Dive Brief:
- Managed service providers have a growing opportunity to secure recurring revenue by helping businesses with ecosystem complexity as hybrid IT becomes a default operation model, according to Westcon-Comstor research published earlier this month. The global technology distributor commissioned Coleman Parkes to survey 500 senior MSP and cloud partner decision-makers between December 2025 and January 2026.
- Nearly one-quarter of respondents cited cloud migration and management as a top MSP revenue opportunity, followed closely by security and threat management. Demand for data analytics, governance-led services and automation has also accelerated as customers look for greater control across hybrid estates, the survey found.
- The partners that capture the hybrid-cloud growth opportunity will be the ones that “own the glue layer spanning automation, security and integration, doing the work that turns hybrid complexity into something a customer can rely on month after month,” Patrick Aronson, chief marketing officer and EVP, Asia-Pacific at Westcon-Comstor, said in a release accompanying the report. “The partners who capture it will be the ones who own the glue layer spanning automation, security and integration, doing the work that turns hybrid complexity into something a customer can rely on month after month.”
Dive Insight:
As hybrid IT becomes the norm, businesses are leaning on MSPs to integrate existing systems with cloud without sacrificing security or risking data breaches. The situation creates a clear divide between partners that are up for the challenge and those that are not, according to Westcon-Comstor.
MSPs that package integration, identity and policy enforcement into repeatable, governed services are better positioned to generate predictable recurring revenue and defend margins, the distributor found. Providers that remain focused on one-off projects are losing out.
Customer expectations are shaping the MSP’s role in hybrid IT. Nearly one-third of respondents said they want providers that can serve as trusted advisors. More than one-quarter prioritized end-to-end hybrid management, signaling a shift from implementation-led work to ongoing service ownership.
While opportunities to architect and manage hybrid environments are expanding, so are the delivery challenges and execution risks for services providers. More than 3 in 10 partners said ensuring seamless data flow across platforms is their biggest challenge. A further 28% pointed to maintaining consistent security, while 24% highlighted governance and compliance pressures.
As the need for deeper expertise and broader technical capabilities grows, it’s spurring partnerships among partners, the survey found. More than half of respondents said they are collaborating with other MSPs or specialists, highlighting the growing importance of ecosystem-led delivery.
