Partners are no longer being rewarded for what they sell, but for what they run and retain. Recurring revenue is the surface metric, but the real test is about having a platform, a standardized delivery model, and a service that a customer depends on every day. That’s what unlocks tier status, funding, and pipeline. Infrastructure control is the long game because the partner that operates the environment owns the renewal and expansion, turning the relationship into something that compounds rather than resets every year. In that sense, the 'tightening' we’re seeing is really a filter, separating partners who can deliver ongoing outcomes at scale from those still built around one-time transactions.
This Week's Tech, Channel, and MSP News
Private cloud shake-up creates a VMware exit path for partners: NexusTek introduced a Nutanix-based version of its private cloud, giving customers a structured migration option as VMware costs rise under Broadcom. The company is moving its own workloads first and turning that experience into a repeatable services motion for partners and customers that want predictable pricing and long-term infrastructure control.
Palo Alto Networks to acquire Koi: Palo Alto has announced its intent to acquire Koi, bringing “agentic endpoint security” into the Prisma AIRS AI security platform and extending visibility into Cortex XDR. The move targets a new operational gap: AI agents, plugins and automation frameworks running on endpoints with high privileges but outside traditional controls. For partners, this points to a coming services motion around governing and securing AI usage at the endpoint, not just protecting users and devices.
MDR delivery continues to converge around platform + operator: NetWitness and Lumifi Cyber launched a joint MDR service that combines the vendor’s analytics and forensics with Lumifi’s 24×7 SOC. The offer targets organizations that have security tools in place but lack the operational maturity to run them, and it extends managed detection into IT-OT environments where continuous monitoring is becoming a requirement.
Proofpoint reshapes partner engagement around lifecycle revenue: Proofpoint’s updated partner structure ties tier benefits more directly to delivery capability, renewals and co-sell alignment. Marketplace routes and recurring consumption are central, reinforcing a model where partners are measured on customer ownership and long-term service execution rather than transaction volume.
MSP platform consolidation continues: Evergreen signaled plans for 30-40 acquisitions in 2026, extending the roll-up strategy built on centralized tooling, shared automation and local delivery. The pace of consolidation reflects the rising cost of building the operational platforms needed for AI, security and standardized managed services.
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