Managed Services Journal

SolarWinds, a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software, today released its latest public sector report: " Racing to Deploy: How Public Sector AI Adoption is Moving Faster Than the Foundations Needed to Support It." The study analyzes how today's public sector organizations are navigating the reality of AI throughout IT workflows.

Every AI panel I've sat in this year eventually gets to the same fork in the road: how fast can we move, and what happens when we move too fast? At VARTECH, a panel titled "Building AI Into Your Business" spent most of its time on the second half of that question, and the answer channel partners walked away with wasn't a warning to slow down. It was a case for building the guardrails first.

VARTECH 2026 attendees walked into the Mohegan Sun convention center expecting the usual updates on hardware roadmaps and channel strategies. Instead, keynote speaker Ben Nemtin opened with the story of a missed rugby kick. It turned out to be one of the most talked-about moments of the day, sparking conversations that went well beyond sports and left the room asking: what are we really building all of this for?

Ask most VARs or MSPs about entering the payments business, and you'll likely hear the same objection: it's a specialized, heavily regulated world best left to someone else. A panel of payment technology executives at BlueStar's VARTECH event in Connecticut argued that assumption is now outdated - and that the barrier to entry has quietly collapsed.

Last-mile delivery is costly. Capgemini Research Institute reports that the last mile in shipping accounts for as much as 41% of total supply chain costs. It's the most expensive stretch of the supply chain, and also the one customers actually notice. Customers expect same-day and next-day delivery, but fuel costs fluctuate, and driver availability remains a growing challenge.

The Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) announced its acquisition of The ASCII Group, expanding its global member community and increasing investment in the programs, resources and experiences that support IT service providers (ITSPs) around the globe. This milestone marks the next step in a relationship built over years of shared commitment to the IT Channel and member success.

A striking investment paradox is emerging at the heart of the asset management industry's AI revolution, new research from Clearwater Analytics reveals. While AI budgets across the fund management industry are growing at an extraordinary pace - with 63% of firms increasing AI spending by more than 50% in the past 12 months and not a single firm reporting a budget decrease - the industry is deeply divided about whether it is spending the right amount.

An MSP can have skilled technicians, mature processes and strong customer references - and still lose a regulated-market opportunity because a foundational tool can't meet the buyer's cryptographic or evidence requirements. The remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform matters most here because it connects broadly, moves administrative data and can execute privileged actions across customer systems. That's why Kaseya's September 2 announcement deserves more than a product-update mention.

An AI model upgrade can seem like a simple, routine change. A vendor updates an endpoint, an administrator selects a newer model, and users start getting better answers. But when that model can call tools, browse the web, write code or make changes in other systems, the upgrade can meaningfully alter an organization's security posture - much like adding a privileged administrator or opening up a new internet-facing service.

Even as the global managed services market has surpassed $600 billion according to OMDIA, high-stakes forces such as AI-driven automation, service commoditization, and pricing pressure are making growth harder to win and sustain. MSPs and leaders from across the global channel will confront these challenges head-on at MSP Summit 2026, Sept. 28-30 in Orlando. To learn more and register, click here.