AI was all the buzz in 2025. MSPs were experimenting with various LLMs and advanced AI systems to automate routine workflows, cut down on support tickets, and boost business operations.
But what trends should MSPs look out for in 2026?
We were curious to know, so we reached out to a handful of MSP thought leaders who were gracious enough to share their perspectives. Here’s what they had to say.
2026 MSP Trends: TL;DR
- Trust is the true differentiator: MSPs will win by being credible, human, and transparent (not through loud statements or lower prices)
- AI amplifies strategy, not shortcuts: Used well, AI will increase speed and scale; used poorly, it will erode trust and security.
- Human experience beats technical parity: Hospitality, authenticity, and personalization will set MSPs apart as tools commoditize.
- Security shifts to identity and risk: Identity, supply chain, and risk prioritization will replace perimeter thinking.
- Outcomes over complexity: Simple, customer-aligned services will outperform bloated stacks.
2026 MSP Trends: Told from the Experts
No Slack account needed.
Paul Green
AI is here to stay, but MSPs looking to impress clients will need to leverage authentic personalities.
Paul Green shares his thoughts.
“As AI tools get better and better, the MSPs who stand out won’t be the ones delegating all their marketing to AI. It’ll be the ones who use AI as a tool to help show more of themselves and appear more human. AI is an incredible tool. But the MSPs who win in 2026 will use it as scaffolding, not a shortcut.”
But how can MSPs stand out in a crowded market?
Paul adds that “ordinary business owners and managers don’t know how to pick one MSP instead of another. They don’t have the technical knowledge to assess the quality of what you do. So instead, they buy from people that they’ve got to know, like, and trust.
Content marketing is an important part of this. But when anyone can spin up 500 words in four seconds, the real competitive edge becomes using and promoting your authentic personality.
That means:
- Your face is in more images, especially on your website. Death to stock images and ‘uncanny valley’ AI images
- Your stories from real client experiences. Our human brains love stories way more than facts
- Your real take on the world. You don’t have to be perfect; you just have to be authentic
AI should help you shape and sharpen your ideas, but not replace the human spark that actually makes people want to buy from you.”
About Paul: Paul Green is the world’s go-to MSP marketing expert, owner of MSP Marketing Edge, where he also hosts his MSP Marketing Podcast.
Robin Robbins
Trust is the new currency, and according to one of the industry’s leading MSP voices, Robin Robbins, “We’re in a trust recession, and AI is making it worse. I think AI and the tsunami of content (videos, articles, eBooks, etc.) is going to drive down response rates and drive up the cost of customer acquisition.”
Robin says that “getting someone’s attention is going to be more difficult, and getting through to them is going to be exponentially harder. The only way to win in marketing and growth is through trust-based marketing and sales strategies.”
About Robin: Robin Robins is the IT industry’s most in-demand marketing consultant, CEO of Robin Robbins Consulting, and the founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit (TMT), acquired by Kaseya.
Elli Shlomo
Elli had quite a bit to say about the various attack surfaces SMBs should focus on securing for the upcoming year. Here is a detailed breakdown:
Identity as the Dominant Attack Surface
For SMBs, identity is often the only real perimeter because users work from anywhere and rely entirely on SaaS. A single compromised account can unlock email, storage, billing, and cloud services without touching the network. The attack surface becomes login flows, tokens, and misconfigured MFA, while identity will remain the most dominant of all.
Cybercrime as a Business Ecosystem
Criminal groups specifically target SMBs because they scale the fastest and defend the slowest. With automated phishing kits, initial access brokers, and RaaS platforms, attackers can operate like a service industry. SMBs face industrialised crime, not lone hackers, which demands continuous monitoring and not just endpoint antivirus.
AI Defense and Offense
AI-powered attacks let adversaries create tailored phishing messages, automate recon of cloud assets, and exploit weak identity policies at scale. SMBs, with limited manpower, must counter with AI-driven detection and triage that condenses alerts into action. The gap will widen between SMBs that adopt AI in defense and those that stay manual.
Workspace Security
SMBs rely heavily on SaaS, shared devices, browsers, and unmanaged networks, creating a workspace threat surface that’s bigger than the endpoint itself. Protecting only the laptop is no longer enough; security must follow identities, sessions, and data across SaaS apps, personal devices, and AI assistants. Workspace Security will become the practical Zero Trust model for SMBs.
Supply Chain
SMBs inherit risk from every tool, plugin, integration, and managed IT provider they use. A poisoned update, compromised SaaS vendor, or leaked API key in a CI workflow can be the entry point. Since SMBs rarely validate software provenance, visibility, and vendor hygiene become survival requirements.”
About Elli: Elli Shlomo is the Head of Security Research at Guardz and a Microsoft Security MVP.
Justin Esgar
Justin spoke about the value of hospitality as a key success factor for 2026.
“Here’s what’s really going to change the MSP landscape in 2026, and it’s not AI.
MSPs love to say we’re partners in our clients’ growth and that we “really understand their business,” but then we default back to being a glorified helpdesk. If you want to win in 2026, the shift isn’t another tool or another platform; it’s a shift in behavior. It’s learning to truly engage with the personalities, quirks, and humanity of your clients.
It’s Unreasonable Hospitality.
If you haven’t read the book yet, you should. But here’s what it looks like in our world:
It’s not holiday gifts or quarterly business reviews, it’s knowing what motivates your clients, what stresses them out, and what excites them.”
Justin suggests that “knowing their dog’s name and actually caring is what it takes to go above and beyond the ticket queue.
- It’s cleaning the keyboard or screen before handing a machine back
- It’s following up, quickly and thoughtfully
- It’s testing everything, not just the thing they complained about
- It’s buying lunch for their office without turning it into a sales pitch
- It’s sending a onesie when someone on their team has a baby
These things matter because they build trust and loyalty in a way no cybersecurity patch ever will.
If MSPs want to win in 2026, they’ll need to stop obsessing over the next shiny tool and start obsessing over the people they serve. Tools can level the playing field, but hospitality is what sets you apart.”
About Justin: Justin Esgar is the CEO/President of Virtua Consulting and host of the AT/MSP Podcast.
Taher Hamid
Content rules the future of MSP success.
Taher Hamid states that “every MSP that grows from marketing understands that content is king and distribution is queen. They are constant content creators.”
Taher further stresses the importance of content creation.
“Content is the new currency. Everyone you follow. The posts you like. The emails you read. The videos you watch. The ads that stop you. The ones that do this the best are the ones that are winning today and for tomorrow.
Buyers are more informed than ever, and they want to find the solution to their problems. Content is the best way to get on their radar and stay there until they’re ready to make a buying decision. Become a content creator, and your marketing will be like a magnet.
MSPs understand that they must be the local or national (for vertical-specific) voice when it comes to technology, and content is the only way to do that.”
About Taher: Taher Hamid is the Founder and Camp Leader of MSP Camp, which specializes in a wide variety of MSP marketing services.
Damien Stevens
Damien shared his thoughts on how MSPs are missing valuable opportunities with AI.
“AI is way more than the latest models and tools. It’s the MSPs that embrace a new operating model where trust and speed deliver results unlike anything we’ve ever seen. This requires a change in all 3 core areas: Mindset. Culture. Operating model.
The opportunity most MSPs are missing. Will AI be the next SaaS? On-prem, we nailed it. Cloud and Infrastructure as a Service, most of us got it. SaaS? We missed out entirely. We weren’t engaged with the business leaders in marketing, sales, and finance. We were “comfortable” speaking with IT, and we missed out completely.”
About Damien: Damien is the host of the MSP Mindset, a Top 10% global podcast. He is also the Founder & CEO of Servosity, helping MSPs recover with co-managed backups and DR.
Chris Johnson
Chris suggests that “MSPs must focus on several critical areas in 2026.”
The first area is cyber insurance. “Cyber insurance claims have increased substantially in recent years, with average payouts rising by 50% or more due to more sophisticated attacks. The priority is insurance. MSPs, MSSPs, and ITSPs should review their policies, paying close attention to both overall policy limits and individual coverage caps to ensure they meet organizational needs.
The second area is the risk register, which is essential for both MSPs and their clients. Risk prioritization and management must take precedence over security measures alone. Rising costs make it unsustainable to address every vulnerability; remediation should be prioritized based on risk rather than a fixed schedule.
Finally, MSPs should assess the security features vendors include in their products and services. Vendor requirements are increasing, and those without ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certifications are often removed from the MSPs’ supply chain.
As the MSP sector enters 2026, it faces both significant challenges and opportunities. Strengthen your internal processes, leverage programs such as the GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark, and build resilience against evolving threats.”
About Chris: Chris Johnson is the Sr. Director of Cybersecurity Compliance Programs at GTIA, specializing in regulatory compliance, policy, and procedure management.
Dave Meister
Dave presents a fresh perspective on how MSPs can differentiate in a crowded market.
“The competition isn’t just other MSPs anymore.”
So, where exactly is it?
According to Dave, “VARs, integrators, telcos, and even software providers want to ‘be an MSP, too. They’re all trying to wrap recurring services around what they already sell, from devices, cloud, licenses, connectivity, apps, and present it as “managed.”
That creates a new kind of market pressure:
- Clients get flooded with “managed” offers that look similar on paper
- Price gets anchored by bundles and promos, not outcomes
- Pricing can vary massively
- The buying conversation shifts from “who’s best?” to “who’s simplest?”
The MSPs that will win in 2026 are the ones who differentiate on ownership and outcomes, not just tooling. They will offer clear, repeatable packages (not a menu of 40 add-ons), set firm boundaries, and provide a consistent service experience with the right customers.”
About Dave: Dave Meister is the Global Head of Channel & MSP – Email Security at the Office of the CTO at Check Point.
Matt Lee
Matt Lee remains pessimistic about using AI to code and believes that it will lead to more security risks moving forward.
Matt recently sat down with a group of peers, who all shared trends they experienced in 2025. They mostly echoed the same sentiment that the quality of AI code has declined over time. “We’ll continue to see that trend, and it will have security implications. As my little tagline says: old problems, new vendors, and that’s very apropos here.”
You can check out the full episode of Beard Banter here. We highly recommend it.
About Matt: Matt Lee is the Senior Director of Security and Compliance at Pax8 and the host of the Beard Banter podcast.
Luis Giraldo
How about a customer-centric approach? That’s what MSP expert Luis Giraldo predicts will be all the buzz for the new year.
Luis suggests that “in 2026, the most successful MSPs will pivot from ‘MSP-centricity’, obsessing over our own stacks and standards, back to true ‘customer-centricity.’ We will see a shift where services are no longer rigid products, but flexible solutions realigned to map directly to the client’s unique business outcomes, risk appetite, and organizational maturity.”
About Luis: Luis is the Chief Evangelist at ScalePad and host of the MSP Confidential Podcast.
Thinking Beyond MSP Trends: How Guardz Empowers MSPs to Succeed
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See how Guardz is shaping the future of cybersecurity for MSPs.
Learn more here.
