MSPs Assume CISO Role for 46% of Clients, Sophos Report Reveals
Event summary
- 46% of MSP customers now rely on their providers to act as their CISO, per Sophos's 2026 MSP Perspectives Report.
- 84% of MSPs expect demand for CISO services to increase over the next 12 months.
- MSPs estimate they could save 53% of time with a unified platform for security posture and compliance management.
- 99% of MSPs provide at least one cybersecurity compliance service, but only 6% offer a full range of compliance services.
- Sophos plans to launch CISO Advantage in October 2026 to help MSPs scale CISO services.
The big picture
The shift of MSPs into CISO roles reflects broader industry trends where organizations, particularly SMBs, lack in-house cybersecurity expertise. This strategic anomaly highlights the growing importance of managed services in bridging cybersecurity gaps, with compliance demands acting as a key driver for security investments. Sophos's upcoming CISO Advantage product aims to capitalize on this trend by providing MSPs with tools to formalize and scale these higher-value services.
What we're watching
- Service Scalability
- Whether MSPs can efficiently scale CISO services across growing customer bases.
- Compliance Gaps
- The pace at which MSPs expand their compliance service offerings to meet customer needs.
- Automation Adoption
- How quickly MSPs transition to fully automated security reporting processes.
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