Managed services defies a simple definition, and in 2026, managed services will grow in both scale and breadth while becoming even harder to define clearly. In TBR’s research, “managed services” includes, but is not limited to, outsourcing internal IT operations and processes, providing specialized software support, maintaining data centers and fixing connectivity issues. TBR sees two characteristics common across all of these: people and a set-term, outcomes-based contract.

Perhaps surprisingly, many trends across the technology ecosystem increasingly push IT services companies and consultancies, in particular, toward more managed services. Complexity magnified by multiplying flavors of AI will drive consulting revenue in 2026, but longer-term trends point to managed services as the moneymakers for the companies and firms TBR covers in the professional and IT services space.

But there’s a twist: The smartest IT services companies and consultancies will act on managed services as an entrée to consulting, a complete reversal of the traditional consulting to implementation to managed services model. Everyone should benefit from the increased demand for consulting in 2026. Still, most of the top IT services companies and consultancies will leverage their managed services relationships to capture new opportunities and further cement their stickiness with clients.