According to Grandview research, the global managed IT market was valued at $401.15 billion in 2025 and it’s set to grow to $847.41billion by 2033—a whopping 9.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). If your company is looking to hire a new managed service provider (MSP) or up your yearly spend on IT services, you’re in good company. From new AI investments to cybersecurity and private cloud, businesses around the world are finding new ways to grow their business with technology—and they need the right partner to get them there.

So how do all these new opportunities for IT investment affect your experience hiring an MSP? In a word—significantly. To help you on your journey, this guide will walk you through some of our latest thought leadership on key discussion topics you’ll need to bring up in your MSP search.

MSP trends that should shape your decision 

MSPs are evolving fast—especially surrounding cloud strategy and AI-enabled operations. If you choose a partner based on yesterday’s service model, you may outgrow them quickly. Start by understanding where the market is going, because it changes what “good” looks like. Here are some of our featured resources that discuss how the market is changing for MSPs and why you shouldn’t settle for less than a digitally mature, future-forward IT strategy.

What are the factors driving private cloud adoption? A practical look at “cloud repatriation”—why organizations are moving workloads back to private/hybrid environments for cost control, data sovereignty, performance, and AI workload needs. 

What is the future of managed IT services? A forward-looking view of where managed services are headed (cloud migration, cybersecurity modernization, remote work enablement, edge computing, and AI integration). 

The 10 MSP trends to watch in 2026—and beyond Integris CIO Brian Luckey offers a trend map for buyers: from AIOps and how it’s creating productivity in IT service delivery. This blog discusses the importance of a “digital trust architecture” to ensure data security and trust to the importance of cloud optimization, and more.

What the latest trends mean for your MSP shortlist  

When you interview MSPs, don’t just ask what they do today—ask what they’re building toward. A future-ready MSP should be able to explain in plain language how they handle modern realities: hybrid infrastructure, cloud spend volatility, and the accelerating impact of AI. 

Consider cloud strategy. Many organizations are experiencing “sticker shock” in public cloud environments, which is one reason private cloud adoption and hybrid architectures are resurging.  The right MSP should be comfortable recommending the right placement for the right workload—not defaulting to a single architecture. 

Then pressure-test their AI story. AI in managed services is not the same as “we use AI.” You’re looking for measurable automation in areas like ticket routing, monitoring, and proactive remediation, along with a governance mindset that reduces risk.

Finally, evaluate whether they’re truly evolving past reactive support. IT leaders increasingly want cost control, resilient hybrid IT, and security maturity, delivered with reporting that ties IT to business outcomes.  If an MSP can’t articulate how they’re adapting to these trends, they may be a short-term vendor, not a long-term partner. 

Proving value: Building key performance indicators (KPIs) that move the needle for your business

If you want to choose the right MSP partner, ask for a value model, not just a price. A mature provider should be able to help you build a baseline (current downtime, ticket volume, tooling costs, staffing burden) and then define the metrics that will change over time.  Here are some of our latest resources that show you how to build metrics that will accurately track the effectiveness of your IT investment.

How can I measure the ROI in IT managed services?  Our Integris experts offer a laundry list of meaningful metrics you can easily track. You’ll get a framework for building an ROI narrative leadership will actually accept: baseline metrics, direct/indirect benefits, and business-aligned measurement. 

Do managed IT service providers save money? Yes, in fact, they do. A 2026 Global Growth Insights market analysis reported that organizations using MSPs saw IT overhead reduced by 47%, driven by potential reduced staffing, tooling, and infrastructure costs. That’s a powerful bottom line-incentive, but it’s not the only one. This blog outlines all the hard and soft costs MSPs can trim and shows you how to articulate the value of IT outsourcing.

Why system downtime is so costly—and how MSPs can help Sometimes, the most important metric for your IT are the outages you don’t have. If downtime can be deadly to your income, this story will show you how investments in proactive monitoring, resilience planning, and system standardization can keep your profit centers running smoothly.

How can managed IT help with asset management? Sometimes the greatest opportunities for budget performance are simply cutting out the waste in your current portfolio. Learn more about how modern, proactive asset management can be a big step towards savings—and digital maturity.

How to work with an MSP

It’s not enough to choose an MSP that checks all the boxes. The success of your relationship will rise and fall on setting the right expectations early, gathering the right data for a thorough assessment, and project managing properly. If you’re wondering what best practices look like for working with an AI-forward MSP, start here.

Outsourcing your IT ebook This comprehensive guide walks you through everything you need to know about working with a digitally mature MSP. It offers the latest industry statistics about where the IT outsourcing is headed, tips for onboarding/offboarding, and an outline for what a modern MSP can—and should—be doing to build your business.

If your MSP isn’t using AIOps, is it the right MSP for you? AI for IT operations (AIOps) is now a core differentiator for managed service providers (MSPs) that want to improve efficiency, reduce overhead, and deliver faster, higher-quality service. If you are working with or considering an MSP that hasn’t incorporated AIOps into its own service delivery, think again.

What to expect from an AI-driven MSP Artificial intelligence is set to revolutionize the way work is done, and the managed IT services provider (MSP) world is no exception. In fact, in a global survey of MSPs by Lansweeper, 76.4% of respondents said they expect AI-driven service offerings to contribute between 11% and 50% of their revenue over the next few years.

A client portal is a litmus test for client-centricity  MSPs can build customized client portals that provide actionable data insight for their customers. This blog shows why the next generation of client portals signals operational maturity for MSPs and their customers: including billing transparency, documentation access, support visibility, and self-service workflows, all viewable in real time. 

Why paid IT assessments are key to the future of your IT  This blog addresses one of the thorniest vetting questions during MSP comparison shopping: whether to pay for a full IT assessment at a contract’s outset or settle for the free tire-kicking while a new MSP learns on the job. This blog will show you the difference between the two and explain why a paid assessment should include a gap analysis, prioritized roadmap, and budgeting.

What are best practices for managing IT projects? This blog offers a checklist for project success (scope, planning, communication, risk, quality assurance)—and explains why many transformations fail without discipline. 

Cybersecurity, and what it means to your search for a new MSP

According to Mimecast’s “State of Human Risk, 2025” Report, 95% of data breaches involve the human element, and historically high levels of AI-assisted cyberattacks are enough to keep system users confused and vulnerable. These elevated risk levels are showing up in places you might not expect, such as third-party vendors that seem to have iron-clad security, but don’t. Yet the Verizon “2025 Data Breach Investigations Report” report showed it’s one of the biggest risk areas for global companies: doubling to 30% of all data breaches just last year.

All MSPs aren’t created equal, and cybersecurity capabilities may be the biggest differentiator between local break/fix MSPs and a mature, well-resourced one. These resources guide you through some of the biggest cybersecurity issues of the day, and the strategies modern MSPs are using to defeat the threats.

Ebook—How to implement robust cybersecurity: the 14 key areas This checklist-style overview of cybersecurity hygiene helps you categorize all the ways an MSP should help implement, manage, and monitor your cybersecurity defenses. From two-factor authentication to patch management to employee training, this ebook outlines how to achieve defense in depth.

Human risk management: How MSPs protect against a key threat Why “human behavior” is a central security vulnerability—and how a whole branch of cybersecurity expertise has emerged to manage it. This article outlines what human risk management programs look like (training + monitoring + policy enforcement), and how they’re changing in the age of AI. 

Top email phishing scams in 2026 and what to do about them From deepfakes to customized spear phishing, this blog details the emerging scams that might regale can your system this year, and how to protect against them.

Why we’re drawing the line at Responsible IT Architecture (RITA). In this column, Kris Laskarzewski, Integris chief transformation officer, describes our RITA program, which offers an integrated suite of cybersecurity tools to protect your business. He explains why these security controls are the baseline for today’s businesses, and why Integris works only with those companies that can maintain that standard.

Compliance: What to demand and how to measure it 

Compliance is no longer a periodic scramble. It’s becoming a continuous operating model—with metrics, evidence collection, and continuous readiness as its vanguard. The right MSP partner can help you build repeatable compliance workflows that stand up to audits, insurers, and customer security questionnaires.

When MSPs say they “do compliance,” your job is to ask, “How do you prove it and sustain it?” The key performance indicator (KPI) framework is a good litmus test, because real compliance programs are measurable, not rhetorical. 

In regulated environments, reporting and evidence are first-class deliverables. If an MSP can’t show how evidence is captured (and how quickly you can produce it for audits, insurers, and customer questionnaires), it isn’t not operating compliance as a system. 

These resources can help you understand how to judge compliance worthiness in your next MSP partner.

How to build KPIs for your compliance as a service program  Key performance indicators are a practical way to measure compliance progress with executive-ready metrics, especially when compliance is delivered as an MSP-managed program. Yet it can often be difficult to measure the noncompliance events that don’t happen. This article walks you through the challenge of creating meaningful compliance KPIs and discusses what to look for in an MSP that offers CaaS.

Why CMMC compliance may matter for your company in 2026 If your company is working with—or considering working with—the government for defense contracting, you can’t afford to miss this blog on Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). We’ll talk about the change in rules around CMMC Level 2, why it matters to Controlled Unclassified Information-handing government vendors, and how to handle ongoing evidence gathering for department of defense audits.

If you are looking for an MSP with consulting and service resources, Integris can help.

For more on choosing an MSP, cybersecurity, governance, risk, and compliance, check out our website. And our team would love to talk to you about the possibilities of applying our consulting expertise to your business challenges. If you’d like to learn more than these resources can provide, contact us for a free consultation.

The post How to choose the right MSP partner: A practical buyer’s guide appeared first on Integris.

Here’s the answer we give our clients: it depends. If your compliance load is light and you don’t have significant yearly regulatory reviews, you might be able to get away with simply getting some plug-and-play compliance tools and an MSP to help you manage them. But, if you’re working in a highly regulated industry such as health care, manufacturing, or financial services, you’re going to need vCISO services—a fractional consultant who can provide monthly senior compliance governance for your company. 

Why? Because tools don’t set priorities—or make risk calls. Automation can collect evidence, track tasks, and generate reports. Yet, it can’t decide what matters most, how to interpret competing requirements, or how to tailor policies and procedures to your business’s reality. vCISO services provide a critical layer of leadership and risk management to your CaaS program. When it’s time to present proof of KPI performance to your leadership or sit in reviews with regulators, a vCISO is an asset you’ll definitely want in your corner. 

The five key areas where a vCISO leads your CaaS program 

According to the 2025 Virtual CISO Market Landscape Report from Blue Radius, organizations can reduce security leadership costs by 60-75% using virtual CISO services compared to full-time executive hiring. It’s little wonder, then, that the market for vCISOs is expanding fast. In fact, the report estimates the global vCISO market is valued between $1.06-$1.4 billion in 2024, with projections reaching $1.48-$7.1 billion by 2031-2033— a growth rate of 6.3%-15.4% CAGR. 

When your organization is smart about your use of a vCISO, the benefits often speak for themselves and cost a whole lot less than you might expect. Here are five areas where a vCISO can amplify and direct your CaaS program. 

No. 1: Discovery and Scoping 

This is one area where a vCISO can keep your CaaS program from simply becoming a generic compliance tooling project. First, they’ll evaluate what frameworks and stakeholder demands actually apply to your business, ensuring that the expectations of insurers, regulators, customers, and others are met. Then, they’ll determine what KPIs for regulatory compliance will drive business outcomes for your company and start the scoping process from there. 

They’ll create a program based around evidence, decision cadence, and risk tolerance. When that’s approved, they’ll lock in governance early with a procedural chart that clarifies the executive sponsor, internal owners, and how decisions and approvals will happen. 

What success looks like: A documented scope (frameworks + proof requirements) and named owners/sponsors with an agreed meeting and decision cadence. 

No. 2: Assessment and risk baseline 

Next, your vCISO should perform a detailed assessment which notes what compliance is already in place, what’s missing/not compliant, and where your biggest risks and vulnerabilities currently lie. This posture and risk review will become the foundation for prioritization of spend, rewriting of policies and documentation, and more. While this detailed assessment is part of any initial activation, your vCISO we’ll continue to conduct regular penetration testing and risk evaluation on a regular basis to ensure your compliance is always up to date. 

What success looks like: A risk-ranked gap list with clear remediation priorities and a recurring review loop for findings and recommendations. 

No. 3: Roadmap and policy system 

With a full assessment in hand, a vCISO can work with your company to develop a written compliance road map, complete within recommendations for new security tools, policies that need to be rewritten, and security and disaster recovery processes that need to be upgraded. This road map will include budget projections and project implementations that are immediately actionable. The writing of this plan is not only important for your own internal decision making, but it creates a critical paper trail for regulators who are looking for proof of your compliance planning and implementation. 

What success looks like: A time-bound roadmap plus a living policy set with assigned owners and a defined review/approval rhythm. 

No. 4: Operational execution 

When it’s time for your new compliance operations to begin, your vCISO will play a key role in steering the effort. Ideally, your CaaS tools will work seamlessly together to support continuous workflows for IT ticket routing/tracking, policy life cycle management, and audit prep packaging. However, your vCISO will oversee continually tracking that effort, watching your system for emerging risks and analyzing the data coming in from your dashboards. As regulations and security risks evolve, they’ll make proactive recommendations to ensure that your company stays compliant. 

What success looks like: Evidence and remediation work moves continuously with minimal “fire drills,” and priorities are clearly tied back to risk and requirements. 

No. 5: Reporting and continuous regulatory readiness 

While dashboards for your tools provide continuous reporting, it is your vCISO who becomes the interpreter and owner of that data. They control the narrative, connecting control status and evidence to risk posture and decisions in a language that leadership can defend. They can help you come up with the key performance metrics that matter to your organization and develop reports that address specific requests from your regulators, insurers, vendors, customers, or other constituents. 

What success looks like: a repeatable, executive-ready reporting package (KPIs + evidence posture) that supports “always audit ready” conversations without last-minute scrambles. 

Now that you know how a vCISO interacts with your overall CaaS program, let’s dig a little deeper into best practices for bringing a CISSP-certified vCISO into your compliance effort. 

The importance of combining vCISO consulting with a compliance-ready cybersecurity suite 

While fractional compliance leadership can steer your program well, your vCISO can’t work effectively without access to a full suite of interlocking cybersecurity tools that covers all parts of your IT estate. At Integris, we have a name for it: responsible IT architecture.  

Whether you get all your cybersecurity tools through us, or whether you have legacy systems that cover the bases, we generally require all our clients to have cybersecurity tools that adhere to the baseline requirements from the National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST), as well as any specific requirements for cybersecurity mandated by the industry your organization operates in.  

Your vCISO can help you determine where your cybersecurity stack might fall short, and help you align properly with your industry standards. In general however, responsible IT architecture covers these key areas: firewalls, local/cloud backup, content filtering, endpoint detection, multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access, software patching/updating, and email security. 

Practical advice for working with a vCISO for CaaS 

Step 1: Run a joint kickoff with outcomes, scope and engagement rules. 

During this kickoff process, everyone on your regulatory compliance team should work together to set up frameworks, deadlines, business constraints, and communication norms. You’ll decide who will be working with your MSP, and set clear expectations about your compliance program.

Step 2: Determine roles and responsibilities. 

Come up with a simple chart that explains who will be accountable for results, who will handle workflows, and who will control each compliance process. 

Typically, this is how responsibilities get divided amongst a vCISO, CaaS team, and executive client management: 

• vCISO = accountable for risk decisions + policy approval recommendation 

• CaaS team/MSP = responsible for evidence workflows + control execution support 

• Client = accountable for business decisions + approvals + internal adoption 

Step 3: Agree on access and evidence flow early to avoid bottlenecks. 

Make access readiness a first-week milestone, because a vCISO won’t be able to work properly without network and auditing access to all your systems and cloud services (such as Microsoft 365 and Azure). If those inputs are delayed, everything downstream slows, including risk baselining, policy validation, evidence collection, and reporting. Get the access and evidence flow right early, so CaaS can do what is designed to do. You’ll keep compliance moving continuously instead of turning every request into a scramble. 

Step 4: Establish a cadence that matches executive expectations 

Govern your compliance program on a steady rhythm, instead of bursts of attention right before an external deadline. Use this simple cadence: a monthly working session to review findings, progress, and blockers, plus a quarterly executive readout to confirm priorities and decisions. This review system keeps the program aligned to business constraints while reinforcing compliance as a continuous operational process. 

Step 5: Use targeted KPIs that prove the program is working 

Pick a small set of KPIs that translate effort into outcomes that leadership values. Some common ROI stats might include evidence pack cycle time, auditing exam findings, vendor security questionnaire turnaround times, and more. If you’d like to learn more about common compliance KPIs, check out our recent blog on the subject. The right ROI standards can show your compliance effectiveness in reducing business friction, creating faster audits, fewer repeat issues, and quicker responses that can unblock deals. They reinforce the promise of moving from reactive compliance to predictable compliance performance. 

Step 6: Treat policies as living systems, not static documents 

A vCISO aligns the written policies and business processes to relevant cybersecurity and compliance frameworks. (Such as HIPAA, CMMC, etc.) This is more than just handling details—it ensures your program stays defensible as requirements evolve. A practical way to operationalize this is to schedule quarterly policy review windows, rather than relying on memory or audit deadlines. 

Step 7: Make reporting board ready from day one 

Predictable, executive ready reporting is the key to creating a scalable, sustainable, and mature CaaS model. Your vCISO will be the voice that translates the raw data into business language, explaining risk posture, tradeoffs, and priorities so leadership can make decisions with confidence. Expect nothing less. 

If you’re searching for compliance-driven vCISO services for your business, Integris can help 

At Integris, we have a vCISO division that works with small and midsize clients across the nation. Our vCISOs are all CISSP certified, and Integris as a company is SOC2 Type II and CMMC certified, as well. We’d love to talk to you about the possibilities. Contact us today for a free consultation. 

The post How a virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) works with a compliance as a service (CaaS) program  appeared first on Integris.

But in fact, cybersecurity and compliance are complementary.

Compliance sets required standards, and cybersecurity enforces them through controls, monitoring, and strategic disaster recovery and response.

“Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling,” said Jeremy Pogue, vice president of security and network security services at Integris. “Compliance ensures that an organization meets the minimum legal and regulatory standards. Security is the proactive, living and breathing system that protects a business from the evolving dangers that take place beyond the regulatory baseline.” 

The persistent gap between cybersecurity and compliance

And at the same time, there are critical differences between the two—which is part of why the gap persists.

Compliance focuses on meeting regulatory requirements (such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA], the General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR], and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard [PCI DSS], and more often through periodic audits and minimum standards. Compliance is focused on averting fines and meeting the standard.

Cybersecurity, on the other hand, focuses on proactive defense, continuous monitoring, and threat prevention. Modern cybersecurity uses real-time insight to even proactively address threats. This approach goes beyond checking boxes to finding threats that aren’t immediately apparent. The right organizations ask, “What are we missing that could create a breach?”

Now, falling behind in compliance can be disastrous for an organization’s cybersecurity posture.

According to one report, the 43% of enterprises that failed a compliance audit were also 10 times more likely to suffer a data breach. Moreover, 63% of respondents to “PwC’s Global Compliance Survey 2025” said that the complexity and disaggregated nature of data makes compliance more difficult.

Conversely, a company can check all compliance boxes and still suffer a major attack. In 2017, for example, a major credit rating company underwent regular compliance audits and followed key certification processes but nonetheless suffered a breach. An unpatched vulnerability in Apache Struts (an open source framework for Jave web applications), exposed personally identifiable information (or PII) of some 147 million consumers.

That’s why, increasingly, experts are saying that true defense-in-depth requires a holistic approach to compliance and cybersecurity disciplines. The common denominator is a risk management strategy. But neither domain guarantees success in the other. So let’s explore some of the key tactics to focus on a bridged approach to cybersecurity and compliance.

1. Build frameworks that focus on risk, not regulations. Compliance frameworks (such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, or ISO/IEC 27001) define minimum controls. But holistic vulnerability management and governance requires maximum insight into incidents that could take place despite these controls.

To bridge the gap, focus on these activities:

• Conduct a risk assessment. This is where a managed service provider (MSP) can unmask risks in your environment. An MSP can identify vulnerabilities in data storage, network connectivity, mobile devices, cloud architecture, and more. Risk assessments also review disaster recovery protocols, staff security awareness and gaps, AI usage, and other risks posed to your digital estate.
• Map real-world threats to controls to regulatory requirements. PCI DSS compliance requires cybersecurity measures such as immutable backups, multifactor authentication, network segmentation, and continuous monitoring to prevent novel threats from breaching systems and compromising data.

2. Map security controls to multiple frameworks. Most organizations deal with overlapping regulations and become overwhelmed with the myriad regulatory requirements. Instead of duplicating effort, organizations should identify risk, validate the controls that mitigate them, then map controls back to regulatory requirements.  And in some cases, one security control can address multiple regulatory requirements. This involves a “crosswalk” approach to minimize duplication.

3. Developing a risk management strategy. This is conceivably the most crucial step, and involves several subtasks. It is where compliance, governance, risk, and cybersecurity converge. MSPs provide key guidance monitoring, configuration, and tooling.

• Deploy continuous monitoring tools. This is critical to provide real-time visibility into fast-moving threats, which periodic monitoring can’t address. With continuous monitoring, organizations test configurations in real time and continuously monitor systems.  Various parts of the IT environment require monitoring.
• Cloud configuration monitoring. Public, private, and hybrid clouds require constant monitoring to ensure the security, performance, and compliance of workloads that span these cloud environments.

The primary goal is to provide unified visibility and consistent policy enforcement throughout these diverse infrastructures to eliminate security vulnerabilities, gaps, and errors. This reduces breach risk while mapping directly to compliance controls around access control, encryption, and data protection.

• Endpoint detection and response. As an organization’s IT environment expands beyond the four walls of an organization, it’s critical to monitor new attack surfaces, such as endpoints (laptops, servers, mobile devices) for suspicious behavior and active threats. EDR provides real-time detection and response while generating audit-ready logs that demonstrate control effectiveness.
• Identity monitoring. Monitoring who has access to which systems and data is critical in a modern organization to protect sensitive information and intellectual property. Tracking authentication behavior, privilege escalation, and anomalous access patterns is important here. Continuous identity oversight supports zero-trust principles and strengthens compliance with access control and least-privilege access requirements.
• Ongoing vulnerability management. Automated, recurring scans identify new weaknesses as they emerge. This ensures remediation timelines align with regulatory expectations and evolving threat landscapes.
• System configuration drift detection. Continuously detect deviations from approved baselines (security settings, hardened images, policy configurations). Drift detection ensures environments remain compliant over time, not just during deployment. This is critical as systems become more complex and autonomous
• Deploy integrated governance, risk, and compliance platforms. Unifying risk, compliance, and security data into one system centralizes oversight and automation.

To unify data, consider a platform that automates and unifies risk management, audit, and regulatory compliance processes to track controls, automate evidence collection, and link risks to security incidents in real time.

• Create shared key performance indicators (KPIs) that are based on mitigating risk. Then communicate them to the C-suite. Metrics such as mean time to detection (the average time it takes for an organization to discover a security threat or system failure after it has initiated) and mean time to respond (which measures the average time it takes for a team to initiate action after an incident is detected), incident frequency, and so on.

4. Translate security controls, compliance requirements into business risk. C-level executives don’t need a quarterly recitation of failed controls and audit exceptions. They need clarity on business impact of events. What is the financial exposure of a ransomware attack? What are the regulatory penalties if we fall short of requirements? How would a breach affect customer trust, revenue, or market position?

When cybersecurity and compliance are framed in terms of quantified risk—loss scenarios, fines, operational disruption, reputational damage—they become strategic business issues rather than technical or audit checklists.

Translating security controls into business risk is a critical step in closing the gap between cybersecurity and compliance. Security teams understand threats and vulnerabilities. Compliance teams understand regulatory obligations. Executives need to understand outcomes. When both cybersecurity and compliance disciplines can report to the C-suite in the language of financial impact and potential risk, they operate not as parallel functions, but as a unified risk management strategy.

Why is an MSP best positioned to bridge the gap between cybersecurity and compliance?

Organizations often treat compliance and cybersecurity as separate disciplines. But organizational resilience requires integrating these domains under a unified risk management approach. Compliance establishes minimum legal and regulatory standards through periodic audits and documented controls. By contrast, a holistic cybersecurity strategy is continuous and proactive. It focuses on identifying vulnerabilities, monitoring threats in real time, and preventing breaches before they occur.

The gap between the two domains persists because compliance is often checklist driven, while cybersecurity is risk driven. Falling short on compliance increases the likelihood of a security breach. But passing audits does not guarantee security. As illustrated, organizations can suffer a major breach despite meeting compliance requirements. As Pogue noted, meeting compliance is the only the minimum foundation of building security maturity.

Bridging the divide requires shifting from a regulatory mindset to a risk-based strategy. Organizations must conduct comprehensive risk assessments, map security controls among multiple frameworks to reduce duplication. Continuous monitoring—of cloud environments, endpoints, identities, vulnerabilities, and so on—ensures that controls remain effective beyond a given audit window.  And it’s critical to translate technical controls into business risk, helping executives understand financial risk, operational disruption, and reputational impact.

Managed service providers are uniquely positioned to close this gap. Operating at the intersection of compliance mandates and cybersecurity execution, MSPs combine technical expertise with regulatory awareness and a grasp of business impact. Not only can they implement the right toolset for an IT environment, but they can translate security findings and audit activities into business terms, enabling leadership to make informed, risk-based decisions.

And increasingly, the most mature MSPs are also evolving to bridge the gap. They are becoming managed security service providers (MSSPs), embedding 24/7 threat detection, response, and advanced security operations into their core offerings. This evolution helps MSSPs unify compliance oversight with continuous security enforcement—moving organizations beyond periodic audit readiness toward sustained cyber resilience.

In today’s complex threat and regulatory landscape, MSPs, and MSSPs, can make the difference between checkbox tactics and a unified approach to siloed domains. They understand that ongoing risk management is the key to bridging the gap.

If you would like to learn more about how Integris helps organizations with cybersecurity and compliance, check out Integris’ solutions.

The post The cybersecurity and compliance gap: How MSPs bridge it with risk management strategy appeared first on Integris.

Banks are entering 2026 at a pivotal moment, where banking trust will become key currency.

Technology spending is increasing significantly, cybersecurity threats are intensifying, and artificial intelligence (AI) has become embedded in everyday banking decisions. At the same time, customer trust remains high—nearly 9 in 10 customers believe banks keep their information secure. Yet beneath this veneer of confidence lies growing anxiety about data breaches, AI-driven errors, and how well banks are prepared to manage them.

A 2026 Integris survey offers a detailed look at how banks and their customers are approaching the year ahead. Integris’ research combines insights from 1,000 U.S. banking customers and 673 U.S. banking executives, including chief information officers (CIOs), chief information security officers (CISOs), compliance leaders, and IT directors. The findings reveal a widening gap between customer perceptions and institutional realities—a gulf that could shape trust, loyalty, and competitiveness in 2026.

“This report is key because if shows how the American banking customer is shifting its priorities,” said Cal Roberson, vice president of the Integris Financial Institution Division. “They trust their banks more than many other institutions. But they also see headlines about big banks having major breaches, and it worries them whether their local bank will be able to keep up with the threats. Banks that can show their commitment to security will be the winners in today’s competitive landscape.”

Banking trust is strong—but customers fear malicious attackers and AI mistakes

Customer confidence in bank security remains strong. Eighty-eight percent of respondents say they trust their bank to protect their personal and financial data, and more than half say they chose their bank primarily because of that trust. For many customers, security is now the defining factor in bank selection—ranking above convenience, digital features, or loyalty programs.

But that trust sits alongside increasing anxiety. Forty percent of customers cite malicious attackers stealing bank data as their single biggest concern in banking, outweighing worries about phishing, insider mistakes, or mobile-app fraud combined. At the same time, anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence is emerging. More than half of customers (52%) worry that AI systems could mistakenly freeze their account or block legitimate transactions, while 40% fear that AI use could expose their personal data.

Banks are experiencing far more breaches than customers realize

On the executive side, the reality is stark. More than half of banks report experiencing an email-based breach in the past year, and half report a mobile-related breach. These incidents are no longer rare or exceptional; they are routine operational risks throughout the industry.

Customers, however, remain largely unaware. Only about onein 10 reports receiving a breach notification from their bank in the last year, and 57% believe their bank has never been breached. This perception gap creates a fragile trust dynamic. Customers assume their bank and its data are secure because they have never been told otherwise, even as attacks occur with increasing frequency behind the scenes.

That gap matters because customer tolerance is low. Sixty-six percent of customers say they would consider switching banks after a serious breach, with nearly a quarter saying they would be very likely to leave. Once broken, trust is difficult to restore—especially in an environment where switching banks is easier than ever.

Banking technology budgets are rising—but visibility lags

Bank executives recognize the need to modernize. Forty-five percent expect technology budgets to rise by 40% or more in 2026, and 18% anticipate increases above 60%. Cybersecurity, compliance automation, AI governance, and data integration top the list of priorities.

But modernization faces hurdles. Nearly two-thirds of executives say they lack visibility into total IT spending, with costs spread across departments, vendors, and legacy systems. Many banks operate on technology architecture built  over decades, making it difficult to track investments, prioritize initiatives, or measure return on investment.

AI adoption is accelerating faster than oversight

AI is rapidly becoming central to fraud detection, transaction monitoring, customer service, and risk scoring. But governance has not kept pace. More than a third of banking executives say they struggle to interpret AI outputs or fully understand how certain recommendations are generated.

This disconnect creates dual risk. Internally, opaque AI systems make it harder to audit decisions, ensure fairness, and meet regulatory expectations. Externally, customer uncertainty intensifies fear. If banks cannot clearly explain how AI is used—and how errors are prevented or corrected—customers may perceive AI as a threat rather than a benefit.

Community banks face a distinct modernization challenge

Two-thirds of community-bank customers believe their bank has never been breached, compared with just over half of large-bank customers. That trust is an advantage—but also a risk. If a serious incident occurs, community banks may have less reputational cushion. More than half of community-bank customers say they would consider leaving after a major breach. Transparency gaps are also more pronounced: 41% of community-bank customers are unsure

Want to learn more? Download the complete “2026 Banking trust and technology report” here.

The post The Integris banking trust and technology outlook for 2026: Increases in technology spending but also fragile trust appeared first on Integris.

For decades, competitiveness was driven largely by cost cutting and efficiency. Today, however, volatility in global supply chains, geopolitical shifts, labor shortages, and rapid technology change have made resilience and adaptability just as important as cost optimization. Supply chain disruption, tariff uncertainty, and logistics bottlenecks have demonstrated that even small interruptions can cascade across global networks and stall production for unprepared manufacturers.

In response, manufacturers are prioritizing adaptive manufacturing—an operating model designed to sense change and respond to it in real time. Instead of optimizing only for steady-state efficiency, adaptive manufacturing emphasizes flexible processes, data-driven decision making, and technology-enabled agility. The growing importance of this transformation is reflected in survey data indicating strong executive focus on supply chain resilience, sustainability, technology adoption, and workforce upskilling.

“Manufacturers [that] cling to efficiency at all costs are setting themselves up for failure,” wrote the authors in “The Efficiency Trap: How Over-Optimization is Crippling Manufacturing Agility.”

“The ones that engineer agility into their operations will dominate,” the authors concluded.

What is adaptive manufacturing?

Adaptive manufacturing relies on intelligent, connected systems that integrate production equipment, enterprise systems, and supply chains. Core enabling technologies include IoT sensors, AI, advanced analytics, cloud computing, and automation. These tools allow manufacturers to monitor operations in real time, anticipate disruptions, optimize production schedules, respond dynamically to demand shifts, and improve asset utilization. The result is improved continuity, better forecasting, and the ability to adjust capacity, inventory, and logistics without sacrificing productivity.

A practical illustration comes from IoT-enabled supply chain optimization.

In one example, a manufacturer deployed IoT sensors to track product assets throughout its logistics network. By feeding sensor data into dashboards and applications, the company gained real-time visibility into work-in-progress and shipments. This intelligence helped reduce unplanned shipments, improved labor efficiency, shortened pickup times, and strengthened dealer relationships through more reliable delivery. The case demonstrates how an intelligence layer built on IoT can measurably improve operational performance.

Challenges requiring an adaptive manufacturing approach

While the vision is compelling, implementation is not turnkey. Manufacturers face several barriers:

• Legacy and fragmented systems. Older platforms and siloed operational technology/information technology (OT/IT) environments hinder unified data views and secure integration.
• Cybersecurity exposure. As connectivity expands, threat surfaces grow; modern manufacturing has seen rapid increases in verified breaches and financial impact.
• Skills gaps. Technology change is outpacing workforce capability, especially where OT and IT converge.
• Budget and prioritization challenges. Investment is required not only for tools, but for integration, governance, and change management.
• Compliance obligations. Frameworks such as NIST and CMMC are complex, and proof of adherence is increasingly essential for participation in sensitive supply chains.
• Data quality issues. Siloed systems limit the ability to establish a single source of truth needed for analytics and AI.

Critical areas where MSPs can implement an adaptive manufacturing approach

Because of these challenges, many organizations turn to managed service providers (MSPs) as strategic partners. MSPs help design and operate the digital backbone required for adaptive manufacturing—secure networks, cloud environments, data platforms, and automated workflows. They bring specialized expertise in smart technologies, proactive monitoring, cybersecurity, and compliance management, while helping manufacturers optimize investments and avoid the disruptions that can accompany piecemeal upgrades.

MSPs support this transition in several critical areas:

• Cloud architecture and migration. Building scalable, cost-efficient, and resilient environments capable of supporting analytics and smart factory applications.
• AI, automation, and predictive analytics. Applying data to forecast demand, reduce downtime, improve quality, and accelerate product innovation.
• Cybersecurity and defense-in-depth strategies. Implementing layered protections across endpoints, applications, networks, and the cloud.
• Connectivity and industrial networking. Ensuring reliable performance for IoT devices, robotics, and remote operations.
• Downtime reduction and business continuity. In 2025, 61% of companies reported unplanned downtime in the past year.
•  Providing proactive monitoring, disaster recovery, and service-level governance to minimize operational disruption.
• Data governance and the “digital estate.” Helping organizations manage, secure, and extract value from their expanding digital assets.

The transition to adaptive manufacturing reflects broader Industry 4.0 objectives. It connects physical equipment with digital intelligence, breaks down data silos, and strengthens decision making at every level of the manufacturing value chain.

The business outcomes are significant. Adaptive operations enable manufacturers to do the following:

• respond to market and supply fluctuations in real time
• improve productivity and reduce unplanned downtime
• enhance forecasting accuracy and inventory optimization
• increase security and compliance readiness
• boost customer satisfaction through reliability and service performance
• support sustainability goals through smarter resource use

Why manufacturing must become adaptive—and how MSPs can help

Manufacturing is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Efficiency is no longer the sole driver of competitive differentiation. Instead, the future belongs to manufacturers that can absorb disruptions, make data-driven decisions instantly, and reconfigure processes on demand.

Adaptive manufacturing enables this. It empowers organizations to respond intelligently to supply chain volatility, workforce shortages, geopolitical uncertainty, fluctuating demand, and equipment issues—all while maintaining productivity and profitability.

But the path to adaptive manufacturing requires more than incremental improvements—it requires integrated, intelligent systems supported by smart technologies and strong IT partnerships.

MSPs deliver the expertise, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and always-on monitoring needed to achieve that vision. They help manufacturers build the next-generation digital estate—one that unifies data, automates processes, and turns AI insights into action.

 “In an AI-driven business landscape, inaction is a strategic disadvantage,” said Dr. Brian Luckey, chief information officer at Integris.”  The manufacturers that invest now in adaptive strategies, guided by trusted partners, will be the ones that innovate more quickly, rebound faster from disruptions, and outperform their competitors.

The message is clear: Adaptive manufacturing is no longer optional. It is the new foundation for future growth.

For more, check out our ebook “Why adaptive manufacturing is the playbook for today’s manufacturing,” here.

The post How MSPs can shift manufacturers toward adaptive manufacturing appeared first on Integris.

Hybrid cloud architecture has become key for organizations to take a “best of both worlds” approach to their IT environments. Organizations can get the flexibility and elasticity of public cloud resources as they experience peaks and valleys in demand. At the same time, they can get the data security and control their industry requires by placing some applications and data in a private cloud. This allows for an ideal combination: agility and scalability without sacrificing data security and control. According to IT research firm Gartner Inc., 90% of organizations will adopt a hybrid cloud approach through 2027. 

As a result, companies increasingly view hybrid cloud as a final destination, not a waystation. “Hybrid is not the transition. It is the baseline,”  Knowledge Hub Media noted.

What is hybrid cloud computing?

Hybrid cloud architecture combines IT environments between at least one public cloud (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Clouds) with a private cloud or on-premises data center.  A hybrid cloud computing approach allows data and applications to be shared, enabling workloads to run in the most suitable environment for security, compliance, and cost-efficiency reasons. 

So, for example, a bank might run its customer-facing portal in a public cloud to enable business scale and fluctuations in demand. But the bank may use private cloud architecture to run its deposit systems and loan servicing, to better align with regulatory controls and data sovereignty (where “sovereignty” means that data is subject to the laws of the country or region where it is physically collected, stored, or processed).

Hybrid cloud architecture allows companies to achieve data privacy and control enabled by private clouds while also getting access to the elasticity, scalability, and on-demand use model of public clouds.

Why deploy hybrid cloud computing with an MSP?

But hybrid cloud architecture creates complexities. That’s why many organizations recognize that they cannot achieve cloud success on their own. According to Integris trust and spending survey data, that may be why 40% use managed services for help with hybrid cloud computing, and 44% say their primary benefit in working with an MSP is the reduced burden of managing IT environments.

And according to respondents, the reasons for choosing cloud models are more about operational efficiency (54%), increased agility (53%), and enhanced security (52% than about reducing costs (41%).

Managing multiple IT environments—with a holistic view of them—can be challenging. Further, integrating legacy environments with cloud-native ones requires understanding of the implications—from conflicting languages to data integrity to gaps in cybersecurity and more.

So, many are turning to IT managed services to create a successful hybrid cloud setup without incurring cybersecurity risk. They’re also finding it strategic in addressing performance, backup and disaster recovery, cloud sprawl, and runaway cost concerns. In what follows, we explore the compelling proposition of hybrid cloud, and why MSPs are often on the front lines, helping organizations build and maintain their public and private cloud architecture.

Key ways MSPs address cloud management needs

Cloud complexity. Most internal IT teams weren’t built to manage the level of sprawl that can come with having infrastructure and data in public and private clouds—and communicating with one another. Securely connecting data and applications between private and public clouds can be challenging without guidance from an MSP that understands the security, networking, storage, and performance concerns of connecting these environments.

Cloud security. Connecting data and applications between clouds opens the door to misconfiguration, overly permissive identity/access management policies, and an inability to track threats in an expanding attack surface. MSPs can tighten controls with multifactor authentication, conditional access to data and applications, and zero-trust architecture. Further, MSPs excel at continuous monitoring, eyeing systems for anomalies and  establishing compliance reporting for key regulations (including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

Cloud cost optimization. According to Capgemini data, 76% of organizations exceeded their public cloud budgets (by 10% on average), and 59% say that cloud waste is a major problem. Runaway costs are a key reason that many organizations have chosen to move some workloads from public clouds to private ones.

In addition to reallocating workloads, organizations should adopt a methodology that ensures return on investment. This cloud cost management practice is known as FinOps, where organizations use a framework to optimize cloud spending and curb waste. According to Deloitte, some companies can experience as much as a 40% reduction in costs with FinOps approaches.

Mitigating downtime, ensuring performance. MSPs understand how to create a hybrid cloud architecture that performs well and minimizes costly downtime. With continuous monitoring, they can quickly identify small performance degradations before they result in a major incident.  MSPs can also test disaster recovery plans regularly to ensure recovery in the face of an event.

Why MSPs can make the difference in the journey to hybrid cloud architecture

Organizations historically have turned to hybrid cloud architecture to gain flexibility they lacked by using private clouds alone. But without the right governance and oversight, hybrid cloud can usher in complexity, cost overruns, and security gaps.

MSPs can make the difference between success and failure in hybrid cloud deployments because of their attention to all the domains that matter in implementation.

“Hybrid cloud is very complex,” said Jayson Saumer, a product specialist at Integris. “MSPs are often better situated than pure cloud providers to integrate public cloud with private cloud systems and tailor solutions for individual clients.”

MSPs reduce complexity by standardizing architecture across private cloud infrastructure and public cloud platforms. They centralize monitoring and implement consistent configuration, security protocols, and automation practices. The result is improved visibility into all environments with fewer outages and faster issue resolution—enabling internal IT teams or other members of the business to focus on strategy rather than troubleshooting.

MSPs also bring financial discipline through FinOps practices. Hybrid cloud environments frequently suffer from overprovisioned resources and unpredictable spending. MSPs introduce workload right-sizing and proper allocation, budget forecasting, and continuous optimization.

Third, MSPs strengthen cybersecurity and disaster recovery throughout the hybrid environment. By implementing zero-trust architecture, MFA, and continuous monitoring to reduce breach risk, MSPs can best position organizations to proactively address threats. They also align environments with regulatory frameworks, improving compliance posture and resilience.

Finally, MSP-led hybrid cloud creates a scalable foundation for innovation. With infrastructure stabilized and optimized, organizations can deploy new applications, support expansion, and accelerate AI and analytics initiatives without adding operational chaos.

If you want to learn more about how Integris can support your journey to hybrid cloud and how Integris can help, click here.

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But despite its advantages, how do you know if a IT managed service provider (MSP) is the right choice for you? Whether you’re looking to completely offload your IT department to an MSP, or you simply need some additional, targeted assistance, there’s a provider out there can offer you the customized services you need. But, before we discuss the money-saving advantages of MSPs, let’s dig a little deeper into how contracts with MSPs work.

How Managed IT Support Works

A good MSP can be your company’s greatest business enablement partner, providing customized service, strategy, and information technology tools. They provide support for the back end of your business, so you can focus on the strategic initiatives that will move your company ahead. After conducting a thorough IT assessment, a prospective MSP should provide you with a strategic IT plan and estimate that’s predictable from month to month. Your consulting bill will depend on the number of software licenses the MSP is managing, the number of “seats” or users in your system, and any additional project work that will need to be done. An MSP can help businesses manage their IT expense with predictable, no-surprises billing.

The Services You Can Expect from an IT MSP

• Network Management: monitoring and managing a company’s network infrastructure, ensuring optimal performance and security. This includes managing routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices.
• Cybersecurity: including comprehensive security services to protect against cyber threats, such as firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems, endpoint management, and regular security audits.
• Data Backup and Recovery: ensuring that a company’s data is regularly backed up and can be quickly restored in the event of data loss or a disaster. This includes both on-site and cloud-based backup solutions.
• Help Desk Support: providing on call services to assist employees with IT-related issues. This can include troubleshooting hardware and software problems, providing technical support, and answering IT-related questions.
• Software Management: managing the installation, updating, and onboarding/offboarding, and license management of software applications, ensuring that all software is up-to-date and functioning properly.
• Cloud Services: assisting with the migration to and management of cloud services, including cloud storage, cloud computing, and cloud-based applications.
• IT Strategy and Governance: that helps companies with complex IT infrastructure needs or regulatory burdens. MSPs like Integris can offer CISSP-certified virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs) so companies of any size can get the benefit of advanced IT monitoring, cybersecurity strategy, and reporting on an affordable, scalable basis.
  

So, now that we’ve explored what an IT MSP can offer, let’s talk about how they can trim your bottom line while upping your technology game.

How Does Managed IT Support Save My Business Money?

An MSP can save your company money in big and small ways through the year. Here are the ways IT outsourcing can provide layers of savings for your operation.

#1—Direct Cost Savings

Reduced IT Staffing Costs: Outsourcing IT support to an MSP can significantly reduce the need for a large in-house IT team. Instead of hiring multiple IT professionals to cover various specialties, businesses can rely on the MSP’s team of experts. This not only reduces salary and benefits expenses but also eliminates the costs associated with recruiting, training, and retaining IT staff. You’ll relieve your HR team of the headache of finding IT talent in a tight labor market, while also providing your company with a larger range of IT talent and subspecialties than you can easily find on your own.

Predictable Monthly Costs: One of the major benefits of managed IT support is the predictable monthly fee structure. Unlike break-fix IT services, where costs can vary widely depending on the issues that arise, MSPs typically offer fixed monthly rates. This allows businesses to budget more effectively and avoid unexpected expenses related to IT problems.

Lower Hardware and Software Costs: MSPs often have partnerships with hardware and software vendors, allowing them to secure discounts that they can pass on to their clients. This can result in significant savings on the purchase of new equipment and software licenses. Additionally, MSPs can advise on the most cost-effective solutions and help avoid unnecessary expenditures.

#2—Indirect Cost Savings

While hard costs are easy to see, it’s the savings in time and prevention of problems that truly make a difference. Here’s some of the enormous benefits managed IT support can bring you:

Minimized Downtime: Proactive monitoring and maintenance are key components of managed IT support. MSPs continuously monitor your IT systems to detect and address potential issues before they escalate into major problems. This proactive approach helps prevent unexpected downtime, which can be costly in terms of lost productivity and revenue. By ensuring that systems are always running smoothly, businesses can avoid the financial impact of prolonged outages and maintain consistent operations.

Enhanced Productivity: Efficient IT support plays a crucial role in enhancing employee productivity. When IT issues arise, they can disrupt workflows and cause significant delays. Managed IT support provides quick and effective resolutions to these problems, minimizing disruptions and allowing employees to focus on their tasks. Additionally, MSPs often implement tools and technologies that streamline processes and improve overall efficiency, further boosting productivity.

Improved Security: Cybersecurity is a major concern for businesses of all sizes. Data breaches and cyberattacks can result in substantial financial losses, legal liabilities, and damage to a company’s reputation. Managed IT support includes robust security measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and regular security audits to protect against these threats. By preventing security incidents, businesses can avoid the high costs associated with data breaches, including remediation expenses, regulatory fines, and loss of customer trust.

#3—Long-Term Financial Benefits

The benefits of managed IT support are larger than just daily line items. The structure of an MSP contract provides your business with long term structural benefits that make it easier for your business to grow and adapt quickly. An MSP contract can offer you:

Scalability: As businesses grow, their IT needs evolve. Managed IT support offers the flexibility to scale services up or down based on the company’s requirements. This scalability eliminates the need for businesses to invest in additional IT staff or infrastructure as they expand. Instead, they can rely on their MSP to provide the necessary resources and expertise, ensuring that their IT systems can support growth without incurring significant costs.

Access to Expertise: Hiring and retaining IT specialists can be expensive, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Managed IT support provides access to a team of experts with diverse skills and knowledge. This means businesses can benefit from high-level expertise without the high costs associated with hiring full-time specialists. MSPs stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and industry best practices, ensuring that clients receive the best possible IT support.

Focus on Core Business: Outsourcing IT functions to an MSP allows businesses to focus on their core activities. Managing IT in-house can be time-consuming and divert attention from strategic initiatives. By entrusting IT management to a reliable MSP, businesses can concentrate on what they do best, whether it’s developing new products, improving customer service, or expanding into new markets. This focus on core business activities can lead to increased revenue and overall business growth.

Need to Save Money with Managed IT Support? Integris Can Help.

Call us, and set up a free consultation. We can perform an IT assessment and help you come up with a IT plan that will improve your bottom line. As a national managed IT support provider, we have the local staff and national network of experts to help you meet your goals.

The post Can Managed IT Support Save My Business Money? appeared first on Integris.

Modern compliance has outgrown the days of spreadsheets and frantic audit prep. AI technology has changed the game for everything from data governance to cybersecurity to backup/disaster recovery, employee security awareness training, and more. This has raised the stakes for compliance, and many organizations have become willing to invest in managed service provider (MSP) contracts to create a cohesive compliance as a service (CaaS) program at their company. 

That kind of investment usually means one thing: key performance indicators (KPIs)—and the ability to track whether the spending is worth it. Performance monitoring may seem like a tricky goal with a process as multilateral as compliance. But thanks to AI and a raft of new compliance and cybersecurity tools, there are many levers to pull to create solid, trackable metrics for your compliance as a service provider. 

As an MSP working with small and midsize businesses across the nation, Integris works with clients to establish compliance KPIs regularly. We understand how to reduce your compliance reporting burden. Let’s dig into the anatomy of compliance KPIs, and why they matter for SMBs. 

What is a ‘good’ compliance KPI? 

Without solid metrics, it’s impossible to know whether your program is improving or quietly deteriorating. A mature CaaS model will help centralize compliance operations, and create a repeatable, well-governed workflow with continuously monitored KPIs. 

Strong KPIs help you do the following: 

• create visibility into control performance 

• demonstrate progress to auditors, regulators, insurers, and executives 

• quantify consistency in policy adherence, control execution, and translate risk into business impact 

• fuel continuous improvement with clear direction 

In short, KPIs transform compliance from something you react to into something you manage in real time, every day. 

The six traits of good compliance KPIs 

Not all KPIs are created equal. Some are “vanity” metrics (or superficial data points that measure little progress), while others measure activity rather than outcomes. A compliance as a service provider should focus on KPIs that truly move the needle. 

Good compliance KPIs have this in common: 

1. Tied to a specific control or obligation. They map to general frameworks like those from NIST CSF 2.0 or industry-driven compliance structures such as CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) for manufacturing or HIPAA (cybersecurity controls for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for healthcare. 

2. Objective and measurable. They have no ambiguity and definitions are precise. 

3. Continuously trackable. They report into a dashboard continuously, not just before an audit. 

4. Comparable over time. Data created makes it possible to identify trends that reveal strengths and weaknesses. 

5. Actionable and business relevant. They show understandable return on investment (ROI) for your C-suite to determine success/failure, and areas to be addressed. 

6. Balanced across the lifecycle. They measure operational discipline and business readiness. 

Understanding the types of compliance KPIs 

Thankfully, a CaaS program can have different kinds of KPI controls, and there’s lots to choose from. For the sake of this article, we’ll break KPIs into three types: control and framework maturity, operational security performance, and business readiness/compliance outcomes. These categories mirror how compliance matures over time–from foundational controls to operational execution to strategic business impact. 

First, let’s dig into control and framework maturity KPIs. 

Types of control and framework maturity KPIs 

Control/framework KPIs validate the foundation of a compliance program and ensure that policies and controls align with frameworks. The mature CaaS model keeps policies current, proactively maintains documentation, and continuously collects evidence. Together, these KPIs answer the questions “Do we have the right controls, and are they functioning consistently?”  

Key KPIs include the following: 

• Framework control coverage. The percentage of controls implemented against specific compliance frameworks such as CIS v8 (Center for Internet Security Controls version 8) or NIST 800171 (National Institute of Standards and Technology.) The higher the coverage, the higher your organization’s maturity. 

• Critical asset protection coverage. The share of endpoints, identities, email, and cloud apps protected by managed security controls (such as ,).     

• Multifactor authentication and conditional access coverage.  This KPI measures the number of systems with conditional access and the level of permissioning throughout.  

• Backup and recovery test pass rate. Backups mean nothing if they can’t be restored. This KPI proves resilience. 

• Policy acknowledgement of completion. This measurement tracks employee compliance against required policies like AI acceptable use, bring your own device, and more. 

• Privileged account review closure. This tracking mechanism shows how quickly you identify and close privileged access risks. 

Operational security performance KPIs 

This type of KPI measures how effectively organizational systems detect, respond to, and reduce real world risk. They reveal the health of a security operations center and of overall security execution. The better these controls are layered, the higher the chances of catching vulnerabilities before they become a problem. 

Essential KPIs include the following: 

• High critical vulnerability exposure window. This measures how long serious vulnerabilities remain unpatched. Obviously, the shorter your windows the lower your risk. 

• Vulnerability remediation within your service-level agreements (SLAs). This measures the percent of remediated findings, and how quickly they were completed within the contracted timeline. 

• Patch compliance rates. This shows how many patches an IT team applied and how quickly they were applied once the team identified a need for the patch. This is a key metric that shows the health and hygiene of your system’s environment, and it is one of the most reliable predictors of the likelihood of a breach. 

• Mean time to detect (MTTD). This measures the responsiveness of your security operation center (SOC) and how quickly your tools detect anomalies. The faster you detect problems, the smaller the blast radius, so to speak.  

• Mean time to respond (MTTR). This measures how quickly your operation center can contain and remediate incidents and is a core indicator of operational maturity. 

• Security incident rate. This tracks overall exposure and whether your incidents are tracking up or down. Rising incidents may signal configuration issues or new emerging threats. 

• True positive alert rate. This metric shows monitoring quality by measuring the ratio of real threats vs. noise. 

Together, these measurements reveal whether your environment is becoming safer over time, and whether operational processes are tuned and disciplined. 

Business readiness and compliance outcome KPIs 

This is where compliance meets business impact. These KPIs demonstrate whether an organization’s program supports sales velocity, audit performance, insurance outcomes, and executive decision making. In short, they measure what an executive team cares about. 

Key KPIs that drive business objectives: 

• Evidence pack cycle time. Measures how quickly your MSP team can work with you to assemble audit documentation. If your tools already collect continuous evidence, turnaround time should be short. 

• Audit and exam findings. Obviously, your findings equal stronger controls. Repeat findings can be a major red flag. The goal is for this number to be low and decline over time. 

• Vendor questionnaire (VSQ) turnaround time. Similarly to evidence pack cycle time, this control measures how quickly your MST team can work to produce documentation for a key constituency: vendors. Slow responses to vendor questionnaires can stall deals. Mature CaaS programs can maintain documentation to accelerate turnaround. 

• Security-approved deals won. This metric shows how compliance unlocks opportunities, especially in regulated industries. 

• Cyber insurance outcomes. This tracks improvements in premiums, deductibles, and exclusions based on verified controls. 

• Executive portal engagement. This measurement shows how often leadership uses reporting dashboards—which is proof that the information generated resonates with your key audience. 

How should I implement KPIs into my CaaS compliance program? 

The list of potential KPIs you can choose is long and, honestly, a little daunting. Fortunately, you don’t have to implement all of them at once. A strong compliance program uses a phased, risk-based approach such as the one in the diagram below. 

How your CaaS partner makes KPIs achievable 

Establishing KPIs is one thing; keeping them accurate is another. When it comes to creating meaningful reporting, many organizations struggle with data sets, dashboards, and logistics. Evidence can be scattered across several systems and producing noisy data. Policies can change faster than documentation. And teams are often overloaded with audit cycles and other service fire drills. This is where an MSP can shine, helping overcome problems with more automated reporting systems. 

A governance-forward MSP should be able to help you realize a mature CaaS program, delivering outcomes such as these: 

• Daily compliance leadership, including guidance n KPI setting, monitoring, and corrective action. 

• Centralized automated evidence collection, so there’s no more scrambling before audits. 

• Proactive policy and risk management, so policies stay current, evidence stays accurate, and any regulatory mismatch issues are caught early. 

• Operational discipline across security controls, so patching, vulnerability management, access control, and disaster recovery testing are handled systematically. 

• Executive-ready reporting, so dashboards, evidence packs, and board reports improve visibility and trust. 

• Clear responsibility models, so ownership is defined, reducing confusion, mission overlap, and missed tasks. 

The right CaaS partner shouldn’t just track performance indicators; it should make them work for you and your organization. Don’t accept anything less. 

Are you ready to find a CaaS provider for your company? 

Strong key performance indicators give organizations a measurable and repeatable way to strengthen compliance and reduce risk. When they’re tied to the right frameworks continuously trapped, and aligned with business outcomes, they truly can become a powerful tool for your company’s growth. 

A strong MSP can help turn KPIs from static measurements into an operational system that streamlines audits, matures security posture, and sets your organization on track for growth. 

If you’re ready to find a compliance as a service provider, Integris would love to help. Contact us today for a free consultation. 

The post How to build KPIs for your compliance as a service program  appeared first on Integris.

Clearly, companies are ready to invest in IT, driven by the promise of AI, BI, quantum computing, and a whole lot more. In the age of AI and advanced threats, they’re looking to us to automate drudgery, govern data, and mitigate increasingly sophisticated risks. And they’re looking for us to do it all while providing a higher level of monitoring and transparency, all customized to their unique business KPI’s.  

It’s a tall order, but MSPs are poised to deliver more value with better tools than ever before. Here’s where I think the smart money will be going in the MSP market in the next couple of years and the trends that you can expect.  

Ten trends driving IT MSPs now 

Tech development is proceeding at breakneck speed, and now even the smallest businesses are feeling the shift. We’re at the top of the hype cycle for a lot of these innovations, and an enormous amount of work has to be done to lay the groundwork to make the most of these new innovations.  

The trends that I’m going to bring out here are all in varying stages of development. Some will have tidy, well defined product and service packages available now. Still others will be a year or two from being affordable and scalable for many small and medium-sized businesses. But make no mistake about it—MSPs everywhere will be scrambling to find ways to responsibly execute on the promise of this new tech. 

Trend no. 1: The rise of agentic AI, and the horizon beyond large language models 

2025 was, arguably, the year of the large language model. Companies everywhere were installing Microsoft 365 with Copilot, implementing AI fair use policies, buying into SaaS tools with AI chatbots, and shoring up their data governance. Now, companies on the leading edge will be graduating to agentic AI—autonomous agents capable of not just answering questions but executing tasks, as well.  

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2026, 40% of enterprise applications will feature task specific AI agents, up from just 5% in 2025. Now is the time to start thinking about processes at your company, and how AI agents can remove repetitive or time-intensive tasks from your workload. You’ll need your IT partners to help you evaluate the growing field of plug-and-play AI agent tools, of course. To make these tools successful, your MSP must be able to help you prepare the right processes, human review cycles, and data sets to let these agents run on your systems successfully. 

Trend no. 2:  Chore automation lowering IT workloads 

For years, IT teams have been bogged down by triage—sorting through repetitive, low-level documentation, monitoring, and remediations. Chore automation is making all that a thing of the past. In fact, Forester’s tech trends report predicts 40% to 60% of IT triage and repetitive fixes will be automated in 2026. 

This innovation will save IT service time and help your MSP upgrade to more high-value consulting services. In this era, your MSP should help you with governance and guidance to implement new technologies, rather than just fixing broken ones. 

Trend no. 3: Customer portals building a self-service revolution 

The rise of AI has changed client expectations, creating a market for instant access to up-to-the-minute, customizable data. So, it should be no surprise that in Gartner’s customer experience report for 2025, approximately 95% of businesses report a rising demand for portals. The businesses that use them see a massive 63% reduction in workload and higher customer satisfaction scores, overall. 

In 2026, expect your MSP to offer portals that provide custom visibility into your IT ecosystem. This should include real-time ticket status, granular asset views, live-license usage data, and AI-driven chat for instantaneous transparency. It’s a great opportunity to customize your IT reporting around metrics that matter for your organization and provides a great opportunity for collaboration. 

Trend no. 4: Increased demand for IT compliance inspiring a wave of MSP verticalization 

It’s no longer businesses in highly regulated industries such as health care or banking that have to worry about their IT compliance structures. California has recently instituted cybersecurity transparency requirements for all businesses over $50M valuation. Thanks to the complicated threats coming from AI fakes, compliance standards are going up in every industry. Generalized IT support is struggling to keep up.  

The MSP industry is responding with verticalization. Expect to see fully customized service units dedicated to the specific operational needs of regulated industries. At Integris we have already pivoted to this model for health care, law, manufacturing, and financial services. We expect the broader market to follow suit. 

Trend no. 5:  Advanced data governance services laying the groundwork for AI/BI 

Everyone wants the advanced information gathering capabilities of AI, but few companies have the data hygiene necessary to get good results. IDC estimates that 71% of organizations now run formal governance programs to help combat that issue. As AI adoption forces a rethink of how organizations flow data through their work, MSPs are responding by bundling governance operations—gating data catalogs, enforcing policies, and handling active monitoring—so SMBs can pursue AI innovation safely. 

Trend no. 6: Hybrid cloud architecture lowering costs and increasing flexibility 

The all-in-one public cloud fever has officially broken. Most organizations have realized the limits and costs of putting every bite of their data into the public cloud. Gartner now estimates that 90% of organizations will operate hybrid cloud solutions by 2027. This is an approach we recommend at Integris, as well. Companies can generally do better with the combination of edge computing, private cloud, and secondary private cloud backups. 

A premium MSP now should play the role of an orchestrator, binding sovereign, edge, and public cloud environments into one operating model with unified security and financial operations. This is the only way for SMBs to balance strict compliance requirements with sustainable costs. 

Trend no. 7: Security awareness training preparing employees for mind their data 

Cheap, effective AI has significantly worsened the cybersecurity threat profile for companies in every industry. Hackers can now create highly customized, professional grade phishing campaigns using deep faked video calls and spoof QR codes. 

As a result, companies will be looking for ways to productized human risk management. This means moving beyond a yearly video seminar and implementing continuous phishing simulations, metric tracking for click rates, and behavioral reporting. Security awareness training will become standard for every company and feature advanced lessons to teach employees how to recognize AI-generated threats and highly customized social engineering attempts. 

The good news is—these programs are affordable and highly effective. According to reporting from KnowB4, security awareness training around these modern risks reduces phishing success by up to 86% and cuts security incidents by 50%—60%. 

Trend no. 8:  Security and governance paving the way for quantum readiness 

For years, quantum computing has been discussed as part of a distant, almost science- fiction like future for business. The future, however, will be here far faster than we think. In fact, many data scientists believe that quantum computers will be able to crack all standard encryption techniques as early as 2027 to 2030. So, even if your business has no plans to incorporate quantum computing into your own systems, your security operations will have to deal with the scammers who do. 

The urgency isn’t about a quantum computer breaking your encryption tomorrow. It’s about the “harvest now, decrypt later” attack strategies that many deep pocketed scammers, especially enemy governments, are using. Cybercriminals are currently stealing encrypted data they cannot yet read, storing it, and waiting for quantum computers to mature enough to shatter that encryption. This has deep and frightening implications for banks, healthcare organizations, and any business handling client financial data. 

To help organizations stay ahead of the threat, NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology) has finalized its first set of post quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. In 2026, expect your MSP to run audits not just on where your data is but on how it is encrypted. You can’t upgrade what you haven’t documented. The race to secure data for the quantum era is officially on. 

Trend no. 9: Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) upgrading the way we think about access and verification 

In today’s more sophisticated threat landscape, hackers no longer break in. They log in. Attackers steal valid credentials to bypass your firewalls entirely. Because of this, MSPs will encourage their clients to think more holistically about their access and identity verification procedures.  

Companies of all sizes should be upgrading to identity threat detection and response (ITDR) tools. Unlike standard identity management (IAM) that’s simply manages user permissions, ITDR actively hunts for attacks targeting your identity infrastructure. These tools detect credential theft, privilege escalation, and risky lateral movement inside your network. If your admin user suddenly logs in from a country they have never visited, ITDR is the system that automatically locks the account before the damage is done. This advanced, behavior-based security is what every company needs to prevent credential theft. Your MSP will be making that recommendation and looking for ways to add it to your annual budget. 

Trend no. 10: Customized metrics tracking to your organization’s key performance indicators 

For decades, MSP service-level agreements measured success by flat metrics, such as system uptime or minutes-to-IT-ticket response. Yet, these numbers don’t tell the whole story. For instance, a server can be up 100% of the time, but if it’s so slow that your employees can’t work, the service has failed. 

In 2026 forward-thinking MSPs are shifting to experience level agreements (XLAs) and digital employee experience (DEX) scoring. This new kind of index is tracked against key performance indicators that matter to your company, such as time to productivity for new hires, digital frictions scores, and employee sentiment. MSPs will be asking their clients the hard questions about their business so they can create IT offerings and service programs that will truly move the needle for your company. 

The bottom line: Now is the time to ask more from your IT MSP

This is a pivotal era for companies of every type, especially those who are working with the managed service provider for their IT. Break /fix MSP providers will be a thing of the past as we move into an era MSPs predict and prevent. Now is the time to audit your strategy. Are you financing your IT overhead, or are you using it to build a true competitive advantage? 

If you’re looking for a new IT partner, Integris would love to help. Contact us today for a free consultation. 

The post The 10 trends that will redefine IT MSPs in the age of AI  appeared first on Integris.

But as cloud adoption surges, costs and wasted resources often skyrocket without proper oversight. Organizations may run workloads in the cloud that could run more cost-effectively elsewhere, or they may lose track of workloads—amounting to a waste of cloud spending.

Indeed, some 94% of respondents to a recent survey said that some of their public cloud spending is wasted, and almost a third (31%) estimated that this waste exceeds 50%. Further according to Flexera’s “State of the Cloud” report, 84% of respondents are struggling with cloud costs. As organizations move forward in 2026, they need to get more disciplined about cloud costs to get the most out of their cloud architecture.

 “FinOps provides a more proactive, data-driven approach for cost projections and capacity planning… enabling enterprises to readily adapt to changing business needs and cloud usage patterns,” who was at the time area vice president for Greater China, ASEAN and Korea at NetApp, in “Why FinOps matters.”

That’s why FinOps adoption grew by 46% in 2025 as cost governance became a board-level priority.

What is FinOps?

FinOps–short for financial operations–is an operational framework that unites engineering, finance, and business teams to maximize business value from cloud investments by fostering collaboration, data-driven decisions, and financial accountability for cloud spending. When finance and engineering, and business join forces to apply best practices to cloud costs, organizations move beyond simple cost-cutting to strategic optimization and value realization.

Smaller companies may think FinOps isn’t for them—that their cloud investments are too small to warrant optimization, smaller business may stand to gain the most from FinOps:

“FinOps isn’t about how much you spend—it’s about how much you waste,” noted the LinkedIn article “FinOps: The Game-Changer SMEs Didn’t Know They Needed.” SMEs often lose a larger percentage of their cloud budget to inefficiencies than enterprises do—simply because they lack visibility and processes.”

Cloud challenges that a FinOps strategy and an MSP can solve

Cloud costs and poor visibility into those costs can be show-stoppers. For organizations to be able to Today’s organizations have turned to cloud computing to achieve speed and scale as they innovate.

But as cloud adoption surges, costs can easily skyrocket, particularly when organizations neglect spending oversight. Organizations may run cloud-based applications that could be run more cost-effectively on-site. Or companies may lose track of resources in the cloud—amounting to a waste of cloud spending.

Indeed, some 94% of respondents to a recent survey said that some of their public cloud spending is wasted. And almost a third (31%) estimated that this waste exceeds 50%. Further, according to Flexera’s “State of the Cloud” report, 84% of respondents are struggling with cloud costs. As organizations move forward in 2026, they’ll need to get more disciplined about cloud costs to get return on investment.

“Understanding FinOps is essential for any business using cloud services,” said Brad Giddens, Integris director of sales, financial institutions. “Organizations using FinOps can take a proactive, data‑driven approach to forecasting expenses and planning capacity rather than reacting to unpredictable monthly cloud costs. FinOps empowers organizations to adapt more effectively to shifting business demands and evolving cloud usage patterns.”

That’s probably why FinOps adoption grew by 46% in 2025 as cost governance became a board-level priority.

What is FinOps?

FinOps helps IT and finance finally speak the same language so there are no billing surprises. The  framework unites engineering, finance, and business teams to maximize business value from cloud investment and assign accountability for spending. With FinOps, organizations move beyond simple cost-cutting to strategic optimization and value realization in the cloud.

t’s the framework that helps IT and Finance finally speak the same language so there are no surprises on the monthly bill.”

Smaller companies may believe that FinOps isn’t for them—that their cloud investments are too small to warrant optimization. But, in fact, smaller business may stand to gain the most from FinOps.

“FinOps isn’t about how much you spend—it’s about how much you waste,” noted the author of “FinOps: The Game-Changer SMEs Didn’t Know They Needed.” SMBs often lose a larger percentage of their cloud budget to inefficiencies than enterprises do—simply because they lack visibility and processes.”

Cloud challenges that a FinOps strategy—and an MSP—can solve

For organizations to be able to justify their cloud spending, they need better visibility into that spending—and cloud resource use. Consider the business benefits FinOps can bring your business, such as these:

• Resource waste and unpredictable spending. The principal challenge of undisciplined, unmonitored cloud computing is waste. Without oversight, organizations have no way of knowing whether cloud allocations are inflating costs and creating cloud sprawl. FinOps practices provide insight into overprovisioned or unused resources that call for right-sizing or shutting down servers.

• Cloud sprawl. As organizations move assets to the cloud, it often triggers sprawl, where an organization’s applications, servers, and other resources are poorly managed or totally unaccounted for. FinOps prevents uncontrolled growth of cloud resources by providing clear tracking.
• Obscured costs. FinOps releases organizations from the other side of waste: lack of cost visibility. FinOps offers granular visibility into who spends what, where, and why—overcoming complex pricing models.
• Lack of infrastructure ownership. As cloud use and cloud sprawl expand, cloud-based resources may lack a clear owner given employee turnover, team changes, or simple lack of oversight of cloud-based resources. FinOps drives accountability, making engineering teams—and others—responsible for usage and optimizations. 

How MSPs can deliver FinOps strategy

An MSP that understands FinOps strategies will have expertise in cloud cost optimization. The right partner can help architect cloud infrastructure to prevent waste and optimize cloud performance and spending. MSPs do so by developing tracking systems to provide visibility into cloud spending. And redirect cloud allocation to reduce waste, boost performance, and curb cloud spending.

 “Not using FinOps software enough to be the eyes and ears of wasted and unused [cloud resources] is something that a lot of companies” are doing,” said IDC Research Director Robert Tiffany in the article “31% of IT leaders waste half their cloud spend,” by Evan Schuman.

Here’s how MSPs can make a difference with FinOps:

Cost visibility and reporting. MSPs implement tools and processes that help clients see where their cloud money is going. Cost transparency and tracking is critical to FinOps success.

This usually includes the following:

• Creating unified dashboards among public clouds, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and software-as-a-service-delivered applications.
• Allocating costs at the business unit or project level
• Creating continual review and monitoring
• Developing monthly or quarterly executive summaries

Cloud optimization and cost-reduction execution. MSPs are well positioned to right-size workloads, optimize storage in public computing, and eliminate wasted resources. They can also develop tiered architecture to ensure the most cost-effective storage architecture without sacrificing data usefulness. Here are key tasks in cloud optimization:

• Right-sizing compute and storage
• evaluating where workloads should reside—whether in public or private clouds—and reallocating as needed
• eliminating idle resources
• tiering storage and implementing lifecycle management
• license optimization (Microsoft 365, software as a service, etc.)

Budgeting, forecasting, and financial governance. MSPs help track and forecast budget allocation, identify spikes in spending, and establish spending limits and accountability, including tasks such as

• budget creation and tracking
• forecast modeling
• alerts for anomalies or spend spikes
• spend guardrails tied to business goals

Tooling and automation management. Instead of having clients buy and implement a patchwork of tools, MSPs bring integrated tools with various capabilities:

• cloud cost management platforms
• automation for idle resource shutdown
• alerting and anomaly detection systems
• invoice reconciliation tools

Why MSPs may be best positioned to help implement FinOps

Ultimately, MSPs are strong candidates to help shepherd successful FinOps programs, yielding cost reduction and cloud resource optimization. Organizations, particularly smaller ones, may lack the capacity to build these capabilities in-house.

But MSPs can introduce these capabilities without overhead or internal burden. They can establish an operating model that embeds financial accountability into everyday cloud decisions, ensuring performance, scalability, and cost efficiency.

“The rapid rise of FinOps should be seen as a bountiful opportunity for MSPs, as the core concepts make FinOps the ideal program for MSPs to drive,” said Ben McGahon, founder and CEO of Kalibr8, a FinOps platform provider, in “FinOps-as-a-Service Will Be a Massive Threat or Opportunity for MSPs.”

As cloud environments grow more complex in 2026, organizations can no longer afford reactive cost cutting or ad hoc optimization efforts. MSPs supply the expertise, tooling, and execution that many organizations lack internally. Under the competent direction of a managed service provider. FinOps can bring the financial discipline, accountability, and peace of mind to your organization–before the cloud bill comes due.

For more on cloud implementation and how Integris can help, check out Integris cloud solutions here.

The post Why your organization needs a FinOps strategy—and an MSP to implement it appeared first on Integris.