MSP trends 2026: Creating opportunities in a difficult market

If managed service providers (MSPs) are going to grow as 2026 rolls on, they’re going to have to overcome both new and familiar obstacles in a tough environment. But there is good news for MSPs that are ready to adapt their business models to new market realities.

A recent report from Omdia, MSP Trends and Predictions 2026, lays out clearly why MSPs are more likely to struggle to grow in 2026 than they have in past years. Fortunately, forward-thinking MSPs can adopt practices to put themselves in position to outpace the market.  

The Omdia report states that the managed services market will grow by only 10% in 2026. That number is below historical rates, and only the most focused and differentiated service providers will be able to top it. As the report notes, true organic growth will be difficult amid budget pressure, commoditization and margin compression.

Acronis knows that the challenges facing MSPs are both immediate and very real. Clients are demanding that MSPs protect more endpoints, deliver more services, navigate more regulations and adopt AI. But clients don’t necessarily want to pay more for enhanced services. MSPs need to know how to satisfy clients without significantly increasing headcount or costs and eating into profit margins.

Nevertheless, MSPs that can embrace the pressures they face and turn them into opportunities will set themselves up for success. The key is to modernize, automate and specialize without breaking MSP business models.

Omdia forecasts that geopolitical instability and macroeconomic volatility will keep MSP clients focused on cash flow and predictability over expanding IT operations. Hardware and software price increases, especially those tied to AI-driven licensing, are also weighing heavily on clients’ budgets.

At the same time, traditional helpdesk and per-user services are largely commoditized, meaning they’re not the reliable profit centers they once were. MSPs can’t rely on legacy service models alone because traditional pricing and service models will not allow MSPs to keep pace with inflation. They need to differentiate with next-generation services, advisory capabilities and operational efficiency.

There is good news for MSPs: Omdia finds that there are major growth opportunities for MSPs in cybersecurity. Omdia projects that the global managed security market will grow from $93 billion in 2025 to $106 billion in 2026, a 14.4% growth rate. The Omdia report also projects that cybersecurity product sales through MSPs will increase by 15% as customers seek operational expertise beyond vendor certifications.

Meanwhile, threats are becoming more sophisticated, with attackers shifting toward destructive ransomware and AI‑enabled techniques. Shadow AI is emerging as a primary vector for data leakage and cyber insurers are tightening requirements and denying coverage to organizations with poor security practices.

MSPs, as protectors of clients, are increasingly on the front lines of those risks. Many threats target MSPs themselves.

One way MSPs can respond to threats is by reducing complexity. A natively integrated cyber protection platform such as Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud that unifies data protection, cybersecurity and endpoint management enables MSPs to eliminate fragmented point solutions, increase technician efficiency and provide improved cybersecurity for clients.

With management in a single console and a comprehensive suite of security solutions in a unified platform, MSPs can close security gaps while improving operational efficiency. A natively integrated single platform for cybersecurity delivers differentiators that don’t come at a high cost. In fact, it can enable MSPs to save money and increase revenue.

The Omdia report identifies AI as one of the defining forces shaping the MSP landscape in 2026, with the other being cybersecurity. It notes that if 2025 was a year of experimentation, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of measurable AI return on investment for MSPs.

The ROI of AI is starting to take shape for MSPs. Leading MSPs report 15% to 25% technician productivity gains and 40% to 70% reductions in ticket resolution times through AI adoption. The most successful MSPs deploy AI internally first to automate service desk operations, enhance knowledge management and strengthen security operations before monetizing AI-enabled services externally.

The MSP business model is process-driven and data-rich by nature, so it’s well suited for applied AI. Service providers can achieve success by improving metrics and practices, including reduced cost per ticket, improved SLA adherence and scalable service delivery.

Acronis supports this transition by embedding AI-powered automation and assistance directly into Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud. The focus is on boosting technician productivity and safeguarding security and compliance while enabling partners to scale without proportionally increasing costs.

Organizations are struggling to prevent sensitive data from being exposed through unauthorized AI tool usage, which introduces real risk. MSPs must establish governance to prevent data leakage and shadow AI activity.

All that presents another opportunity for MSPs: Helping clients govern AI safely and strategically.

MSPs need to be able to enforce generative AI usage policies across client organizations as well as their own and gain visibility into shadow AI activity. The ability to control which AI tools are accessible via URL blocklists is critical. MSPs can enable organizations to shift AI from an unmanaged risk to a governed driver of efficiency innovation. At the same time, service providers can develop a new revenue opportunity.

The Omdia report highlights that cyber insurers are increasingly acting as regulators, denying coverage to organizations that lack foundational controls such as multifactor authentication (MFA), privileged account monitoring and reliable backups. The report also points to expanding opportunities for MSPs around compliance services, as well as around virtual governance, risk and compliance offerings.

For MSPs, compliance services represent a move up the value chain from reactive IT support to proactive resilience and compliance enablement. And that represents another opportunity for growth and differentiation.

With integrated backup, endpoint protection and advanced detection capabilities delivered through a unified platform, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud enables MSPs to align with insurer requirements and regulatory expectations for their clients. As such, MSPs can position themselves as strategic advisors rather than merely transactional providers.

The Omdia MSP outlook for 2026 centers on three themes: slower growth, intensified competition and rising expectations around security and AI.

Success will depend on operational efficiency, differentiated services and measurable business outcomes. MSPs that deploy AI internally, expand into higher-margin security and compliance services and deliver integrated cyber protection will be best positioned to protect margins and capture growth.

Let Acronis help you succeed. Try Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud free for 30 days.

Omdia published “MSP Trends and Predictions 2026,” written by Robin Ody, in January 2026.