Organisations Turn to MSPs for Cybersecurity Guidance
A Barracuda survey of 2,000 IT and security leaders finds managed service providers are increasingly relied on for strategic security advice.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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Barracuda released a report finding organisations increasingly look to managed service providers for strategic cybersecurity guidance. The international survey of 2,000 IT and security leaders found 66% of organisations globally already work with an MSP.
Why it matters
Concerns about detecting, investigating and responding to cyber threats, including AI-driven phishing and social engineering, are pushing organisations toward outside support. The findings suggest MSPs are becoming a central part of how businesses manage cyber risk.
The survey found 74% of Indian organisations and 66% globally use an MSP, while 29% are considering or evaluating one over the next 12 to 18 months. Only 29% of prospective MSP customers said they could secure compromised accounts and restore operations within hours of an incident.
The players
Barracuda
Barracuda is a cybersecurity company that sells email, network and data security products and publishes research on threat trends.
The details
Barracuda's report draws on an international survey of 2,000 IT and security leaders. Nearly 59% of prospective MSP customers were concerned about AI-generated phishing, AI-powered social engineering, shadow AI and AI-enabled insider threats, and nearly half said key cyber resilience capabilities were at an early stage or only partially established.
Timeline
Report and article published November 14, 2026
Projected MSP demand expected over the next 12 to 18 months
The Tech Race
The shift toward outsourced security advice reflects a broader move among companies to rely on specialised providers as AI-driven threats grow more complex. Demand for MSPs is being driven by gaps in internal detection and response capability rather than by any single product launch.
Organisations evaluating outside security support can use the survey's selection criteria, such as plain-language risk explanations, to judge providers. Businesses without strong incident recovery capability may find MSP partnerships a practical way to close gaps.
The takeaway
Organisations should assess whether they can restore operations quickly after an incident, since most prospective MSP customers reported that capability was still developing. Prioritising providers who explain risk clearly can make the relationship easier to manage.
Further reading
Explore more on Cybersecurity to see how organisations are responding to AI-driven threats.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ETCISO.
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