The content team at the MSP Summit site tracks stories of interest to the managed services provider community. Anyone selling managed services or partnering with MSPs will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. We are tracking—with the help of ChatGPT along with AI tools our parent Informa has developed—a roundup based on story traffic, mentions, impressions, reposts, and social media engagement. All links are current as of Aug. 25, 2025.

MSPs Must Ensure Their Clients’ Cloud Services Will Survive the Next Big Outage

When the cloud goes down, MSP clients don’t ask whose logo is on the data center. They just know their business is offline, and they are looking at their MSP. Unless MSPs provide redundancy, geographic spread, and a clear response plan for their clients, they are gambling with both their uptime and reputation. Read the ChannelE2E story.

Cisco’s New Channel Chief

Rodney Clark is out and Tim Coogan is in as Cisco’s SVP of global partner sales, months ahead of the rollout of Cisco’s revamped partner program. Clark’s departure comes less than two years after he took the job. Clark played a leading role in developing and promoting the Cisco 360 partner program set to go live next February. Coogan is a 25-year Cisco veteran. Read the story on the Channel Partners Conference site.

Databricks Funding Brings Valuation Over $100B

Databricks will close a Series K funding round that values the company at more than $100 billion, and pledges to expand AI investment. The funding round is backed by existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital and will push back the company’s IPO plans. Read the Channel Insider story.

Is the Traditional MSP Service Desk Dead?

Despite the headline, this Channel Pro story says the traditional service desk is far from dead, but is evolving into a more powerful entity. The evolution is the result of B2B customers demanding B2C experiences, and aware MSPs asking technology vendors to help them meet these demands. Read the story on Channel Pro.

‘Turning a Blind Eye’: Microsoft Under Fire, Accused of Not Protecting MSPs

U.K. MSPs told Channel Futures that Microsoft is failing to protect pricing parity in its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program while enabling its biggest partners to aggressively poach clients. The comments come despite Microsoft announcing earlier this year that it will “help CSP partners drive more renewals and upgrades, retain customers [and] upsell and scale their businesses.” Read the Channel Futures story.

SonicWall Names Managed Security Services GM

SonicWall is pushing toward becoming a full-service cybersecurity firm, elevating Michael Crean to general manager of the new SonicWall Managed Security Services Division. Crean joined SonicWall in 2023 when SonicWall acquired Solutions Granted, the MSP he founded. He was SonicWall’s SVP for managed security services since the acquisition. The new SonicWall division will sell co-managed and fully managed cybersecurity services to compete with Barracuda, Cisco, WatchGuard and others. Read the SDxCentral story.