Cyber incursions have become an everywhere problem, afflicting small and midsize businesses that once hid safely behind a veil of anonymity, as well as larger, more obvious enterprise targets.
A growing need for robust defense capabilities agile enough to keep pace with evolving attack modes has already left an impression on the channel, where the line between general managed services and specialized managed security services is quietly eroding. The channel, in turn, is shaping the vendor landscape, as providers roll out partner-friendly platforms and lean on partners to lead the sales and distribution charge.
The numbers tell part of the story.
In Q4 2025, the channel accounted for 92% of global cybersecurity spending, which grew 10.3% year over year to $24.2 billion, according to Omdia, a Channel Dive sister company. The analyst firm expects the trend to continue through 2026, with partners capturing more than 90% of an estimated $311 billion market.
While opportunities for partners are expanding, the headaches and challenges inherent to cybersecurity are also on the rise, as tools proliferate, data vulnerabilities expand and AI soups up attack capabilities. Partner pain points aren’t lost on vendors, who have fielded a growing arsenal of AI automation tools to speed detection and response times.
Four of the five top channel cybersecurity companies in Omdia’s vendor rankings — Cisco, CrowdStrike, Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks — introduced partner program upgrades in the last year, aiming to simplify processes and reward service delivery along with sales. That’s another part of a story that has many angles. Channel Dive complied some of our most recent coverage of cybersecurity news and trends to help frame an evolving narrative:
