Sophos, a global cybersecurity leader, has released its 2026 MSP Perspectives Report, highlighting the expanding strategic responsibilities managed service providers (MSPs) are taking on as organizations face increasingly complex cyber risk. Beyond deploying, managing and supporting IT and cybersecurity technologies, MSPs are increasingly providing cybersecurity leadership, governance and risk guidance for organizations that lack the resources or expertise to maintain these capabilities internally.
Sophos’ research found that MSPs estimate 46% of their customers already depend on them to perform the role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). The research also points to continued growth in this area, with 84% of MSPs anticipating increased demand for CISO services over the next 12 months. Organizations are increasingly turning to MSPs for guidance on cybersecurity risk, regulatory compliance and increasingly complex security environments.
“Organizations require more than technology management to stay secure. They need trusted cybersecurity leaders who can help them understand their risk, navigate compliance requirements and translate security investments into meaningful business outcomes,” said Scott Barlow, vice president and chief evangelist at Sophos. “MSPs are already stepping into this role for nearly half of their customers, creating a significant opportunity to deepen relationships and develop new, higher-value services. The challenge now is delivering that leadership consistently and efficiently across a growing customer base.”
The research also identifies significant opportunities for MSPs to improve operational efficiency. On average, MSPs estimate they could save 53% of their time by using a single, unified platform to manage and report on customer security posture and compliance. In addition, 81% believe such consolidation could reduce the time spent on these activities by more than 30%.
Compliance has become another major component of the MSP role. According to the research, 99% of surveyed MSPs provide at least one cybersecurity compliance service, while 58% already offer complete compliance program management. However, only 6% provide the full range of compliance services assessed in the study, suggesting that while MSP participation in compliance is widespread, comprehensive service delivery remains limited.
Other findings from the MSP Perspectives 2026 Report include:
• Compliance is a major factor in security spending: Compliance requirements account for an average of 50% of customer cybersecurity purchasing decisions, with regulatory requirements heavily or decisively influencing 33% of those decisions. This presents an opportunity for MSPs to align compliance requirements with wider cybersecurity priorities.
• Continuous compliance adoption remains limited: Only 33% of MSPs are “completely confident” in their ability to continuously monitor, manage, and document compliance across multiple customers.
This indicates a gap between the level of continuous compliance assurance customers expect from their MSP partners and the capabilities MSPs can consistently provide at scale.
• Cybersecurity compliance tools remain fragmented: While 36% of MSPs use a single tool or platform to centrally manage cybersecurity compliance or CISO-type activities, 53% rely on multiple tools or platforms. This fragmented approach can increase operational complexity and make services more difficult to scale across customer environments.
• Security reporting remains partly manual for many MSPs: Although 86% of MSPs use fully or semi-automated processes to create consolidated security posture reports, 55% still depend on some manual work. Only 31% can produce reports rapidly through a fully automated process.
“MSPs have an opportunity to become indispensable strategic partners to their customers, but scaling that role requires a more unified operating model,” continued Barlow. “Bringing security posture, compliance management and reporting together can help MSPs spend less time manually consolidating information and more time helping customers reduce risk, strengthen resilience and make informed cybersecurity decisions.”
Sophos CISO Advantage, scheduled to become available in October 2026, is designed to help MSPs formalize the CISO responsibilities they already perform into a structured, scalable and billable cyber program management service. Delivered through Sophos Fusion, Sophos’ AI-native Cybersecurity Defense System, Sophos CISO Advantage incorporates agentic AI-accelerated assessment, reporting and roadmap workflows. The offering is designed to provide board-ready insights, framework-mapped evidence and prioritized action plans across an MSP’s customer base.
The MSP Perspectives 2026 report is based on an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 800 MSPs across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia and Brazil. Participants included senior- and board-level MSP stakeholders. Sophos commissioned the survey, which was conducted by Vanson Bourne in April 2026.
Read the full MSP Perspectives 2026 report.
MSPs interested in Sophos CISO Advantage can learn more through the Sophos Partner Portal. Organizations interested in becoming a Sophos Partner can register here.
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About Sophos
Sophos, a global cybersecurity leader, defends more than 625,000 organizations worldwide with Sophos Fusion, the industry’s first and most complete AI-native cybersecurity defense system: a single, connected architecture where every control point operates as one. Powered by agentic AI and elite human expertise, Sophos detects, investigates, and neutralizes threats before they become business-disrupting events. Working alongside a global ecosystem of managed service providers, resellers, and technology partners, Sophos compounds intelligence from every threat encountered and every environment defended to make every customer’s defense stronger than the last. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.
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