MSP-Ignite has become a familiar face at the MSP Summit, and will return by running three peer sessions at the 2026 conference Sept. 28-30 in Orlando, FL.

I spoke with MSP-Ignite CEO Steve Alexander about the three sessions -- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: The MSP Owner’s Growth Peer Group, Acquisition Isn’t Just for Big MSPs Anymore: A Strategic Path to Growth and What’s Next Is Already Here: AI, Compliance, and the MSP Owner’s Readiness Check. He explained the value and target audience of each, and how an MSPs can know which session is right for them.

What's new about the peer group sessions at the 2026 MSP Summit?

Alexander: What's new is the overwhelming interest from the attendees. M&A, scaling for growth and AI are being attacked from every angle at every event. While there’s a ton of great content out there, people need a place where they can discuss and compare notes. The whole structure of these sessions is based on guiding attendees through comparable experiences so that they can learn from each other’s successes and challenges. Presenters come with an agenda. In these meetings, the only agenda is to learn from each other.

What's the difference between your three MSP Summit peer sessions?

Alexander: Monday's "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" is the foundational session, focused on the scaling challenges that everyone faces. Tuesday narrows in on one specific question: is acquisition a realistic growth path for a five-to-50 employee MSP, and what does it actually take to pull one off. We’ve been a part of more “under the radar” M&A over the last year than ever before. Wednesday is a readiness check on AI and compliance. These are two shifts hitting MSPs simultaneously, and we look at where the real gaps are versus where owners assume they are. This will be a real discussion on what’s working and where the challenges are.

Across all three, the format is the same. We bring themes from our year-round peer groups to open the conversation, but we take our cue from the room on where it goes. These aren't lectures, attendees are learning as much from each other as they are from us, and the specific ground we cover each session is shaped by what the people in the room that day actually want to talk through.

If I'm an MSP, how do I know which session is right for me?

Alexander: If you're feeling the operational strain of growth, like you're the bottleneck, roles are fuzzy, you're not sure where to add structure, then start with Monday. If you're specifically weighing a buy-side or sell-side move, Tuesday is built for that conversation. If you want an honest read on where your MSP stands on AI adoption and compliance exposure, that's Wednesday. You don't need to attend Monday to get value out of Tuesday or Wednesday, each is designed to stand on its own.

Steve Alexander

What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from doing MSP peer groups over the years?

Alexander: I heard this from a member a few years ago. He had just received an award for attending 75 consecutive monthly peer group meetings. That’s over six years of making every single meeting. When I asked him for his secret he said “I realized early on that at every single meeting there was at least one member present who was smarter than me about something. The only way to learn who that was and what they were going to share was to be fully present.”

What's the biggest misconception about peer groups?

Alexander: That they’re all the same. Every MSP owner comes into a peer group with a different business, set of circumstances, and most importantly, a different definition of what they want to accomplish. We don’t create the predetermined MSP box that everyone needs to fit in. We provide guardrails in the form of various frameworks that can be taken ala carte and shaped to fit the individual MSP needs. Members help members with MSP-Ignite as the SME guidance on top.

How are peer sessions different from a typical breakout or keynote at the MSP Summit?

Alexander: Most sessions are one expert talking to a room. Ours are closed-door and facilitated. We bring the themes we're seeing most in our formal peer groups to set the stage, but the conversation goes where the room needs it to go. Attendees end up learning as much from each other as they do from us.

Is there any continuity after the MSP Summit, or is this a one-time conversation?

Alexander: We’re here to make each of these sessions valuable in and of itself. While we’re always happy to discuss how to keep the conversations going, we’re here to help make the MSP Summit the most valuable and informative conference of the year.