The 2025 Channel Partners MSP Summit, held in Orlando, brought together managed service providers, vendors, and thought leaders to explore the future of the MSP and partner ecosystem. This year’s theme, MSP 3.0: The Trillion-Dollar Revolution, explored how MSPs can seize the opportunities arising from the industry’s current inflection point – defined by the increasing demand for deeper ecosystem collaboration, navigating rapid advances in AI, and mounting cybersecurity threats.
Here are three key takeaways from notable presentations and panel discussions:
1. The Partner Ecosystem Will Define the Next Era of MSP Growth
A recurring theme in Orlando was that both MSPs and vendors cannot thrive in isolation, with 96% of IT Services spend now moving through the partner ecosystem. And given that 70% of IT services spend now flows through MSPs, the nature of their vendor relationships is evolving: MSPs are no longer passive resellers but strategic orchestrators, maintaining control over dialogue with the end user, embedding vendor technologies into their own offerings, and selectively deepening partnerships. Thus, the partner ecosystem is shifting from broad, shallow alliances toward selective, strategic, co-innovation relationships – especially in high-stakes domains like security and AI.
With the rapid pace of innovation, the strength of an MSP’s vendor ecosystem is having an increasingly bigger impact on how quickly advanced capabilities can be brought to clients. This shift in mindset is especially clear in cybersecurity. MSPs recognize they cannot maintain 24/7 in-house SOCs or build proprietary threat intelligence at the same level as major vendors. Instead, they are focusing on orchestrating relationships, selecting trusted partners, integrating their offerings, and presenting a seamless front to the end user. In this model, the MSP’s value lies in managing complexity on behalf of the customer.
2. AI: From “Cool Experiment” to Embedded Service
AI is clearly no longer an optional side experiment – it was front and center in vendor keynotes, case-study sessions, and roundtables, and several of the MSP owners we spoke with had attended the conference specifically with the goal of building and refining their firm’s AI strategy. The conversation has shifted: MSPs are now asking “Which parts of our service stack can we reliably automate or augment?” rather than “Should we try AI?”
Use cases shared at the Summit made it clear that industry leaders are moving toward packaging AI into repeatable services that clients will pay for:
These are not abstract proofs of concept – they are deployed or close-to-deployment systems. These use cases highlight a clear trend: AI is increasingly being built into solutions rather than being added on as an afterthought. For MSPs, this opens opportunities to explore AI-enabled services that can enhance client outcomes – such as predictive security monitoring, intelligent help desk triage, and data-driven compliance reporting. Those who can turn AI into scalable, monetizable offerings are more likely to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
3. Enterprise-Grade Protection is the New Imperative
In the MSP world, cybersecurity is no longer just a checkbox – it’s becoming the foundation that enables higher-value AI and managed services. At the Summit, many speakers reiterated: you cannot offer AI automation or advanced operations unless you are confident your security is solid.
Of course, clients want enterprise-grade protection without paying for overlapping or redundant solutions. Vendors offering consolidated, end-to-end security suites (EDR, SIEM, identity, MFA, vulnerability management, etc.) are well-positioned to attract attention in the marketplace. Similarly, solutions where AI is woven throughout the platform – helping reduce false positives, surface real threats, and deliver plain-language insights that MSPs can easily communicate to clients – are more likely to gain lasting traction.
The cybersecurity model going forward is tightly integrated vendor partnerships where cybersecurity is delivered as a holistic, proactive service. Furthermore, AI and cybersecurity are converging in MSP strategies: AI can amplify security, but security also enables safe AI deployment. The most compelling service bundles will thus be AI and security in tandem.
These key takeaways reflect comments made by conference speakers, including but not limited to: Jay McBain (Chief Analyst – Canalys), Krishna Rajagopal (CEO – Akati Sekurity), Jacci Robinson (Vice President - Go-to-Market& Growth, North America – Anunta), Chris Ichelson (CEO and Founder – 360SOC),Jim Lippie (Chief Strategy Officer – Kaseya)
DISCLAIMER This presentation is intended for information and discussion purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional investment advice. Statements of fact and opinions expressed are those of the participants individually and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, are not the opinion or position of Harbor View Advisors, LLC (“HVA”). The information in this presentation was compiled from sources believed to be reliable for informational purposes only. HVA does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy or completeness of the information presented.
