Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

We’re proud to announce that WatchGuard Technologies has been named Best Cybersecurity Company in the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognizing innovation and leadership across the cybersecurity industry. While industry recognition is always an honor, this award comes at a particularly important moment for cybersecurity teams worldwide.

The quiet shift no one talks about. Something happened over the past few years that most MSPs didn't plan for. Their customers moved to Microsoft 365, adopted Entra ID as their identity provider, and started using Microsoft Authenticator for MFA. It made sense at the time. It was simple, it was included in the license, and it worked. But somewhere along the way, a strategic decision was made by default. Microsoft became the identity provider, directory, credential store, and MFA provider. All at once.

Multi-factor authentication has been a game-changer. MFA remains one of the most effective measures to protect access to corporate systems and data. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is what attackers can do to get around it.

Over the past 30 years, network security has evolved at the same pace as enterprise infrastructures. What began as a model centered on a clearly defined perimeter has given way to hybrid environments where on-premises infrastructure, cloud services, SaaS applications, remote users, and mobile devices coexist.

Cybersecurity is no longer just for large enterprises. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are boosting security investments as cyber risks increase and digital operations expand. According to Omdia, SMBs account for more than 99% of organizations worldwide. In 2025, these businesses increased their cybersecurity spending by 11%, reaching $64.3 billion. This surge reflects an important shift. SMBs are no longer treating cybersecurity as a reactive IT expense.

The CRN MSP 500 ecosystem, including the Elite 150, Pioneer 250, and Security 100, provides a clear picture of how managed service providers see their businesses evolving. When you read the responses from MSP leaders across the profiles and interviews, four themes emerge consistently: Together these themes describe a fundamental shift in the managed services industry, from IT support toward security-driven digital operations delivered at scale.

Organizations today operate in a threat landscape that is clearly more complex than it was just a few years ago. Advanced attacks no longer follow a single path or rely on a single entry point. Instead, they move across endpoints, identities, networks, and cloud services, exploiting fragmented environments and the lack of integration between different security layers. This evolution highlights the limitations of traditional approaches.

The real challenge for MSPs isn’t growth, it’s scaling effectively. As MSPs increase their client base and expand their service portfolios, managing multiple tools, consoles and vendors becomes progressively more complex, impacting operational efficiency and margins. In many cases, this isn’t the result of poor decision-making, but rather the evolution of the business.

Canadian small and midsize businesses are increasingly targeted by sophisticated cyber threats, yet most lack the internal resources required to deploy and operate enterprise-level security. Today, WatchGuard and Bell Cyber are addressing that gap through a new strategic partnership and the launch of CyberShield Connect, a fully managed cybersecurity service designed specifically for Canadian SMEs.