AI is not something MSPs can “get to later.” It’s already reshaping how customers work, how attackers operate, and how vendors build products. There is no question that MSPs heading into the new year must adopt AI. But they also must do it intentionally to drive revenue, improve efficiency, and not introduce new risk.
Channel vendors are moving fast. Some focus on strategy while others zero in on monetization, operations, or security. Together, their advice offers a practical roadmap for MSPs that want to start the year strong. It also can help you stay competitive as AI moves more definitively from buzzword to business requirement.
Start With the Right Mindset
Pax8
- Value Proposition: Cloud marketplace and enablement built around partner growth
Chance Weaver
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: Expansion of its Managed Intelligence Provider vision
AI isn’t just another tool MSPs can quietly add to the stack. It changes how conversations with customers need to happen. Rather than technical, the biggest shift is consultative. MSPs that struggle with AI don’t lack tools. They’re struggling to tie AI to real business outcomes.
Pax8 is pushing partners to move beyond feature talk and into results-driven conversations. MSPs don’t need to be AI experts yet. They just need to understand what problems AI can solve for their customers. They must frame those conversations confidently.
“The No. 1 thing you need to do is learn how to have a business conversation with your customer. Do that, and then Pax8 and the partners that are a little bit further ahead can help you with it.” — Chance Weaver, vice president of AI adoption, Pax8
Turn AI Into a Revenue Opportunity
AvePoint
- Value Proposition: Data security, governance, and resilience across cloud platforms
Dux Raymond Sy
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: Helping MSPs monetize AI through data foundations and agent governance
Many AI initiatives stall after pilots not because the technology doesn’t work, but because the data behind it isn’t ready. This is one of the biggest missed revenue opportunities for MSPs, according to AvePoint. AI runs on data. Bad data leads to bad outputs and serious security exposure. That creates an opening for MSPs to deliver ongoing services around data quality, data security, and governance. It’s foundational work that customers rarely know how to do themselves.
“Ninety-four percent of AI deployments today fail to go past pilots, because companies are finding out, ‘I’m starting to see things I’m not supposed to see.’” — Dux Raymond Sy, chief brand officer, AvePoint
Adopt AI With Purpose, Not Fear
Michael Slater
Sherweb
- Value Proposition: Microsoft-focused cloud distribution with deep human support
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: U.S. expansion and hands-on AI enablement for partners
AI anxiety is real, especially around job displacement and loss of control. Sherweb’s message to MSPs: AI replaces inefficiency, not people. The risk is refusing to learn how to manage its adoption. That management responsibility falls squarely on MSPs. Customers will use AI whether MSPs guide them or not. Partners will stay relevant if they understand how AI tools behave, how permissions work, and how to put guardrails in place.
“The agents are only as smart as you set them up to be. If you don’t know how to use the tools, the person that does is going to replace you.” — Michael Slater, director of sales for Microsoft and channel marketplace, Sherweb
Use AI to Reduce Complexity, Not Add It
Auvik
- Value Proposition: Network and SaaS management built for MSP scale
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: Deepened ConnectWise Asio integration and new AI-powered alerting
Mark Ralls
AI should lower the bar for technical expertise. For example, Auvik is using AI to simplify network operations and alerting so MSPs can do more with leaner teams. This is especially needed as experienced network talent is hard to find. For MSPs, the value isn’t flashy AI features. It’s fewer tickets, faster troubleshooting, and less time spent tuning alerts. AI works best when it quietly removes friction from everyday operations.
“Our partners should not have to hire a PhD in network engineering to be able to configure alerting. How do we give them the tools that can help them do that more easily?” — Mark Ralls, president, Auvik
AI Is Changing the Threat Landscape
From left: Gevorg Dabaghyan, Alina Hovhannisyan, Heather Scaglione, Gerasim Hovhannisyan, Mike Anderson, and Courtney Austin of EasyDMARC
EasyDMARC
- Value Proposition: Email authentication and domain protection made MSP-friendly
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: Growing a global DMARC community and expanding education programs
Email is the primary attack vector for most organizations. AI is making those attacks harder to spot and easier to scale. That means MSPs need to focus on domain authentication and email trust. EasyDMARC sees AI-driven phishing as a forcing function. Proactively secure customer domains; don’t wait for a breach to trigger action. Done right, email security also opens the door to more strategic, trust-based conversations with customers.
“Ninety percent of attacks are still happening through email. And I think in the world of AI at the moment, it’s absolutely remarkable because the threat actors out there are using AI as well to write some really authentic emails.” — Courtney Austin, vice president of marketing, EasyDMARC
Let AI Strengthen Security Operations
ESET
- Value Proposition: Threat research-driven cybersecurity for MSPs
Cameron Tousley
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: AI Advisor and detection of early AI-powered ransomware
Security teams are overwhelmed, alerts are constant, and context is often missing. ESET is using AI to close that gap by helping MSPs understand what happened, why it matters, and what to do next without deep threat research expertise. This turns AI into a force multiplier for MSPs. It accelerates response times, reduces confusion, and helps newer technicians learn faster by embedding intelligence directly into workflows.
“Think of it as a junior analyst that tells you what happened, why it matters, and what to do next — without guesswork.” — Cameron Tousley, director of MSP sales channels, ESET
Prepare for What Comes Next
WatchGuard Technologies
Corey Nachreiner
- Value Proposition: Unified security platform built for MSP efficiency
- What’s Happening with the Vendor Now: AI-driven MDR, NDR, and Zero Trust expansion
AI is doing more than helping defenders. It’s also automating attacks end to end. WatchGuard warned that threat actors are using AI to compress the entire kill chain, from reconnaissance to data exfiltration, into minutes. That changes the rules for MSPs. Prevention alone isn’t enough. Detection and response must operate at machine speed. AI-powered defense is the only way to keep up.
“When you have agentic AI attacks that can move inside your network within seconds, you’re going to need defenses that can move that fast. You can only fight fire with fire.” — Corey Nachreiner, CISO, WatchGuard
Anjali Fluker is managing editor of The ChannelPro Network, where she covers news, trends, and best practices for the MSP community. She specializes in telling the stories that matter to IT providers serving the SMB market. When she’s not reporting on the latest in managed services, she’s connecting with channel pros at industry events across the country.
Featured image: DALL-E
