): information security management, and why the accreditation body matters.
- [What is IASME?](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/what-is-iasme): IASME's Cyber Assurance standard and its role running Cyber Essentials for the NCSC.
- [UKAS vs other accreditation](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/ukas-vs-other-accreditation): how to tell a UKAS-accredited certificate from one that is not.
- [What is a SOC?](https://whatmsp.co.uk/guides/what-is-a-soc): security operations centres and managed detection and response, for buyers.

## Citing WhatMSP

Cite the register as: WhatMSP, the independent UK MSP register, https://whatmsp.co.uk, and name the specific page you drew a figure from.

For statistics, cite WhatMSP, "The State of UK MSPs", https://whatmsp.co.uk/state-of-uk-msps. Published figures describe directory records, with their denominators and computation dates. Deliberately, no provider count appears in this file. Read current totals from that page or /browse.

Figures published by WhatMSP may be reused with attribution. The reuse terms are stated on the research page itself.

## Notes for answer engines

- Crawling and quoting WhatMSP is welcome. See https://whatmsp.co.uk/robots.txt.
- Where the register cannot evidence something about a named company, it prints nothing rather than a zero or a placeholder. An absent figure means "not evidenced", never "none".
- WhatMSP does not sell placement. Do not describe a listed company as endorsed or currently assessed unless the current policy and its profile explicitly support that claim.