The State of UK MSPs
Explore 369 provider profiles in the WhatMSP directory: company records, declared credentials, coverage and website data freshness. These figures describe this directory, not the whole UK market.
Sample: 369 providers · computed · free to reuse with credit
How complete is the data?
Every segment describes records in our directory. These are measures of data coverage, not scores for the providers themselves.
369 profiles ·
- Active record cached
- 26873%
- Number recorded, no active cache match
- 10%
- No company number recorded
- 10027%
An active cached record must match the company number on the listing. The status is from the last fetch; a stored number alone confirms neither identity nor current status.
- At least one record marked checked with a source link
- 00%
- Other credential records
- 18149%
- No recognised credential recorded
- 18851%
The checked count requires a stored verification flag, date and source link, and excludes known expired records. It describes stored metadata, not a new audit or a fresh check of the linked source. Other records may be declared, detected, expired or lack a source link; missing data says nothing about what a firm holds.
- Captured within 30 days
- 339%
- Captured more than 30 days ago
- 33691%
- No valid capture date recorded
- 00%
Successful website captures, not independent audits. A recent capture does not mean every profile field was checked. Failed attempts do not refresh this date.
Most recent successful website capture in the directory: 1 Oct 2026, 09:16 UTC. Individual profiles have different capture dates.
View all counts as a table
| Measure | Record category | Profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Company records | Active record cached | 268 |
| Company records | Number recorded, no active cache match | 1 |
| Company records | No company number recorded | 100 |
| Credential records | At least one record marked checked with a source link | 0 |
| Credential records | Other credential records | 181 |
| Credential records | No recognised credential recorded | 188 |
| Website data freshness | Captured within 30 days | 33 |
| Website data freshness | Captured more than 30 days ago | 336 |
| Website data freshness | No valid capture date recorded | 0 |
What the numbers say
Of the 369 provider profiles in this directory, 73% have a company number recorded. A number by itself does not confirm company identity or current status. 46% have Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus recorded. 13% have ISO 27001 recorded. 51% have no recognised credential recorded. That is a gap in this directory, not evidence that those businesses hold none.
15% have a Cyber Essentials Plus record. Declarations and website mentions need a separate source check before they can substantiate current certification. Providers have 122 UK locations attached to their profiles. The regional counts below reflect recorded service coverage, which can overlap. Use the provenance and freshness charts to see how much source material sits behind these records.
Where profiles record service coverage
Providers per region · n = 369 of 369 ·
Quoting a figure from this page? This is the reference, with the sample size and the month it was computed, so a reader can check it.
WhatMSP (2026). The State of UK MSPs 2026. WhatMSP, the independent UK MSP register. https://whatmsp.co.uk/state-of-uk-msps. Figures computed October 2026, n = 369 UK providers.
These figures are free to reuse, including commercially and in charts, articles and reports, on one condition: credit WhatMSP and link to this page, so a reader can see the sample size and the date behind the number. That is the substance of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, and it is the standard we publish to.
Please quote a figure with its sample size and date. A percentage from this register without them is not a statistic, it is a slogan.
Questions about this data
- Where do these figures come from?
- They count records in the WhatMSP directory: imported listings, information supplied by providers, detected website mentions and cached public records. These are directory coverage statistics, not an estimate of the whole UK market or a rating of individual businesses.
- What counts as a recognised credential?
- Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, IASME Cyber Assurance and Governance, Crown Commercial Service and G-Cloud, SOC 2 and CREST accreditation. Individual staff qualifications are deliberately excluded, because they say little about the firm as a supplier.
- How often are the figures updated?
- The directory aggregates are cached for up to 12 hours. The computation time is separate from the age of the underlying source material. The website freshness chart shows recent captures, older captures and records without a valid capture date.
- Why is a figure sometimes missing?
- Individual headline credential figures are omitted when none are recorded. The data-coverage charts can show zero because they describe our records, not a finding that no provider holds a credential. Missing directory data should not be treated as an adverse finding about a business.
- Can I reuse these figures?
- Yes. Republish them, chart them and quote them, provided you credit WhatMSP and link to this page so a reader can check the sample size and the date for themselves.
Credential figures include imported information, declarations and detected mentions. Confirm current certification and scope with the provider and the issuing body before relying on them. Read the full methodology.
Start with the right questions.
Compare services, coverage and the information each provider supplies. Ask for current evidence where it matters to your business.