Security Integration Takes the Lead: Top MSP Integration Trends of 2025

The Strategic Shift Toward Security-First Operations

As the cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve and client environments grow increasingly complex, managed service providers (MSPs) are fundamentally rethinking how their technology stacks work together. According to the newly released Acronis MSP Integration Trends 2025 Report, the past year marked a decisive shift toward security-first, automation-centric, and platform-driven operations.

Integrations are no longer merely a backend convenience—they have become a strategic imperative that directly impacts service quality, profit margins, and business growth. Whether MSPs rely on native platform capabilities or third-party tools, one message emerges clearly: MSPs that integrate strategically are significantly outperforming those that simply add more tools to their arsenal.

The Integration Imperative

In an era where MSPs manage an average of 20+ different tools, cohesive integration has become the only viable path to efficiency, scalability, and profitability. The fragmented approach of the past, where disparate systems operated in silos, is no longer sustainable in today's fast-paced, threat-intensive environment.

Trend #1: Security Integration Takes the Lead

For the first time in industry history, security integrations have emerged as the fastest-growing category among MSPs, outpacing traditional remote monitoring and management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) connections by a significant margin. This dramatic shift is being driven by escalating threat levels, expanding compliance obligations, and rising client expectations for comprehensive protection.

The 2025 data reveals striking growth patterns:

- Security integration adoption more than doubled, with a remarkable 123% year-over-year increase
- Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR) integrations experienced record spikes
- Third-party XDR integrations grew by an average of 162%
- The number of MSPs utilizing Acronis' native XDR capabilities surged by 136%, reflecting a major industry shift toward unified security approaches

This trend reflects a broader industry pivot from simple monitoring to comprehensive protection. MSPs are now consolidating their security posture across backup, endpoint protection, email security, and identity management. They are increasingly leveraging integrations that enable automated response capabilities, cross-system correlation, and faster remediation.

Why Security Integration Matters for 2026

Security has evolved from a checkbox requirement to a genuine competitive differentiator. MSPs that successfully unify security with data protection and endpoint management will be positioned to demonstrate measurable, outcome-based value to their clients. This unified approach not only enhances protection but also streamlines operations and reduces complexity.

Trend #2: Automation Evolves Beyond MSP-Specific Tools

Automation is no longer confined to RMM scripts or PSA workflows. Throughout 2025, MSPs increasingly adopted business-wide automation solutions that span operations, sales, finance, and customer success—extending far beyond traditional IT service delivery.

A particularly surprising finding from the report: general-purpose automation tools like Zapier experienced 146% activation growth, actually outpacing MSP-specific automation platforms. This reveals what the modern MSP truly wants:

- No-code automation capabilities
- Cross-department workflow orchestration
- Freedom from manual, repetitive tasks
- Seamless connection between native and third-party tools

Acronis' native workflow automation, launched in late 2025, has also gained strong traction in the market. With automation built directly into the platform, MSPs can orchestrate workflows across backup, disaster recovery, RMM, EDR/XDR, and PSA tasks without the complexity of managing APIs or custom connectors.

Why Business-Wide Automation Matters for 2026

The MSPs who achieve the fastest growth in 2026 will be those who automate not just their IT processes, but their entire business operations. This holistic approach to automation drives efficiency, reduces errors, and enables teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive tasks.

Trend #3: The Platform Consolidation Paradox

At first glance, the 2025 data appears to reveal a contradiction. On one hand, adoption of native platform capabilities such as Acronis RMM and PSA skyrocketed, with 96% and 50% growth in licenses, respectively. Yet simultaneously, third-party integrations continued to grow significantly.

This isn't actually a conflict—it's a deliberate strategy. MSPs are embracing platformization (sometimes called MSP 3.0), consolidating core functions to reduce complexity while strategically integrating specialized tools where they add targeted value.

MSPs are choosing integrated platforms because they:

- Reduce tool sprawl and associated licensing costs
- Eliminate context switching between multiple interfaces
- Lower training and licensing overhead
- Improve response times and consistency across services

At the same time, no single MSP platform can excel at everything, which is why maintaining a flexible, integration-friendly technology stack remains essential. Acronis' ecosystem of 300+ integrations provides MSPs the ability to consolidate intelligently while maintaining the flexibility they need for specialized client requirements.

Why Strategic Consolidation Matters for 2026

The winning MSPs will consolidate where it creates the most value, integrate where it delivers competitive advantage, and continuously evaluate tools based on measurable business outcomes rather than vendor promises.

Building Your 2026 Integration Roadmap

The trends are unmistakably clear: security-first integration, business-wide automation, and strategic platform consolidation will define the MSP landscape throughout 2026 and beyond.

For MSPs seeking to optimize their integration strategy—whether through native capabilities, third-party tools, or a hybrid approach—the Acronis MSP Integration Trends 2025 Report provides essential insights and strategic recommendations to shape successful 2026 roadmaps.

The ISV Opportunity

Independent software vendors (ISVs) play a critical role in the future of MSP innovation. With more than 300 integrations, the Acronis ecosystem represents one of the fastest-growing collaboration networks in the industry. ISVs can build integrations that reach over 21,000 service providers, extend the capabilities of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, and co-innovate on security, automation, management, and data protection technologies.

Source: This article is based on insights from the Acronis Blog and Acronis MSP Integration Trends 2025 Report