3 must-know predictions shaping channel partner success in 2026

Expert insights and actionable strategies for channel partners and MSPs

Takeaways

• Purpose-built MSP platforms are becoming essential for scaling operations, ensuring security and compliance, and meeting rising customer expectations.
• AI and automation are critical growth drivers, enabling MSPs to deliver more proactive, personalized services and position themselves as trusted advisors.
• MSPs must increase their AI fluency to defend against sophisticated AI-powered cyberattacks, combining machine learning with human expertise to maintain resilient defenses.
• Staying ahead of industry trends is vital for channel partners and MSPs to navigate the rapidly evolving managed services landscape and remain competitive in 2026.

As the channel partner and managed services landscape rapidly evolves, staying ahead of industry trends is more crucial than ever. Navigating the challenges and opportunities of 2026 will require MSPs and channel partners to anticipate technological shifts, enhance their offerings, and adapt to an increasingly complex marketplace.

To help our partners get ready for 2026, we recently connected with Geoff Thompson, Vice President of Managed Services Strategy & Development at Barracuda, to gather his expert perspective on the key priorities channel partners and MSPs should focus on to achieve success in the coming year.

Prediction #1: Built-for-purpose MSP platforms will become table stakes

Built-for-purpose MSP platforms are evolving from a “nice-to-have” into a core requirement for business growth. Designed for the managed services economy, these platforms enhance MSP operations by integrating key functions — including service automation, security, compliance, and business intelligence. This consolidation streamlines operations and reduces inefficiencies caused by fragmented solutions, enabling MSPs to deliver consistent, high-quality services at scale. As customer expectations rise and operational complexities increase, the ability to scale effectively, ensure security and compliance and proactively address customer needs will depend on purpose-built platforms. MSPs that do not adopt these platforms will risk falling behind.

Prediction #2: AI and automation will become a growth and trust multiplier for MSPs

AI and automation are becoming strategic enablers of growth and trust, transforming how MSPs deliver value, scale operations and differentiate themselves within an increasingly competitive market. By leveraging AI-driven insights and automated workflows, MSPs can streamline their operations and shift from reactive to proactive, predictive and adaptive models. This enables them to offer personalized, outcomes-based offerings more closely aligned with their clients' business needs. MSPs that embrace AI and automation are setting the standard for next-generation service delivery and establishing themselves not just as service providers but as trusted advisors dedicated to enhancing cyber resilience, business agility and innovation for their customers.

Prediction #3: MSPs will need to increase their AI fluency to defend against cyberattacks

Cybersecurity is entering a new era where AI-based attacks are transforming the threat landscape by leveraging agentic and generative AI to automate phishing campaigns, create convincing deepfakes and launch synthetic identity attacks at scale. For MSPs and their customers, static firewalls and signature-based detection are no longer enough. Instead, they require adaptive, AI-powered defensive tools that anticipate and neutralize threats before they escalate, along with a deep understanding of AI and its application in security. MSPs that combine machine learning with human expertise, creating intelligence-driven defenses where human insight is amplified — not replaced — by automation can ensure that their defenses remain agile in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks. In short, MSPs that invest in AI fluency today will not only safeguard their clients but also establish themselves as trusted advisors in an environment where cyber resiliency and innovation define success.