MSP Global 2025: New frontier for managed service providers

In October 2025, more than 3,500 attendees gathered outside of Barcelona at MSP Global to discuss the latest in turning data into a competitive advantage. Melyssa Banda, Seagate senior vice president edge marketing, shares insights from the show floor.

Seagate Stories: What are your top takeaways from MSP Global?

Melyssa Banda: Three main things stuck out to me during my time in sessions, talking with MSPs (managed service providers) and learning on the expo floor:

• MSPs are evolving into strategic advisors and AI orchestrators.
• Cybersecurity is foundational.
• And ecosystem partnerships are key to scaling innovation.

Let’s dig into each of those. MSPs have always played a crucial role in the tech ecosystem, but how is that role evolving in the age of AI?

For a long time, MSPs were known to be the IT backbone for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) aligning infrastructure with business objectives and delivering reliable and secure tech solutions. But now, their clients are asking them to transition from day-to-day infrastructure managers to trusted advisors on digital transformation. That could be navigating complex issues from cloud migration or implementing AI to cybersecurity and compliance.

The bottom line is MSPs are the strategic bridge between real-world business needs and enterprise-grade tech solutions as companies strive to succeed.

You mentioned cybersecurity as foundational. We know that security must be built in at every step of the journey. How are MSPs able to help ensure secure operations for their clients?

With accelerating AI adoption, MSPs have to manage unprecedented volumes of valuable data while also defending against sophisticated cyberthreats. MSPs can help integrate AI-enabled solutions to provide around-the-clock monitoring and assist in handling emerging threats. 

Our alliance partner Acronis hosted a well-attended security summit and keynotes on automating security, combating AI-powered crime and recognizing deepfakes. These sessions sparked a lot of interest and discussion.

On the topic of Acronis, we announced that partnership in September. What benefit does that have for MSPs or even end customers?

At the show, we presented on panels and participated in interviews with Acronis to highlight the value of our alliance for companies that are dealing with the twin challenges of AI-scale data and cyberthreats.

SMBs and enterprises alike need to better protect their data from cloud to edge to endpoint. This alliance delivers the highly secure storage solutions that the new frontier of AI requires.

Lastly, you mentioned that ecosystem partnerships are key to scaling innovation. Your team recently updated the Seagate Partner Program to benefit that very group. Can you tell us more? 

Absolutely. I’m a strong believer that a future-ready channel ecosystem is critical to bringing the value of our customers’ data to life. MSPs and ecosystem partners can take advantage of our next-generation Seagate Partner Program that spans our entire portfolio. This was designed with our partners in mind — giving them what they need when they need it — so that our end customers can succeed.

Are you an MSP or ecosystem partner? Learn more about our next-gen partner program.

For more information on Seagate’s strategic partnership with Acronis, visit: https://www.seagate.com/solutions/partners/acronis/