One thing is becoming clear for managed service providers (MSPs): future growth will be driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. More importantly, AI is accelerating demand for cybersecurity services.
A recent survey conducted by the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) finds 77 percent of North American IT service providers expect AI and cybersecurity to be their top revenue growth categories over the next two years, with 37 percent predicting AI services will see the largest increase.
For MSPs, this signals a major opportunity—but also a growing responsibility to help customers navigate both.
Complexity is slowing AI adoption
That growth, however, is being fueled by complexity—not simplicity.
A separate global survey of 12,021 IT professionals conducted by Freshworks reveals that while 89 percent of mid-market organizations plan to increase AI budgets over the next two years, an average of 25 percent of that spend is consumed by system overhead before delivering meaningful business outcomes.
This burden hits mid-market organizations—many of which MSPs serve—especially hard. Only 15 percent have successfully integrated AI into core operations, while 36 percent remain stuck in the pilot phase.
IT leaders cite several challenges contributing to this complexity:
- Managing multiple AI tools and vendors (32 percent)
- Training and change management (32 percent)
- Data preparation and integration (31 percent)
- Systems integration (27 percent)
- Skills shortages (26 percent)
As a result, progress is slow. Nearly half of organizations say it takes six to eight months to move from AI approval to initial deployment, with another six to 12 months required to fully implement.
AI expands risk—and reinforces the role of MSPs
At the same time, AI is expanding the attack surface. New tools, applications, and agents introduce additional vulnerabilities, while also enabling adversaries to identify and exploit weaknesses faster than ever.
Without the ability to respond at machine speed, organizations will struggle to keep pace. In reality, many are entering an AI-driven arms race they cannot win alone.
This is where MSPs play a critical role. To keep up with evolving threats, MSPs must increasingly rely on AI-powered tools—often delivered through vendor partnerships—to detect and respond faster.
The path forward: turning investment into differentiation
Ultimately, AI and cybersecurity are now fundamentally linked. It is no longer possible to invest in one without addressing the other.
The challenge for MSPs is not whether to invest, but how quickly and how effectively they can build and maintain the expertise required. Many customers still attempt to manage AI and cybersecurity internally, but growing complexity is making that approach harder to sustain.
For MSPs, this creates a clear opportunity: help customers simplify complexity, strengthen security posture, and turn AI investments into real business outcomes.
Those that succeed will not only remain relevant—they will become indispensable partners in the AI-driven future.
Photo: Body Stock / Shutterstock
This post originally appeared on Smarter MSP.