Highlights from MSP Global 2024 in Barcelona

Held in Barcelona in October, MSP Global 2024 attracted more than 1,800 attendees, including nearly 700 Acronis partners and more than 100 expert speakers. Many of them focused their attention on “Go Native.”  

Those two words dominated the show floor at MSP Global 2024. But what does that mean? It’s a reference to natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection and endpoint management offered in a single, comprehensive solution. Native integration of critical functions is equally critical to both MSP growth and IT efficiency.  

“It is imperative that MSPs provide reliable cybersecurity to customers with diverse IT environments and constrained budgets,” Acronis President Gaidar Magdanurov said. “Acronis natively integrates cybersecurity and data protection that enables MSPs to offer top-notch security without the complexity and significant overhead of traditional nonintegrated tools.”  

2024 has been another busy year for cyberattackers, but Acronis has responded by offering natively integrated cybersecurity and data protection capabilities in a unified solution. In fact, Acronis has launched more solutions, capabilities and improvements in 2024 than in any previous year.   

In his welcome speech at Acronis Partner Day, Acronis CEO Ezequiel Steiner shared a look at the past, present and future of Acronis cybersecurity solutions. New this year are Device Sense™ for discovering, protecting and identifying clients’ networked devices, expanded AI and ML capabilities, security awareness training, security posture management for Microsoft 365, automated software deployment and an early access program for email archiving for Microsoft 365. 

Steiner remarked that Acronis remains committed to strong investments in product development. In fact, he said that compared to industry benchmarks, Acronis invests more in development than other vendors. Research and development will remain at the core of the solutions Acronis develops to deliver exceptional value to MSPs and their clients. 

Held at the PortAventura Convention Centre, MSP Global included not only PortAventura Park’s thrilling roller coaster and amusement park rides, but also a fantastic lineup of speakers and stars. Aside from Acronis executives, luminaries and special guests included Keren Elazari, The Friendly Hacker and TED speaker who shared firsthand insights into cybersecurity and the unique challenges women face in the fast-evolving world of tech, and Charlie Brooker, creator, writer and showrunner of the hit sci-fi series Black Mirror, who talked about the world’s technological trajectory and how MSPs can serve as guides toward a positive outcome.  

Also present and making appearances were several former professional footballers, including Nigel Winterburn of Arsenal Football Club, as well as Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott, who starred for the Manchester City Football Club. 

The Acronis Threat Research Unit (TRU) delivered a compelling presentation on the expanding threat landscape. Nick Grebennikoff, Chief Development Officer, and Robert Neumann, Head of the Cyber Protection Operations Center, shared the stage to showcase a highly sophisticated, targeted attack that is delivered by using an archaic version of Microsoft Word; to explain why the right MSP security solution matters; and share their vision for the future of cyber research.  

In his discussion on advanced persistent treats (APTs), Grebennikoff warned, “Ten years ago, APTs were mostly focused on larger companies, enterprises or government entities. Right now, APTs are around the corner, and anyone can be a target.”  

Neumann broke down how stealthy backdoor attacks unfold. He noted that these attacks are evasive because they can silence popular EDR products and carry out stealthy operations with in-memory footprints. They’re highly sophisticated and targeted, and exploit executable file vulnerabilities. To learn more, watch a recording of the presentation.

Acronis also recognized our partners on Partner Day with the Acronis #CyberFit Partner Awards ceremony. The celebration featured six award categories, along with special recognition for each region’s Service Provider Partner of the Year and Distributor of the Year. Award winners demonstrated exceptionally strong dedication, innovation and loyalty as Acronis partners. 

The six award winners in each category included: 

1. #CyberFit Innovation Award: IT First Responder
2. #CyberFit Loyalty Award: IONOS
3. #CyberFit Exceptional Marketing Recognition Award: TAROX
4. #CyberFit New Partner Award: Sentry Computing
5. #CyberFit Cloud Transformation: Algar Telecom
6. #CyberFit Cyber Platform Partner: ConnectWise

Acronis celebrates these award winners and their unwavering commitment, not only to Acronis, but also to their clients. The winners have shown remarkable enthusiasm to drive greater value for clients using the Acronis platform. 

MSP Global provided the perfect opportunity for partners of all sizes to expand their networks. As Steve Jobs once said, “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart — and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. Tools are just tools. They either work, or they don’t work.”  

Providing effective cybersecurity is not only about having the right technology, but also leveraging the resources and relationships within reach. Cybersecurity, IT and MSP leaders can learn from one another when they make connections. Adversaries will continue their attacks and try to bypass protection measures, but MSPs can respond when they get together and “Go Native” with robust cyber protection and strong partnerships between vendors, MSPs and clients.