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 know about these developing stories or catch up on stories they have missed. All links are current as of Aug. 3.
Assured Data Protection Focusing on its Strength to Expand
Assured Data Protection (ADP), No. 9 on the 2026 MSP 501 list, plans to expand headcount on both sides of the Atlantic to meet demands created by cybersecurity threats and the growth of AI. Read the Microscope story.
AI Forces MSPs to Rethink Where They Add Value
AI is set to deliver enormous changes to the managed services market, forcing MSPs to rethink their established business models and reconsider where they create value for customers, according to Omdia chief analyst Alastair Edwards. Read the Channel Dive story.
Acronis Pushes MSPs Toward Autonomous IT with AI Service Desk and Cloud Infrastructure
Acronis expanded its cyber platform to help MSPs automate more of their technical and business work. The company introduced a unified technician console called Acronis Cyber Console, an Acronis Cyber Intelligence operational layer, and Acronis Service Desk to build and automate agent-driven workflows. Read the ChannelE2E story.
Anthropic Lost Control of Claude in Latest AI Cyber Blunder
Anthropic has become the latest artificial intelligence (AI) company to admit it failed to adequately control its model testing processes after three different versions of Claude, Opus 4.7, Mythos 5, and an internal research model, not only reached the open internet from improperly segregated container environments, but hacked the systems of three distinct organizations. Read the Computer Weekly story.
Lexful’s AI-Native Documentation Platform Goes GA
Lexful’s AI-native, secure IT documentation platform built exclusively for MSPs to create an always-up-to-date system of record and bring order-of-magnitude operational efficiencies, is now generally available. The Lexful platform enables providers to create a continuously updated system of record that transforms documentation into a strategic operational asset. Building on its February launch, Lexful has continued to gain momentum through an oversubscribed $7 million seed funding round, rapid partner adoption, new integrations, and expansion across its channel ecosystem. Read Lexful’s press release.
Microsoft Adds 88 Data Center in a Year, Says it Needs More
Microsoft’s AI investments appear to be paying off as executives touted a 27% growth in its cloud computing platforms totaling $59.3 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q4 earnings call last week. The growth was driven by demand for Azure, and the company’s first-party AI applications and services. Read the Channel Dive story.
Gartner SASE 2026 Rankings: Netskope Leads, Cato Networks Leaps, Palo Alto Limps
Netskope took top position in Gartner’s latest rankings of secure access service edge (SASE) vendors, while Cato Networks moved up the charts ahead of Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler. In its latest Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms report, Gartner lauded Netskope’s “broad and deep” capabilities covering networking and security across on-premises and cloud, as well as its comprehensive points of presence (PoP) infrastructure strategy. The firm moved up from its position in last year’s “leaders” box to lead on execution; Palo Alto Networks was downgraded in this regard to fall from top position to third place, giving Netskope the upper hand over Gartner's other three leaders. Read the SDxCentral story.
Microsoft Emerges with Cheaper Cyber Model to Rival Mythos, GPT-5.6
With enterprise demand for lower-cost generative AI services spiking sharply, Microsoft introduced a cybersecurity model and platform it said costs half that of rival systems. The cybersecurity initiative comes as Microsoft aims to resuscitate its AI approach after its Copilot AI system was met with lukewarm success by enterprises. It follows a series of recent agentic AI releases and a large-scale undertaking to build and operate AI data centers worldwide. Read the AI Business story.