Competitive Intelligence Research – Managed IT / MSP Market (Ontario, Canada)
Areas: Kitchener/Waterloo/London/Mississauga/Calgary
We are a security-focused Managed IT Services Provider based in Ontario. We are looking for an experienced competitive intelligence researcher to help us better understand our regional MSP landscape.
This is not a simple data scraping job. We are looking for structured, strategic insight.
Scope of Work:
1. Identify 15 to 25 comparable MSPs in Southern Ontario that serve small and mid-sized businesses (20–250 employees).
2. For each competitor, gather:
- Estimated pricing model (per user, per device, hybrid, tiered, etc.)
- Estimated monthly price ranges for fully managed IT
- What is included in base managed services
- What cybersecurity services are bundled vs sold separately
- Whether they include SOC/MDR, backup, awareness training, vCIO, compliance support
- Contract length and minimums (if available)
- Target industries
- Positioning and messaging themes
- Any publicly available case studies or notable differentiators
3. Pricing Intelligence:
We understand most pricing is not published. We are looking for:
- Publicly available pricing clues
- RFP results or public contracts
- Sales language that indicates positioning (premium vs budget vs mid-market)
- Ethical “mystery shopper” outreach as a legitimate prospective buyer (no false identities, no deception, no breach of confidentiality)
4. Deliverables:
- A structured spreadsheet comparing all competitors across the above dimensions
- A written summary (5 to 10 pages) outlining:
- Pricing clusters in the market
- Common service inclusions
- Clear gaps and differentiation opportunities
- Where a premium-priced, security-first MSP would logically sit
- Observations about market maturity
5. Optional but preferred:
Analysis of:
- SEO positioning and ad strategy
- LinkedIn presence and thought leadership activity
- Review patterns (Google, Clutch, etc.)
Important:
All research must be conducted ethically. No impersonation, no misrepresentation of identity, and no attempts to obtain confidential materials.
Ideal Candidate:
- Experience researching MSPs, SaaS, IT services, or B2B professional services
- Strong analytical writing skills
- Ability to extract insight from incomplete data
- Comfortable working with ambiguity in pricing intelligence
Please respond with:
1. Examples of similar competitive research you’ve completed
2. Your approach to estimating pricing when it is not publicly available
3. Your proposed timeline
4. Your fixed-price proposal for this project
We are looking for actionable intelligence that will inform pricing and positioning decisions.
Budget: Open to fixed-price proposals based on scope and experience.