MSP appointment setting in El Paso: who to call first

6 things to know before prospecting MSP in El Paso

1. 01142 IT services firms work the El Paso metro (+1 in a year), 53% less concentrated than the U.S. as a whole.
2. 025.4 target businesses per IT firm ranks El Paso #14 of 100 markets and #2 of 6 in Texas.
3. 03The biggest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices: 245 sites with 20 to 499 employees.
4. 04El Paso over-indexes on medical, dental and outpatient practices at 1.44x the national mix, so build references inside that group.
5. 05Medical, dental and outpatient practices added 53 establishments in a year: new sites without a managed service provider relationship.
6. 06Tier 1 is 185 sites with 50 to 499 employees among medical, dental and outpatient practices and construction contractors; those deserve two or three contacts each.

These are the 12 industries Abstrakt's SDRs call for MSP work, with how many of each are in the El Paso metro and who to ask for. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, El Paso leans toward medical, dental and outpatient practices (1.44x), insurance agencies and brokerages (1.37x) and accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (1.30x). Build the list around those categories. Nonprofits and member organizations and wealth management and investment firms are thinner than the national mix, so treat them as selective targets.

1. 01
   Medical, dental and outpatient practices245

   Ask for: Practice administrator 75 with 50 to 499 employees 1.44x U.S. mix +53 in a year
2. 02
   Construction contractors136

   Ask for: Owner or president 46 with 50 to 499 employees 1.05x U.S. mix -66 in a year
3. 03
   Manufacturers119

   Ask for: Owner or president 64 with 50 to 499 employees 1.19x U.S. mix -2 in a year
4. 04
   Wholesale distributors119

   Ask for: Owner or president 37 with 50 to 499 employees 1.26x U.S. mix -22 in a year
5. 05
   Private schools and education providers34

   Ask for: Head of school or director 12 with 50 to 499 employees 0.79x U.S. mix +1 in a year
6. 06
   Nonprofits and member organizations32

   Ask for: Executive director 4 with 50 to 499 employees 0.51x U.S. mix +2 in a year
7. 07
   Architecture and engineering firms24

   Ask for: Principal or owner 8 with 50 to 499 employees 1.00x U.S. mix +2 in a year
8. 08
   Insurance agencies and brokerages18

   Ask for: Agency principal or owner 5 with 50 to 499 employees 1.37x U.S. mix +8 in a year
9. 09
   Accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms13

   Ask for: Managing partner 3 with 50 to 499 employees 1.30x U.S. mix -16 in a year
10. 10
    Real estate brokerages and property management offices13

    Ask for: Broker-owner 1.23x U.S. mix -1 in a year
11. 11
    Law firms11

    Ask for: Managing partner 1.07x U.S. mix -1 in a year
12. 12
    Wealth management and investment firms3

    Ask for: Firm principal 0.63x U.S. mix -5 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.

Wholesale distributors, private schools and education providers, nonprofits and member organizations and architecture and engineering 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 El Paso with 245 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, more than Albuquerque has (212): more concentrated than nationally (1.44x), up 53 establishments in a year, and typical in size (14% with 50 or more employees).

• Construction contractors are the second-largest group in El Paso with 136 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Albuquerque has (269): close to the national mix, down 66 establishments in a year, and typical in size (16% with 50 or more employees).

• Manufacturers are the third-largest group in El Paso with 119 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Albuquerque has (149): more concentrated than nationally (1.19x), down 2 establishments in a year, and typical in size (34% with 50 or more employees).

• Wholesale distributors are the fourth-largest group in El Paso with 119 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Albuquerque has (135): more concentrated than nationally (1.26x), down 22 establishments in a year, and smaller than across our 100 metros (15% have 50 or more employees, against 20%), so confirm the seat count early on the call.

• Private schools and education providers are the fifth-largest group in El Paso with 34 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Albuquerque has (52): less concentrated than nationally (0.79x), up 1 establishments in a year, and smaller than across our 100 metros (19% have 50 or more employees, against 25%), so confirm the seat count early on the call.

• Nonprofits and member organizations are the sixth-largest group in El Paso with 32 businesses of 20 to 499 employees, fewer than Albuquerque has (71): less concentrated than nationally (0.51x), up 2 establishments in a year, and smaller than across our 100 metros (6% have 50 or more employees, against 15%), so confirm the seat count early on the call.

After those six come architecture and engineering firms (24), insurance agencies and brokerages (18), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (13), real estate brokerages and property management offices (13), law firms (11) and wealth management and investment firms (3), smaller groups to work by fit rather than volume.

Where a rule or a client review puts a date on security work in El Paso: medical, dental and outpatient practices (245, HIPAA), manufacturers (119, CMMC where they supply defense work), insurance agencies and brokerages (18, carrier and state insurance data security requirements), accounting, tax and bookkeeping firms (13, the FTC Safeguards Rule), law firms (11, client security questionnaires) and wealth management and investment firms (3, SEC and FINRA exams); together, 409 businesses where the first message can lead with the requirement instead of the service.

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.

142 IT services firms are based in the El Paso metro. 1 more opened over the past year, so buyers are fielding new names. The IT services industry is 53% less concentrated than the U.S. as a whole, so a consistent outbound program reaches business owners and office managers that are not tired of contractor calls. 5.4 target businesses per IT firm puts El Paso 14 of 100 markets, and 2 of 6 in Texas. That is more room per IT firm than most metros, so systematic prospecting tends to find accounts nobody is working. El Paso has more target businesses per IT firm than the nearest markets.

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

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: 53 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.

• Insurance agencies and brokerages: 8 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are a carrier or state cybersecurity requirement, an acquisition by a larger agency, a management system change.

• Nonprofits and member organizations: 2 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are a grant or funder requirement, a new executive director, a phishing loss, a donor database change.

• Construction contractors: 66 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, Albuquerque, Tucson, Phoenix and Colorado Springs are the closest metros we track. Here are the same counts used above for El Paso.

• Albuquerque, NM

  229 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.

• Tucson, AZ

  326 miles away, with 1,065 target businesses and 312 IT services firms, or 3.4 businesses per IT firm (#36 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.62x the national mix.

• Phoenix, AZ

  380 miles away, with 6,236 target businesses and 3,115 IT services firms, or 2.0 businesses per IT firm (#75 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is construction contractors, and it over-indexes on real estate brokerages and property management offices at 1.67x the national mix.

• Colorado Springs, CO

  497 miles away, with 862 target businesses and 862 IT services firms, or 1.0 businesses per IT firm (#97 of 100 markets); the largest buyer group is medical, dental and outpatient practices, and it over-indexes on architecture and engineering firms at 1.85x the national mix.