Nearly all managed service providers expect demand for CISO services to grow over the next year, according to new research from Sophos.

The company’s 2026 MSP Perspectives Report shows that managed service providers (MSPs) are increasingly taking on strategic cybersecurity leadership roles. Traditionally, MSPs focused on deploying and supporting IT and security technologies. However, they are now being asked to provide governance, risk guidance and executive-level oversight that many organizations cannot maintain internally.

On average, MSPs estimate that 46% of their customers already depend on them to act as a Chief Information Security Officer. Furthermore, 84% of MSPs expect demand for CISO-style support to increase over the coming 12 months, as businesses look for trusted advisors to help manage risk, compliance and increasingly complex security environments.

“Organizations require more than technology management to stay secure. They need trusted cybersecurity leaders who can help them understand their risk, navigate compliance requirements and translate security investments into meaningful business outcomes,” said Matt Helling, product director at Sophos. He added that MSPs are already fulfilling this function for nearly half their customers, which opens the door to deeper relationships and higher-value offerings. Even so, delivering that leadership consistently, and at scale, remains a challenge.

According to the report, efficiency gains could be substantial. MSPs estimate they could save 53% of their time by using a single, unified platform for security posture and compliance management. In addition, 81% believe such a platform would cut the time spent on these tasks by more than 30%.

Compliance also plays a central role in this shift. Nearly all MSPs surveyed, 99%, offer at least one cybersecurity compliance service, and 58% currently provide full compliance program management. That said, only 6% deliver the complete range of compliance services covered in the study, pointing to a gap between broad participation and comprehensive service delivery.

The report also highlighted several other trends. Compliance influences roughly half of customer cybersecurity purchasing decisions, with 33% describing regulatory demands as a heavy or decisive factor. This, in turn, gives MSPs an opening to connect compliance needs with wider security priorities.

Meanwhile, the shift toward continuous compliance monitoring is proving gradual. Only 33% of MSPs say they are “completely confident” in their ability to continuously monitor, manage and document compliance across multiple customers at once. This suggests a gap between what customers expect and what providers can reliably deliver.

Tool usage also remains fragmented. While 36% of MSPs rely on a single platform to manage cybersecurity compliance or CISO-type activities, 53% use multiple tools, adding complexity to service delivery.

On reporting, automation still has room to grow. Although 86% of MSPs use a fully or semi-automated process to produce consolidated security posture reports, 55% still require manual effort, and only 31% can generate reports quickly through a fully automated process.

“MSPs have an opportunity to become indispensable strategic partners to their customers, but scaling that role requires a more unified operating model,” Helling continued. He noted that bringing security posture, compliance management and reporting together could help MSPs spend less time consolidating information manually, and more time helping customers reduce risk and make informed decisions.

To support this shift, Sophos plans to launch Sophos CISO Advantage in October 2026. The offering is designed to help MSPs formalize the CISO role many already perform, turning it into a structured, scalable and billable service. Delivered through Sophos Fusion, the company’s AI-native Cybersecurity Defense System, the tool uses AI-accelerated assessment, reporting and roadmap workflows to support board-ready insights and prioritized action plans across an MSP’s customer base.

The data behind the MSP Perspectives 2026 report comes from an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 800 MSPs across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia and Brazil. Respondents included senior to board-level MSP stakeholders. Vanson Bourne conducted the survey in April 2026, on behalf of Sophos.

Overall, the findings suggest that as cyber risk grows more complex, the demand for CISO services will likely keep rising, pushing MSPs to rethink how they structure and scale their offerings.

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