N-Able CEO: MSPs are getting deeper into the enterprise

N-Able recently shared research that placed security and artificial intelligence (AI) at the top of the areas that managed service providers (MSPs) expect to fuel growth this year.

Following the launch of MSP Horizons report, MicroScope caught up with John Pagliuca, N-able president and CEO, to hear his thoughts on the research and on the prospects for the rest of the year for the MSP community. While findings came as no surprise to Pagliuca, they did confirm the views he had picked up from discussions across the channel. 

“It didn’t really surprise me. I spend a lot of my time speaking with MSPs from across the globe, and what was said to me in our conversations showed up in the report – a bullish outlook for the opportunities that are in front of [MSPs],” he said.

“Cyber security projects related to digital evolution is really what it’s about, and projects have kicked off are providing a lot of green shoots for MSPs. They’re finding that the SME and the mid-market really need their help on all things security, and that starts with the education of their customer base.

“It also includes protecting their endpoints, networks and data, [as well as the ability to] detect and respond, and do a full stack all the way to recovery – including MSPs helping their customers with compliance needs.

“Whether you’re in the UK, Australia or the United States, for example, you know compliance requirements from governments and other industries are raising the bar overall on cyber hygiene and security,” he said. “From the small to the large, MSPs are looking at 2025 as a growth year, and they’re looking to invest accordingly.”

MSPs are also under pressure to evolve their proposition, which is where AI chimes in, as partners look to ensure they can support the technology. “MSPs want to make sure that their customers are efficient and secure, and they do that through standardisation and augmentation,” said Pagliuca.

“Those who digitally transformed a few years ago are saying, ‘I need to continue to transform.’ They need to continue to evolve, and that evolution needs to happen at a quicker pace, especially now that you’re leveraging or layering in generative AI [GenAI] or agentic AI – that evolution is just going to just speed up.”

The N-Able report touched on consolidation that is a feature of the MSP market, with Pagliuca commenting that it was not necessarily a negative development. “I’ve often said that M&A or MSP consolidation actually increases the managed service provider market,” he said.

Not only are fresh entrants keeping the overall MSP numbers going, but the emergence of larger players means the channel is able to target enterprise customers, with Pagliuca adding: “As these MSPs get larger and more complex, and as their balance sheets and their investors become more mature and more complex, they are better suited and better funded to go after the fortune 1,000.

“They’re helping with co-managed parts of some of the largest banks in the world, some of the largest hospitals in the world, and even as far as the largest retail businesses in the world. And that’s because they’ve grown up.

“They’re professional. As they scale, they’re going to gain more access. That means there’s still plenty of room, as these MSPs consolidate and go up market, for others to fill the space for more of the smaller MSPs. So, it’s effectively a net positive in the industry overall,” he said.

Last year was a challenging one for many across the MSP world, with customer spending slowing and uncertainty rising. The hopes have been that 2025 would have a different narrative, and Pagliuca is among those expecting this year to be an improvement.

Late in 2024, N-Able acquired Adlumin to bolster its security offering, with plans to further expand the business.

“We have a big focus on security. We have a big focus on really leaning in and investing more in the channel across the market. We’ll be leaning in on the channel heavily and we’ll be expanding as we continue to go internationally,” said Pagliuca.