Congratulations to the companies recognized on our inaugural AI Innovators list! You can learn about them all here: bit.ly/4B6SZ6e. The first edition of the AI Innovators list spotlights North American solution providers such as managed service providers (MSPs), value-added resellers (VARs), systems integrators and consultants for overall excellence and technical acumen in delivering AI-focused solutions to end customers.

Vendors and managed service providers (MSPs) made it clear at XChange NexGen 2026, hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, last week in Orlando, Fla., that there is a lot of concern around and interest in helping customers build new capabilities using AI and protecting them from the many risks created by the technology. @CRN Senior Associate Editor CJ Fairfield breaks down MSP expert takes from vendors on supporting and protecting clients in “this next era of AI” at XChange NexGen: - Eric Peterson, senior partner success manager, @barracuda - Marc Laliberte, deputy CISO and vice president of information security, @watchguard - Kelly Fyffe, community and channel manager, Slide - Saurabh Sandhir, CEO and co-founder, Kipling Secure - Todd Smith, senior vice president of sales, Calero - Mike Psenka, founder, president and CEO, @Moovila_App @BarracudaMSP crn.com/events/2026/6-msp-ex…

Congratulations to our 2026 Products of the Year finalists! Our annual Products of the Year Awards recognize the leading partner-friendly products, launched or significantly updated over the last year, as selected by the solution providers who bring these products to customers. You can learn about all of the 2026 @CRN Products of the Year finalists before we announce the winners on Nov. 30 here: crn.com/news/channel-news/20…

Danny Perry, managing partner of solution provider ITCubed, is seeing managed service providers (MSPs)’ AI revenue opportunity increasingly shift away from resale and toward consulting and business transformation. ITCubed has seen its project work increase as the AI era develops and clients progress past initial assessments and executive projects. That project work can create opportunities for monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and ongoing agent maintenance. Perry shared his view of how the money-making opportunities for solution providers are evolving in the AI era as part of a panel held during XChange NexGen, hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, last week in Orlando, Fla. Here’s what else Perry and the following panelists shared during the session, which was hosted by Jason Myers, cybersecurity strategist for MSP partnerships at @OpenText: - Brian Ruschman, president, MSP @CForwardIT - Nathan Ostrowski, chief operating officer and co-founder, @petra_security @OpenTextSec crn.com/events/2026/msp-exec…

As cybercrime costs climb into the trillions of dollars, @KaseyaCorp is expanding its cybersecurity offerings and AI capabilities to help managed service providers (MSPs) protect clients while managing costs. Miles Walker, channel development manager at Kaseya, said the sheer scale of cybercrime should be a wake-up call for MSPs, prompting more urgent conversations with customers about strengthening their security posture. “Cybercrime is now the third-largest economy,” Walker said during XChange NexGen, hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, last week in Orlando, Fla. Zac Paulson, vice president of technology at @ABMnow1, said that projected growth was both alarming and a reminder of the industry’s responsibility. CJ Fairfield has the details: crn.com/events/2026/kaseya-t…

In an exclusive Q&A with @CRN Associate Managing Editor @GeeNarcisi, @Cisco Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer Liz Centoni outlines how Cisco is helping partners turn AI into recurring revenue through Cisco IQ, why many AI projects fail to reach production, and how the company’s open, platform-based approach is driving customer outcomes. You can read it here: @CiscoPartners #CiscoPS26 crn.com/news/networking/2026…

At last week's XChange NexGen 2026 conference in Orlando, Fla., hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, CJ Fairfield, @WadeMillward and @DylanOnChips asked the following solution providers, “How big of a concern is shadow AI, and how are you helping customers manage it?” How are you approaching shadow AI at your MSP? - Kelly Yeh, president, Phalanx Technology Group - Marcial Velez, president and CEO, Xperteks Computer Consultancy, Inc. - Wayne D. Roye, CEO, Troinet - John Medaska, CEO, JMXi - Dylan Borden, vice president, operations, growth, Four Winds IT - Hani Eshack, founder and CEO, Critical IT Solutions, LLC - David Yates, founder and managing principal, Geeks-r-Us LLC crn.com/events/2026/shadow-a…

Microsoft has confirmed to @CRN that about 60,000 of its employees are eligible for a new voluntary exit offer launched as the tech giant continues to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure to enable AI and meet demand for the technology. Here’s what you need to know: crn.com/news/ai/2026/microso…

Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) increased the fees paid to channel partners by a whopping $2.7 billion during the first half of 2026, up 2,540 percent, according to a regulatory filing today ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO). @MarkHaranas has the details: crn.com/news/ai/2026/anthrop…

Solution provider ATI Government Solutions has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the SBA, alleging that the SBA suspended the company from all government contracts based on what it called an “obviously edited video” made by rightwing activist James O’Keefe. @ChannelWritrGuy has the details: crn.com/news/channel-news/20…

The full impact of the ConnectWise Cloud Backup breach may remain unknown. In the latest episode of CRN In Depth, @CRN Executive News Editor @StevenJBurke tells @CRN Associate Managing Editor @GeeNarcisi what managed service providers (MSPs) are saying about the attack, and why CyberDrain CEO Dustin Bolander believes some compromised Microsoft 365 tenants may not know they were breached. You can watch the entire episode here: bit.ly/488l2F8.

Paco Lebron’s journey from running a managed service provider (MSP) part-time to leading MSP Owners Group has taught him that building a successful business requires more than technical expertise. It takes accountability, the willingness to learn from mistakes and a community of people who understand all those challenges. Lebron, CEO of ProdigyTeks and now CEO of MSP Owners Group, spoke at XChange NexGen, hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, this week in Orlando, Fla., about his 13-year entrepreneurial journey, including the struggles of leaving corporate America, finding his first clients, building a profitable business and eventually exiting his MSP while remaining involved in its future. Success, he stressed, was never something he achieved on his own. The relationships he built with fellow MSP owners, mentors and business partners helped him work through tough decisions. CJ Fairfield has the details, including perspective on Lebron’s message from Marcial Velez, CEO at Xperteks Computer Consultancy, here: bit.ly/4jEL3D1.

Employees are using AI tools regardless of whether their employers are ready for it. With the inevitability of shadow AI, solution providers are working to balance safeguarding clients’ data and IT estates with enabling AI use and experimentation. @CRN Senior Associate Editors CJ Fairfield and @WadeMillward and Senior Editor @DylanOnChips asked the following solution providers at XChange NexGen 2026, hosted by our parent company, @TheChannelCo, this week in Orlando, Fla., “How big of a concern is shadow AI, and how are you helping customers manage it?” How are you approaching shadow AI at your MSP? - Kelly Yeh, president, Phalanx Technology Group - Marcial Velez, president and CEO, Xperteks Computer Consultancy - Wayne Roye, CEO, Troinet - John Medaska, CEO, JMXi - Dylan Borden, vice president, operations, growth, Four Winds IT - Hani Eshack, founder and CEO, Critical IT Solutions - David Yates, founder and managing principal, Geeks-r-Us crn.com/events/2026/shadow-a…

Tonight, Friday, Oct. 23, at 11:59 PM PST, is your last chance to apply for our 2027 Channel Chiefs list! ⏰ Submit your application here: bit.ly/4shk4zw. This is your last chance to apply for consideration to be recognized on the 2027 edition of our annual Channel Chiefs list for your commitment to your channel partners. If you are selected for the comprehensive Channel Chiefs list, you will also be eligible for consideration for our 2027 Most Influential Channel Chiefs list. We hope you take this opportunity to demonstrate why you belong on this coming year's @CRN Channel Chiefs list!

The threat of attackers potentially exploiting a pair of critical-severity PHP vulnerabilities could persist for some time, even though the initial evidence of exploitation of the PHP2Shell flaws appears to be modest, according to Justin Timothy, threat intelligence consultant at @GuidePointSec. @KyleAlspach has the details: crn.com/news/security/2026/p…

Time's running out! ⌛ Applications for our 2027 Channel Chiefs list are due tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 23! Apply here: bit.ly/4yBkEKg. We are still accepting applications for the 2027 edition of the annual @CRN Channel Chiefs list, which will be published in February. Channel chiefs, this is your chance to be recognized for your commitment to your channel partners, and if you are selected for the comprehensive Channel Chiefs list, you will also be eligible for consideration for our 2027 Most Influential Channel Chiefs list. Deadline to apply for the 2027 CRN Channel Chiefs list ⏰: Tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 23, by 11:59 PM PST

Microsoft said the China state-aligned group Storm-0940 used agentic AI to launch 2,900 sign-in attempts per minute on Microsoft tenants in the ConnectWise Cloud Backup breach. Microsoft said the ConnectWise attack shows how threat actors are scaling their operations “exponentially” by “integrating agentic AI” into their attacks. Here are more details Microsoft shared in a security research blog on the “AI-Driven Large-Scale Nation State” attack, plus insights and perspective from Dustin Bolander, a managed service provider (MSP) and serial entrepreneur who is a partner and CEO of CyberDrain, a Microsoft 365 management platform, @HuntressLabs Principal Security Operations Analyst Jonathan Semon and ConnectWise Chief Technology Officer David Raissipour: crn.com/news/security/2026/c…

Ignacio Guillen is @OpenAI’s new partner director in charge of go-to-market. OpenAI’s hiring of the former Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner sales leader is yet another example of the top channel partner executive talent its been continuing to hire from cloud leaders like Google Cloud and AWS. Here are more details on Guillen and his new role with OpenAI: crn.com/news/ai/2026/openai-…

Congratulations again to the winners of our second annual Best of the Channel Awards! 🏆 🎉 Some of the channel's best and brightest stars gathered at an awards gala at @TheFoxTheatre in Atlanta, Ga., last week to celebrate the winners. Here are snapshots from the night, featuring channel executives, awards winners, finalists and judges, with details from @jfollett: crn.com/events/2026/crn-2026…

Two critical vulnerabilities in PHP are facing active exploitation attempts, creating an urgent need for widespread patching, according to cybersecurity researchers from @wiz_io, @watchtowrcyber, @HuntressLabs, @CrowdStrike, and @SentinelOne. The vulnerabilities, together known as “PHP2Shell” and considered a “critical” risk with severity ratings of 9.2 out of 10.0, can enable attackers to execute code remotely without authentication. PHP is a key technology behind numerous web platforms including WordPress and Drupal. @CRN cybersecurity reporter and Senior Editor @KyleAlspach breaks down five key things to know about the “critical” PHP vulnerabilities and exploitation activity: @_JohnHammond @0xAmit crn.com/news/security/2026/5…

ConnectWise is aiming for the end of this week to get access back for its thousands of managed service providers (MSPs) to ConnectWise Cloud BackUp for Microsoft 365 and other services impacted by a security breach, ConnectWise Chief Technology Officer David Raissipour said. As for the potential data exfiltration impact on MSP Microsoft 365 tenants, Raissipour said ConnectWise is continuing a full-court press offensive to work with its MSPs to see if there was any “access to data” from Microsoft 365 tenants. Here are more details from Raissipour, @HuntressLabs Principal Security Operations Analyst Jonathan Semon and Keith Nelson, CEO of ConnectWise customer and MSP @VistemSolutions: crn.com/news/security/2026/c…