MSP appointment setting in Colorado Springs: who to call first

8 things to know before prospecting MSP in Colorado Springs

1. 01862 IT services firms work the Colorado Springs metro (+13 in a year), 1.8 times the national concentration.
2. 021.0 target businesses per IT firm ranks Colorado Springs #97 of 100 markets and #2 of 2 in Colorado.
3. 03The biggest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices: 228 sites with 20 to 499 employees.
4. 04Colorado Springs over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.85x the national mix, so build references inside that group.
5. 05Medical, dental and outpatient practices added 150 establishments in a year: new sites without a managed service provider relationship.
6. 06Tier 1 is 166 sites with 50 to 499 employees among medical, dental and outpatient practices and construction contractors; those deserve two or three contacts each.
7. 07El Paso County holds 99% of the target businesses across 2 counties.
8. 08Denver (73 miles) has more target businesses per IT firm, if your engineers can cover it.

These are the 12 industries Abstrakt's SDRs call for MSP work, with how many of each are in the Colorado Springs metro and who to ask for. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Colorado Springs leans toward architecture and engineering firms (1.85x), real estate brokerages and property management offices (1.69x) and private schools and education providers (1.45x). Build the list around those categories. Manufacturers and wholesale distributors are thinner than the national mix, so treat them as selective targets.

1. 01
   Medical, dental and outpatient practices228

   Ask for: Practice administrator 74 with 50 to 499 employees 1.36x U.S. mix +150 in a year
2. 02
   Construction contractors171

   Ask for: Owner or president 55 with 50 to 499 employees 1.08x U.S. mix -34 in a year
3. 03
   Manufacturers103

   Ask for: Owner or president 37 with 50 to 499 employees 0.60x U.S. mix -23 in a year
4. 04
   Nonprofits and member organizations99

   Ask for: Executive director 36 with 50 to 499 employees 1.01x U.S. mix +28 in a year
5. 05
   Wholesale distributors74

   Ask for: Owner or president 19 with 50 to 499 employees 0.81x U.S. mix +34 in a year
6. 06
   Private schools and education providers61

   Ask for: Head of school or director 29 with 50 to 499 employees 1.45x U.S. mix -4 in a year
7. 07
   Architecture and engineering firms60

   Ask for: Principal or owner 23 with 50 to 499 employees 1.85x U.S. mix +40 in a year
8. 08
   Real estate brokerages and property management offices17

   Ask for: Broker-owner 4 with 50 to 499 employees 1.69x U.S. mix -97 in a year
9. 09
   Accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms16

   Ask for: Managing partner 5 with 50 to 499 employees 1.43x U.S. mix +16 in a year
10. 10
    Law firms13

    Ask for: Managing partner 1.02x U.S. mix +24 in a year
11. 11
    Insurance agencies and brokerages12

    Ask for: Agency principal or owner 1.25x U.S. mix +1 in a year
12. 12
    Wealth management and investment firms8

    Ask for: Firm principal 1.30x U.S. mix +18 in a year

Businesses are establishments with 20 to 499 employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023), the small and mid-sized range MSPs sell to; the SBA Office of Advocacy counts firms under 500 employees as small businesses. Change and concentration: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2025 Q2.

Manufacturers, wholesale distributors, real estate brokerages and property management offices and accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms run smaller, so those groups need a seat-count question before a meeting is booked.

• Medical, dental and outpatient practices are the largest group in Colorado Springs with 228 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (807): more concentrated than nationally (1.36x), up 150 establishments in a year, and typical in size (17% with 50 or more employees).

• Construction contractors are the second-largest group in Colorado Springs with 171 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (953): close to the national mix, down 34 establishments in a year, and typical in size (16% with 50 or more employees).

• Manufacturers are the third-largest group in Colorado Springs with 103 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (537): less concentrated than nationally (0.60x), down 23 establishments in a year, and smaller than across our 100 metros (22% have 50 or more employees, against 32%), so confirm the seat count early on the call.

• Nonprofits and member organizations are the fourth-largest group in Colorado Springs with 99 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (245): close to the national mix, up 28 establishments in a year, and typical in size (19% with 50 or more employees).

• Wholesale distributors are the fifth-largest group in Colorado Springs with 74 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (617): less concentrated than nationally (0.81x), up 34 establishments in a year, and smaller than across our 100 metros (13% have 50 or more employees, against 20%), so confirm the seat count early on the call.

• Private schools and education providers are the sixth-largest group in Colorado Springs with 61 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Denver has (271): more concentrated than nationally (1.45x), down 4 establishments in a year, and typical in size (27% with 50 or more employees).

After those six come architecture and engineering firms (60), real estate brokerages and property management offices (17), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (16), law firms (13), insurance agencies and brokerages (12) and wealth management and investment firms (8), smaller groups to work by fit rather than volume.

Where a rule or a client review puts a date on security work in Colorado Springs: medical, dental and outpatient practices (228, HIPAA), manufacturers (103, CMMC where they supply defense work), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (16, the FTC Safeguards Rule), law firms (13, client security questionnaires), insurance agencies and brokerages (12, carrier and state insurance data security requirements) and wealth management and investment firms (8, SEC and FINRA exams); together, 380 businesses where the first message can lead with the requirement instead of the service.

What leads in each core county

• El Paso County: medical, dental and outpatient practices (227), construction contractors (169) and manufacturers (102) lead its 849 target businesses.
• Teller County: nonprofits and member organizations (5) lead its 5 target businesses.

Employee bands: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, establishments with 10 to 499 employees; suppressed size classes count as zero. Concentration and one-year change: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2025 Q2. The 100-metro average is the same share summed across every market we publish.

862 IT services firms are based in the Colorado Springs metro. 13 more opened over the past year, so buyers are fielding new names. The IT services industry is 1.8 times the national concentration. Business owners and office managers here already hear from managed service providers, and a specific reason to talk beats a generic pitch. 1.0 target businesses per IT firm puts Colorado Springs 97 of 100 markets, and 2 of 2 in Colorado. That is toward the crowded end, so growth here comes mostly from displacing incumbents at renewal. If you can serve Denver and Albuquerque, they have more target businesses per IT firm than Colorado Springs.

Tier 1 covers medical, dental and outpatient practices, construction contractors and manufacturers with 50 to 499 employees.

El Paso County holds 99% of the target businesses across the 2-county metro. The other 1 county splits the remaining 1%, which is where Tier 1 accounts justify the drive and smaller sites do not.

A new office or location needs network, devices and security set up before people move in, and the provider who does that work is in the best position to support it after.

• Medical, dental and outpatient practices: 150 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are a new location, a HIPAA risk assessment, an EHR or practice management change, a security incident.

• Architecture and engineering firms: 40 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are slow file access, a workstation refresh, a new office, a client or government security requirement.

• Wholesale distributors: 34 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are an ERP or warehouse system change, a new warehouse, a cyber insurance renewal, an acquisition.

• Real estate brokerages and property management offices: 97 fewer establishments than a year ago

  An acquisition puts a business under new owners, who usually review who runs IT and fold it into their own systems.

More questions for every prospect type, and how to follow up after the meeting, are in the MSP prospecting playbook.

If your engineers travel, Denver, Albuquerque, Provo and Salt Lake City are the closest metros we track. Here are the same counts used above for Colorado Springs.

• Denver, CO

  73 miles away, with 4,304 target businesses and 3,719 IT services firms, or 1.2 businesses per IT firm (#96 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is construction contractors, and it over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.80x the national mix.

• Albuquerque, NM

  286 miles away, with 1,053 target businesses and 512 IT services firms, or 2.1 businesses per IT firm (#73 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is construction contractors, and it over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.52x the national mix.

• Provo, UT

  391 miles away, with 840 target businesses and 306 IT services firms, or 2.7 businesses per IT firm (#51 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on construction contractors at 1.67x the national mix.

• Salt Lake City, UT

  413 miles away, with 2,178 target businesses and 1,664 IT services firms, or 1.3 businesses per IT firm (#94 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is construction contractors, and it over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.60x the national mix.