Over the past year, MSPs’ and MSSPs’ security businesses have evolved. Clients want faster responses, clearer proof of value, and managed security services that can keep up with increasingly complex environments.
Seceon recently surveyed participating security providers to better understand what teams delivering managed security are seeing on the front lines. The respondents included SOC analysts, service leaders, and MSP/MSSP operators responsible for protecting organizations across industries, regions, and the world.
Several findings stood out immediately, particularly around AI expectations, operational complexity, and how clients measure the value of security services.
AI Is No Longer the Pitch. It’s the Baseline.
One of the clearest takeaways from the survey was how quickly AI expectations have changed. In fact, automation and AI are becoming foundational to managed security services, the survey results showed.
- 78% of respondents said AI-driven security operations will significantly shape the industry by 2026.
- 72% reported that clients were actively evaluating or asking about AI-enabled security capabilities.
- 53% reported growing client interest in automation and AI assistance compared to last year
Just a few years ago, AI was often treated as a differentiator in cybersecurity marketing. Today, it’s table stakes.
Most clients already assume you use AI. However, they want to understand how that automation improves outcomes.
Clients Measure Security Services by Results
Another theme that emerged clearly in the survey is how clients evaluate the value of managed security services. Instead of focusing on compliance frameworks or toolsets, buyers want measurable operational outcomes.
According to the survey:
- 49% of respondents said clients expect faster incident resolution as the primary indicator of value.
- 40% reported that customers measure ROI based on reduced incidents or breaches.
- Compliance ranked most often as a “necessary checkbox,” not a growth driver.
For MSPs, that means reporting and communication must shift to outcomes that business leaders understand. Security services are being evaluated less by the tools deployed and more by the impact those tools deliver.
Tool Sprawl Is a Real Business Problem
Tool sprawl was one operational issue respondents raised consistently in the survey. Many security teams are managing multiple platforms for detection, monitoring, automation, and response. These are often from different vendors.
- 32% of respondents identified tool sprawl and platform overload as their biggest operational challenges.
- 26% cited recruiting and retaining security talent as the next biggest challenge.
Those two issues are closely connected. When analysts must jump between multiple security tools to investigate alerts, it slows response times and increases training requirements. It also makes it harder for MSPs to scale their services efficiently.
In practical terms, more tools often mean higher costs and lower margins.
Confidence Is High but Consistency Is Hard
One of the more interesting contradictions in the data involved detection confidence. Most providers believed that their teams could detect sophisticated threats before they escalate. But when detection speed across different environments was examined, the responses became less certain.
- 79% were confident they could detect a multistage breach before it escalates.
- Only 50% said they can detect cloud-based threats within minutes.
- 25% said detection speed depends on the tools used.
This gap highlights one of the biggest challenges facing modern SOC environments. Today’s attacks rarely stay in one place. They move across endpoints, identities, cloud platforms, and applications.
MSPs operating hybrid or multi-tenant SOC environments, it’s just as important to maintain consistent detection performance across those environments as having strong detection capabilities in the first place.
The Managed Security Model Is Evolving
Maggie MacAlpine
The structure of managed security operations is also changing. Many providers have combined internal analysts with automation and vendor platforms to expand service capacity.
- 45% of respondents reported operating hybrid SOC models combining in-house teams with external platforms and automation.
This hybrid model reflects a practical reality: demand for cybersecurity services is growing faster than the supply of experienced security professionals. Automation and AI-driven platforms are helping bridge that gap by reducing alert noise and accelerating investigations.
For many providers, this approach allows them to expand service delivery without expanding SOC headcount at the same pace.
Trust Retains Clients, Results Grow Revenue
The survey revealed an important difference between what keeps clients loyal and what drives revenue growth.
Respondents ranked communication the highest on what keeps customers long term. But when asked what drives contract expansion, measurable outcomes were the clear winner.
- 29% said consistent communication and transparency keeps clients loyal.
- 52% said proven outcomes and measurable ROI drive contract renewals and expansion.
In other words, trust keeps clients from leaving but results convince them to invest more. For MSPs, this reinforces the importance of strong reporting and clear outcome-based metrics.
What This Means for MSPs
The managed security services market is evolving quickly, and providers have a tremendous opportunity to grow alongside it. But expectations are rising.
The firms that succeed in the coming years will likely be those that:
- Use automation to deliver faster and more consistent outcomes
- Simplify security operations by reducing tool fragmentation
- Translate technical activity into business metrics clients understand
- Combine strong client relationships with measurable results
Cybersecurity is one of the biggest growth opportunities in the channel. As the industry matures, success will depend less on the number of tools in the stack and more on the ability to deliver clear, repeatable outcomes.
Maggie MacAlpine is director of cybersecurity partnerships & evangelism for Seceon. These insights are drawn from a survey of managed security providers conducted during Seceon Innovation Days. For more analysis, access the complete report.
Images: Koto Amatsukami — stock.adobe.com, Seceon
