Sophos Research Reveals Nearly Half of Enterprises Rely on MSPs for CISO Roles

Sophos' "2026 MSP Trends Report," released on October 15, 2026, indicates that Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are increasingly playing a crucial role in helping organizations manage network risks. According to the report, nearly half (46%) of enterprise clients have relied on MSPs to fulfill Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) responsibilities, highlighting a growing demand for professional cybersecurity leadership.

Expansion of MSP Roles and Increasing Demand

As AI-driven risks escalate, 84% of MSPs report a significant increase in client demand for CISO-level guidance. Scott Barlow, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Sophos, stated that organizations require not just technical management but also trusted cybersecurity leaders to address compliance requirements and risk management.

Efficiency Gains and Compliance Challenges

The report notes that if MSPs could manage and report on clients' security posture and compliance status using a single unified platform, they could save 53% of the related time. Furthermore, 81% of MSPs believe that a unified system could reduce the time spent on relevant tasks by over 30%.

However, compliance remains central to the expansion of MSP roles. Nearly all surveyed MSPs (99%) offer at least one cybersecurity compliance service, but only 6% can provide comprehensive compliance services, indicating a gap in delivering full services.

• Compliance requirements influence cybersecurity procurement decisions: On average, compliance factors affect 50% of clients' cybersecurity purchasing decisions.
• Only 33% of MSPs are confident in their ongoing compliance capabilities, revealing a disparity between client expectations and the ability of MSPs to consistently deliver services.
• 53% of MSPs use multiple tools, indicating that service delivery remains complex and fragmented.
• Only 31% of MSPs can fully automate the rapid generation of security reports, showing that the efficiency of report generation still needs improvement.

Barlow added that MSPs have the opportunity to become indispensable strategic partners for clients, but they need to integrate security posture, compliance management, and reporting processes to reduce the time spent on manual data organization and focus on risk reduction and enhancing clients' cybersecurity decision-making.

To assist MSPs in transforming their current CISO functions into scalable cybersecurity program management services, Sophos will launch Sophos CISO Advantage in October 2026, aimed at providing more efficient services through an AI-native cybersecurity defense system.