From cost centre to profit centre: Top MSPs detail AI strategy to dominate the channel in 2026

Experts advise channel partners to embed AI in service delivery, shifting focus from reactive fixes to proactive advisory.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a side project for managed service providers. It is reshaping how customers communicate, how cybercriminals operate, and how technology vendors build tools. The message from leading channel players is consistent: MSPs must embrace AI with purpose. Done right, it can unlock new revenue streams, streamline operations, and strengthen security. Done poorly, it can create confusion, risk, and lost opportunity.

Across the channel, major vendors are investing heavily in AI-driven platforms and enablement programs. Their collective advice provides a roadmap for MSPs that want to transform curiosity into business impact.

Pax8: Shift the conversation from features to business outcomes

Pax8 is expanding its Managed Intelligence Provider strategy with a clear stance on AI. The biggest barrier for MSPs is not technical. It is the ability to link AI to measurable customer value. Pax8 is urging partners to move away from product centric conversations and toward outcome driven consulting.

MSPs do not need to present themselves as AI specialists on day one. Instead, Pax8 encourages them to understand where AI can increase productivity, improve customer service, or reduce costs.

“Learn how to have a business conversation with your customer first,” says Chance Weaver, vice president of AI adoption at Pax8. “The expertise and tools can follow.”

• Translation for MSPs: AI starts with mindset. Lead with strategy, not jargon.

• AvePoint: Turn AI into recurring revenue through data readiness

AvePoint is focused on helping MSPs turn AI into a concrete revenue opportunity. The company notes a common failure point: AI projects stall because customer data is messy, poorly governed, or exposed to risk.

That gap creates space for MSPs to deliver managed services around data hygiene, security, and governance. According to AvePoint, most organizations do not have the knowledge or structure to prepare their own environments.

“Many AI deployments fail because companies suddenly discover access to data they should not be seeing,” says Dux Raymond Sy, chief brand officer at AvePoint.

• Translation for MSPs: AI runs on clean, secure data. Own that layer and bill for it.

• Sherweb: AI replaces inefficiency, not people

Sherweb continues expanding its Microsoft-focused distribution business while helping partners build AI competence. The company acknowledges growing anxiety about job loss and automation. Its advice to MSPs is simple: AI will not replace people who understand it. It will replace those who refuse to learn.

Customers are already adopting AI tools on their own. MSPs must step in to design permissions, security guardrails, and usage policies.

“The agents are only as smart as you configure them to be,” says Michael Slater, director of sales for Microsoft and channel marketplace at Sherweb. “If you do not learn the tools, someone else will.”

• Translation for MSPs: Leadership comes from embracing AI, not resisting it.

• Auvik: Use AI to simplify network operations

  
  

Auvik is investing in AI-powered alerting and deeper platform integrations to remove complexity from network management. The goal is not flashy features. It is operational relief. With experienced network engineers in short supply, AI can help MSPs do more with smaller teams.

Auvik wants AI to make configuration and monitoring accessible to a wider set of technicians, without requiring deep specialist expertise.

“Our partners should not need to hire a PhD to configure alerting,” says Auvik president Mark Ralls.

• Translation for MSPs: AI should reduce noise, not add work.

• EasyDMARC: AI has raised the stakes in email security

EasyDMARC is expanding global awareness and education around domain authentication as AI supercharges phishing attacks. Email remains the top vector for cybercrime, and AI-generated messages are becoming more realistic and harder to detect.

The company stresses the urgency of proactive domain protection before customers experience a breach.

“Threat actors are now using AI to craft convincing emails at scale,” says Courtney Austin, vice president of marketing at EasyDMARC.

• Translation for MSPs: Trust must start at the domain level.

• ESET: AI as a digital security analyst

ESET is embedding AI directly into its security platform to help MSPs interpret alerts and respond faster. The company describes AI as a built-in analyst that explains what happened, why it matters, and what actions to take.

This approach is designed to close the skills gap and support junior technicians while improving response times.

“Think of it as a junior analyst working beside you,” says Cameron Tousley, director of MSP sales channels at ESET.

• Translation for MSPs: AI can raise the floor for security expertise.

• WatchGuard: Machine speed attacks require machine speed defense

WatchGuard is expanding AI-driven MDR, NDR, and Zero Trust capabilities as it tracks the rise of automated cyberattacks. The company warns that AI is enabling attackers to move through the entire intrusion lifecycle within minutes.

That reality requires MSPs to adopt autonomous detection and response. Manual processes simply cannot keep pace.

“You will need defenses that move as fast as the attacks,” says Corey Nachreiner, CISO at WatchGuard Technologies.

• Translation for MSPs: Prevention alone is no longer enough.

A clear call to action for MSPs

Across the channel, the message is unified:

• Treat AI as a business strategy, not a trend

• Build AI services around governance, security, and outcomes

• Use AI to simplify daily work and reduce noise

• Prepare for faster, smarter cyber threats

MSPs that lean into AI intentionally will expand their value and relevance. Those who wait risk losing ground as the technology shifts from buzzword to baseline requirement.