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By Cian Fitzpatrick| 9th March 2026
In February 2026, the Topsec Cloud Solutions team took part in MSP Channel Insights in Birmingham. Our MD, Niall Mackey, and our CTO, Gavin Roberts, contributed across two separate panel discussions and hosted a strategic insight roundtable session.
Two distinct but equally important conversations were covered on the day.
One centred on cybersecurity resilience in an AI-enhanced world. And the other explored the realities of sales and marketing execution in an increasingly competitive MSP landscape.
Here are the key takeaways.
Gavin Roberts took the mic first and joined fellow industry peers for a panel discussion. This panel looked at “Cybersecurity and Resilience: Navigating Threats in an AI-Enhanced World”.
The session focused on practical, real-world lessons rather than theory.
Cybersecurity teams are facing an uncomfortable truth in their day to day operations. Undoubtedly, AI is making defenders faster and more capable. However, it’s also giving attackers the same advantage. As security teams become more sophisticated, so do the threats they are trying to stop.
The conversation explored how organisations are balancing innovation with resilience. How do you adopt AI-driven tools without creating overdependence? How do you strengthen detection and response while maintaining human expertise?
AI definitely has a critical role to play, but it must enhance security teams not replace them. The most resilient organisations are those investing in skills and maintaining proven systems. Furthermore, it’s a winning strategy to test assumptions rather than assuming automation alone will solve all problems. (It won’t.)
On a separate panel, Niall Mackey contributed to a lively discussion on “Smarter Sales and Marketing: Winning in a Crowded MSP Landscape”.
Technical controls are important but so too is the commercial reality MSPs face daily.
The panel examined how MSPs are differentiating beyond simply promising great service. Structured value proposition work, niche positioning and adapting to changing buyer priorities were key themes.
There was honest reflection on pipeline generation and execution.
What is actually working right now? Where are MSPs struggling? Is founder-led sales sustainable long term? Are sales and marketing truly aligned or still operating in silos?
The rapid-fire closing round delivered sharp insight. Stop copying competitor messaging. Question vendor-driven narratives. Focus on clarity before adding headcount. Pipeline problems are often strategic, not always numerical.
In addition to the panels, Topsec hosted a strategic insight roundtable session.
This micro session created space for deeper discussion with attendees, focusing on emerging challenges MSPs are seeing first-hand.
Once again, the conversation turned to the theme of balance. Balance between AI adoption and operational resilience. Balance between automation and human judgement. Balance between growth ambition and sustainable capability.
For attendees of this year’s MSP Channel Insights Birmingham the event can be considered a success. It’s not often that the technical and commercial factors the cybersecurity industry face receive equal attention, but at this event they did.
Cybersecurity cannot be separated from strategy. Sales cannot be separated from positioning. And finally, AI cannot be separated from human judgement.
Thank you to the organisers and to everyone who contributed to such an engaged and thoughtful day. The conversations are far from over.
