Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

While it is not technically required, the Cyber Essentials 3.3 set of standards is quickly becoming a necessity for organizations that need to ensure public sector contract, insurance and supplier assurance in the U.K. That’s good news for managed service providers (MSPs), who now have an opportunity to build both trust and revenue by guiding clients toward Cyber Essentials certification. Acronis recently surveyed U.K. partners about Cyber Essentials.

QUICK DEFINITIONS MSP (Managed Service Provider): A third-party company that remotely manages IT infrastructure and services for client organizations. Managed service providers typically offer a broad range of IT services — including baseline security — often from a Network Operations Center (NOC). MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider): A specialist provider focused exclusively on cybersecurity.

PowerShell is an amazing scripting language that empowers Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to automate repetitive tasks, dramatically improving efficiency, consistency, and scalability across client environments. While traditional training or formal education may cover the basics, real-world MSP automation requires going beyond the basics with hands-on PowerShell scripting and continuous learning.

• EDR false positives are a structural profitability problem for MSPs, not just a technical nuisance. Under flat-fee, per-incident, and man-hours pricing models, every false alert erodes margins directly. • Seventy-five percent of MSPs experience alert fatigue at least monthly, and MSPs managing 1,000+ clients report daily fatigue (Source: Heimdal, The State of MSP Agent Fatigue, 2025).

Antivirus just isn’t enough anymore — not even close. Ransomware attacks constantly grow more sophisticated, zero-day vulnerabilities appear frequently and attackers increasingly rely on legitimate tools already inside a network rather than just on traditional malware. Antivirus alone just can’t protect organizations from all of those threats.

The CRN MSP 500 ecosystem, including the Elite 150, Pioneer 250, and Security 100, provides a clear picture of how managed service providers see their businesses evolving. When you read the responses from MSP leaders across the profiles and interviews, four themes emerge consistently: Together these themes describe a fundamental shift in the managed services industry, from IT support toward security-driven digital operations delivered at scale.