Keep the popcorn on standby as we round up nine key moments from this morning’s Channel Visionaries Power Panel at ChannelCon EMEA 2026.
Moderated by the Global Technology Industry Association’s (GTIA) Carolyn April, it featured top execs from Pax8, Sophos, Acronis and New Charter Technologies.
The four panellists ran the rule over AI adoption, cybersecurity pressures, changing financial models, and the evolving role of partner ecosystems.
But they at times clashed on the way forward for MSPs, with New Charter’s Peter Melby branding Pax8’s Rob Rae’s views of how MSPs should be approaching AI “wrong”.
The Channel Visionaries Power Panel kicked off the second day of ChannelCon EMEA 2026, which drew in a record of nearly 800 registrations this year (see keynote highlights here).
What did the panellist’s say?
Here we round up nine piping-hot soundbites from the hour-long discussion…
The panel
Scott Barlow, Chief Evangelist and Global Head of Community at Sophos
Jo Holliday, General Manager for UK, Ireland & South Africa at Acronis
Peter Melby, CEO at New Charter Technologies
Rob Rae, Corporate Vice President of Community and Partner Experience at Pax8
1. “The Aussies are a little bit ahead of everybody, which is very unusual”
Asked how the key MSP market trends are playing out geographically, Pax8’s Rob Rae claimed the usual pecking order when it comes to technology adoption – where the US leads the way, ahead of Canada, Europe and then Australia – has been toppled when it comes to AI.
“We all seem to be at the same kind of moment,” Rae added.
“I think part of the reason [for that] is that AI has come from consumer and then into business, as opposed to traditionally we have to wait for enterprise-class technology to come into the SME space.”
New Charter’s Peter Melby agreed that Australia has “some advantages” on AI because it has “less to deconstruct”.
2. “I think the fragmentation will remain in Europe”
In answer to the same question, Acronis’ Holliday claimed the MSP consolidation that is sweeping through the US won’t take hold in Europe, where she said data sovereignty has become a key focal point.
“[That’s] based on the fact we have NIS2 – 27 nations, 24 of which are by law compelled to comply with,” she added.
“I do think that represents an opportunity for MSPs to specialise in local markets, whereas you’ve got far more consolidation in the US.”
3. “A lot of MSPs are now looking at EBITDA margin and profitability over delivering business outcomes”
Sophos’ Scott Barlow expressed concern over how the acceleration of consolidation in the MSP space has changed the mindset of some MSP owners, calling it a “massive risk”.
“We see that every day, especially with some of the supply chain attacks – there’s been three in the last week,” he added.
“I would not look at EBITDA margin and profitability over delivering superior business or cyber security outcomes. That is going to be the most important thing to your end customer. The second you have an issue with that, you might as well just shut your doors.”
4. “We have to figure out a recurring revenue stream [around AI] because that is the superpower of the MSP”
Asked by April how MSPs can monetise AI, Rae claimed the answer lies in locating monthly recurring revenue (MRR) opportunities.
“That is what’s going to increase our valuations,” he added.
For MSPs, the shift to AI could be as fundamental as that of the VAR-MSP transition they performed in the noughties, he claimed.
“[Managed services] was not a thing 25 years ago. We reinvented ourselves, but arguably it took about 10 years before the end-user market adopted this and was okay with this,” Rae said.
“[AI] is not a product that you’re adding to your line card. This is not something where you’re just going to go and buy a tool and it’s going to solve all the AI problems. This is a fundamental change to the way we engage with our partners and users, and the way we make money.”
5. “Rob’s wrong – we can’t lead with MRR”
Melby was at loggerheads with Rae on this topic, saying MSPs shouldn’t lead “with our own economics” on AI just because it suits them.
“Sometimes as MSPs we get really caught up in how to make something recurring revenue, and not to just deliver the value our customers need,” he said.
“A new technology shows up, and there’s someone who’s waiting to charge you money to tell you how to turn it into MRR the day after it came out, before anybody even knows what it is or how to use it. That’s not the way the industry should run.”
Holliday urged MSPs to think about AI in terms of the processes it can improve, rather than as a tool or a license they sell, meanwhile.
“How can MSPs monetise that? I think safe AI adoption is far more important in EMEA than AI transformation,” she added.
6. “None of us are doing this for free”
Rae fired back at Melby, saying no MSPs would bother with AI if he told them they would be making zero money from it in five years.
“That’s why I think we do have to look at the financials behind this. I think that if I could show you a path to revenue generation, we’ll figure the rest out,” he added.
7. “AI is allowing you to go and be a virtual CISO”
Weighing in on the same question, Sophos’ Barlow predicted AI will enable MSPs to deliver more value to SMBs.
“The customer is learning AI as fast as you are, so they know what used to take four hours is taking you 15 minutes,” he said.
“So you have to make up that gap [in terms of what you charge them]. You’re not going to lower your price, so you need to add more value at your existing pricing. AI is enabling even a technician to have that strategic conversation with the end customer.”
8. “I get asked all the time from MSPs, ‘should I become an MSSP?’ Is anybody contemplating that? Good; nobody should.”
The penchant for MSPs to convert into MSSPs is fizzling out, Barlow claimed, with April stating that MSSP is a “dying category” that “we don’t talk about” anymore.
“We talk about it a lot less because the definition of an MSSP is somebody that aggregates a bunch of disparate technologies together and then offers that to a customer,” Barlow added.
“I think when you look at what the vendors are doing, we’re all aggregating and developing and acquiring all of those disparate technologies so that it’s no longer best of breed.”
9. “I always believe we are on the verge of greatness”
Rae claimed the MSP market will shrug off macroeconomic concerns and continue to thrive.
The GTIA’s data indicates that more money is being spent in SMB tech than ever before, Rae noted.
“That market continues to grow year over year. There are more SMEs being created every single day and AI is going to allow individuals to start businesses – they will need MSP services,” he said.
“We have a lot of reasons to be very positive about what’s going to happen over the next couple of years.”
This article was produced in association with the GITA and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
