A year ago, Pax8 told MSPs that the “agentic revolution” would transform their businesses. This year, at its Beyond 2026 conference, the company committed to showing them what to do next.
The June 7-9 event in Salt Lake City drew thousands of attendees — 3,500 just for the opening keynote with hundreds more tuning in via livestream. Pax8 executives and partners focused less on agentic AI’s potential and more on how MSPs can turn it into revenue. The market is moving too quickly for partners to wait until they have everything figured out.
“There is a tendency and an instinct to just wait until this moment’s baked,” Pax8 Chief Operating Officer Craig Donovan told ChannelPro. “This one is never going to get completely baked.”
Craig Donovan
The MSP-to-MIP transition
The sense of urgency represented an evolution from last year’s event, when Pax8 introduced the concept of becoming a managed intelligence provider (MIP).
This year, Pax8 unveiled the tools, services and programs intended to help MSPs achieve that goal, including:
- Pax8 Agent Store: Available to Beyond attendees only; global general availability (GA) expected in July
- Managed Intelligence Provider Program: Launched in a limited window for Beyond attendees; broader rollout still to come
- Managed Intelligence Services: Currently in private preview; GA expected in July
- Agent 365 for Managed Intelligence: Announced in partnership with Microsoft at Beyond; availability has not yet been disclosed
- Agent Gateway: Expected to come online in late summer or early fall
- Agent Orchestration and Commercialization Platform: Currently in preview, with a closed beta planned later this year
Pax8 also announced a new global accreditation initiative for MSPs, MSSPs and MIPs, developed with GTIA and the Texas A&M Global Cyber Research Institute. The Managed Intelligence Alliance is an effort working to establish industrywide systems and protocols, certifications and research.
Rob Rae
Most of the event’s announcements focused on helping partners move beyond agentic experimentation. That offers MSPs clearer paths to package and sell AI-driven services.
The Agent Store, for example, was designed to do just that. “This gives you the ability to generate recurring revenue through AI agents much easier,” event emcee Rob Rae, Pax8 corporate vice president of community and ecosystems, said on the main stage.
Build now, learn as you go
The theme of jumping into agentic AI with both feet surfaced repeatedly during the conference. MSPs can no longer think of it as the future. Customers are already experimenting with AI, creating risk and an opportunity for their technology providers.
MSPs can identify shadow AI activity and guide customers through adoption. That creates an immediate entry point for new consulting, governance and security services. “You’ve got to show them the risk; secure, educate and then get people on board,” said attendee Steve Petty, chief strategy officer at Executech, an MSP serving the U.S. West and Southwest regions.
Nick Heddy
Nick Heddy, Pax8 president and chief commerce officer, challenged partners to address what he called culture debt, process debt and tech debt within their own organizations while helping customers navigate similar changes.
“You build transformation in your own business while you’re building it for your clients,” Heddy said during the Community Keynote on June 8. “You learn it while you teach it. You run it while you sell it.”
Start the AI conversation now
The customer-zero-to-customer-one mindset was another recurring theme at the event. Chance Weaver, Pax8 global vice president of AI adoption, told ChannelPro that many MSPs still believe they need to become AI experts before talking to clients. But it’s much simpler than that, he said.
“It starts with having the conversation with your clients,” Weaver said. “In fact, I argue that it’s the conversation that we always wanted to have, but now we have to have it.”
Chance Weaver
Pax8’s answer is to give partners multiple entry points. The MIP Program offers guidance for organizations at different stages of AI adoption, while Managed Intelligence Services can assist in delivering projects before partners develop the necessary in-house skills.
The company also placed a heavy emphasis on agentic AI and what executives described as a coming digital labor economy. During the Innovation Keynote, leaders highlighted new ways for MSPs to deploy, govern and monetize AI agents on behalf of SMB customers.
“The partners who lean into this shift will build incredible businesses that were impossible even a year ago,” Pax8 Chief Technology Officer Avery Moon said during the Innovation Keynote.
A helping hand from vision to execution
For attendees, the conference helped connect concepts introduced last year with practical next steps.
“It has solidified a lot of the ideas and thoughts that were floating around last year,” said Dave Baughn, co-founder and chief operating officer of Wyre Technology, an MSP based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “Now we’re seeing a more cohesive collection of products taking advantage of AI.”
AI adoption has entered a new phase for MSPs. The question is no longer whether agentic AI will change the channel, but whether partners will move quickly enough to lead that change for their customers.
Read more Pax8 Beyond 2026 coverage from ChannelPro
➡️ Pax8 launches new revenue path for MSPs through managed AI services
➡️ How MSPs can move from AI experimentation to recurring revenue
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.
Images: Anjali Fluker/ChannelPro, Pax8
