As cybersecurity threats evolve and IT environments become more complex, many organizations are turning to MSPs not just for cost savings or basic outsourcing but for strategic security partnership. The Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 reveals that this shift is accelerating and that the expectations on MSPs are rising accordingly.

In this article, you will learn about the five key takeaways from Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025.

7 Key Takeaways From Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025

Here are seven key takeaways from Barracuda’s MSP customer insight report 2025

1. MSPs Have Become Strategic Growth Partners, Not Just Outsourced Vendors

One of the clearest trends in the Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 is that organizations now see MSPs as integral to their growth and security strategy, not simply a convenience or cost center.

• 52% of surveyed organizations state they rely on MSPs to help manage a proliferating suite of disconnected security tools and vendors.
• 51% turn to MSPs to evolve their security strategies as their business scales.
• Nearly 48% use MSPs to ensure 24/7 security coverage (i.e. around-the-clock monitoring and response).

These figures reflect a fundamental shift: customers now expect MSPs to be co-pilots in securing growth, not just reactive support.

Implication for MSPs: To thrive, MSPs must expand beyond tactical support into advisory and architectural roles — helping customers design resilient security roadmaps, rationalize toolsets, and maintain continuous protection.

2. Almost All Organizations Want or Already Work with an MSP

The survey shows that working with an MSP is now mainstream:

• 73% of respondents say they already partner with an MSP.
• When including those evaluating or considering MSP engagement, the share rises to 96%.

This is a striking signal: very few organizations are content to manage all security in‑house. Even among those currently without MSPs, almost all are exploring or planning a partnership.

Implication for MSPs: The addressable market is enormous. MSPs must differentiate themselves (through specialization, service quality, or domain expertise) rather than assume demand alone will drive business.

3. The Client Base of MSPs Is Expanding Upmarket

Traditionally, MSPs were strongly associated with small and mid‑sized businesses (SMBs). This Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 shows that MSPs are increasingly serving larger organizations:

• 85% of organizations with 1,000 to 2,000 employees depend on MSPs for security support.
• By contrast, only 61% of smaller firms (50–100 employees) use MSPs in that way.

This suggests that as organizations grow, so do their demands for external expertise — complexity, regulatory pressure, and the scale of threats all increase.

Implication for MSPs: MSPs must develop the infrastructure, processes, and talent to scale their services. Serving larger clients involves stronger SLAs, multi-layered security architecture, compliance support, and perhaps “co-managed” models where MSPs and internal teams share responsibilities.

4. Demand for AI / Machine Learning and Advanced Network Security Is Rising Fast

According to the Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025, organizations expect their MSPs to bolster capabilities in advanced security domains:

• 39% of organizations expect needing MSP support for AI and machine learning tools or applications.
• A similar demand is emerging for network security, zero trust, and managed security operations.

In short: MSPs will no longer be asked only to host firewalls or monitor logs — customers expect help with forward-looking initiatives: threat modeling, predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and zero-trust architecture.

Implication for MSPs: Investing in AI/machine learning capabilities, threat intelligence, and next-generation network defense will be critical. MSPs that stagnate with legacy toolsets may lose relevance.

5. Customers Are Willing to Pay More But Expectations Are Also Higher

The Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 reveals that organizations are ready to pay premiums for better MSP services — but that raises the bar for performance:

• 92% of respondents say they would pay extra for advanced support in integrating security tools.
• Some customers are willing to pay up to 25% more for that extra level of service.

Yet, payment willingness doesn’t guarantee loyalty:

• 45% of customers say they would switch MSPs if their provider fails to demonstrate the necessary skills, 24/7 support capability, or resilience.

Implication for MSPs: It’s not enough to price services higher — MSPs need to justify the premium continually, with measurable outcomes, clear dashboards, and demonstrable reliability.

6. Tool Sprawl and Integration Challenges Are a Major Trigger for MSP Engagement

Perhaps the most frequently cited reason organizations seek MSP support is management of a fragmented security landscape:

• 52% of organizations turn to MSPs when the number of security tools becomes unmanageable.
• Many tools come from different vendors and lack integration, which multiplies complexity, false positives, and gaps.

In many organizations, overlapping or poorly integrated tools lead to alert fatigue, configuration drift, and blind spots.

Implication for MSPs: Offering a consolidated platform, unified dashboard, automated orchestration, and interoperability is a strong differentiator. MSPs that can ease the burden of tool sprawl will win trust.

7. Poor Performance Risks Customer Churn

With high expectations comes the risk of rapid churn. The Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 underscores that many clients are unforgiving of underperformance:

• As noted, 45% would switch providers if performance fails on core expectations.
• Key failure modes cited include lack of 24/7 support, inability to remediate or recover from attacks, failure to demonstrate security expertise, and weak resilience of the MSP’s own security posture.

In other words, clients are now judging MSPs not just by uptime or responsiveness, but by strategic attributes: trust, resilience, insight, and proactivity.

Implication for MSPs: To retain customers, MSPs must elevate operations: invest in continuous training, internal security posture, strong incident response, service reliability, and transparent metrics.

Strategic Recommendations

Taken together, these seven takeaways paint a compelling picture: MSPs today are under both opportunity and pressure. Here’s how MSPs should respond:

1. Evolve to strategic partnership models. Don’t wait for customers — actively propose architecture, roadmap, advisory services.
2. Build for scale. Ensure you can support larger organizations via SLAs, compliance readiness, and robust processes.
3. Invest in AI, analytics and future-forward security. Offer truly differentiated services, not just “monitoring with alerts.”
4. Simplify toolsets. Promote integration, orchestration, dashboards, vendor consolidation to reduce friction for customers.
5. Demonstrate value continuously. Use dashboards, reports, KPIs, ROI metrics to justify higher price tiers.
6. Strengthen internal resilience. Be able to showcase your own security maturity — clients will expect proof.
7. Prioritize reliability and responsiveness. Being available 24/7, responding swiftly, and having a mature incident process are table stakes today.

Conclusion

Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 reveals that MSPs are no longer auxiliary service providers, they are becoming indispensable security partners. Customers expect expertise, scalability, proactive innovation, integration, and reliability.

For MSPs, the path forward involves raising the bar: investing in talent, architecture, internal operations, and client-facing tools. Those who meet and exceed the expectations outlined in this Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025are well-positioned to capture the next wave of growth. Those who stagnate may find themselves supplanted by more agile, forward-looking competitors.

Which of these key takeaways from Barracuda’s MSP Customer Insight Report 2025 surprised you the most? Share it with us in the comments section below.