OpenText (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTEX), a global leader in Secure Information Management for AI, today released the findings of its third annual Global Managed Security Survey. The study shows that while AI is unlocking major growth opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs), many are struggling to keep pace with customer expectations for readiness, security, and simplicity.
The survey of more than 1,000 MSPs found that 92% are experiencing growth driven by AI interest, and 96% expect that trend to continue this year. Yet only about half feel prepared to guide small and mid-sized business (SMB) customers in adopting AI tools, citing limited resources, tool sprawl, and the challenge of standardizing services across customer environments. This marks a sharp decline from last year, when 90% of MSPs felt ready to meet AI-related security needs—highlighting that the readiness gap is rapidly widening, not closing.
“MSPs are under pressure to match the pace of AI adoption by their SMB customers,” says Michael DePalma, Vice President of Business Development at OpenText Cybersecurity. “They need security partners who can deliver integrated, scalable services that reduce tool fatigue and simplify operations. That’s exactly, what OpenText Secure Cloud platform provides – flexible bundles, simplified deployment, and a channel team with deep industry expertise to help MSPs achieve scalable, profitable growth that meets the accelerating demands of AI-driven security.”
Key UK survey findings include:
AI demand is surging, but readiness lags
- 96% of UK MSPs report business growth from AI interest, and 99% expect growth this year.
- Just half (56%) have built or deployed AI cybersecurity agents for UK SMB customers.
- Many are using AI internally to build expertise: 76% use it for customer support, 67% for technical support/ticket triage, and 60% for threat detection and response.
- AI expertise has become a key differentiator, with 17% of SMBs citing it as a top factor when evaluating providers.
Simplicity outweighs costs as SMBs battle tool fatigue
- Cost savings are no longer the leading customer priority: only 14% of UK MSPs report this as the main challenge in 2025, compared to higher concerns around AI integration (30%) and security simplification (19%).
- Bundled security packages are gaining traction: 74% of UK SMBs prefer all-in-one prevention, detection and response bundles; followed by 49% preferring compliance and risk assessment bundles.
- Ease of integration ranks as "extremely important" for 84% of UK MSPs, significantly higher than the global average.
- Nearly half of UK MSPs (49%) cite strength of security solutions as the leading factor in purchasing decisions, compared to just 6% citing price.
Service expansion becomes the new engine for growth
- 97% of UK MSPs plan to expand managed service offerings in the next year, and 65% are actively developing new services.
- Priorities for these new services include integration across tools (43%) followed by high attach-rate with core services (18%), and broad applicability across SMB verticals (16%).
- Referrals are the leading source of new UK SMB customers (34%), followed by online search and digital ads (27%) and technology marketplaces (26%).
For additional findings from the OpenText Cybersecurity 2025 Global Managed Security Survey, view the infographic. To learn more about how OpenText supports MSPs through practices like bundling, services expansion, and providing a collaborative channel program, explore the Canalys Partner Ecosystem Multiplier (PEM) 2025 Study.
Survey Methodology
In September 2025, OpenText Cybersecurity surveyed 1,019 managers, c-level executives, security professionals, and customer relationship managers at MSPs in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Respondents represented MSPs ranging in size from 1 to 500 employees.
