For the modern MSP, the biggest threat to profitability isn’t just the cyberattacks themselves – it’s the overwhelming noise of daily security observations. At the GTDC Summit, a panel of digital platform experts, moderated by Industry Consultant Donna Grothjan, detailed how a “human-in-the-loop” approach to AI is the only way to move from reactive firefighting to true security resilience.
Solving the ’10 trillion observations a week’ problem
Arctic Wolf’s Aurora platform currently processes massive scale, dwarfing almost any other commercial data source. “AI and large learning models have been at the core of what we do since the beginning,” Bob Skelley, SVP of Global Channel Strategy at Arctic Wolf, explained.
“We are processing 10 trillion observations a week – more than the volume of emails sent globally,” Skelley noted. “It’s currently the largest commercial SOC in the world; only the government has a larger throughput than what we’re doing here.”
The platform’s impact on an MSP’s daily workflow is significant:
- First-level noise reduction: AI serves as the initial filter, preventing the alert fatigue that leads to technician burnout. Skelley warns that without these tools, “When everything is critical, nothing becomes critical.”
- Rapid threat intelligence: When a novel threat is identified in one environment, detection logic can be applied across the entire 10,000-customer base in hours. “What’s a huge benefit to the amount of data we have is that it provides real-world learning,” Skelley says.
- Human validation: To ensure accuracy, AI findings are fact-checked by human security experts before they ever reach an MSP’s desk. “I’m a big believer that you’re never going to get to a 100% automated security operations environment,” Skelley added. “There’s always going to be a need for a human-in-the-loop.”
The ROI of platform-led security
The panel highlighted that the benefits of these advanced security platforms extend far into the MSP’s back office. Dirk Venzlaff, Head of Global Distribution at Palo Alto Networks, noted that the current digital revolution is being driven by these central marketplaces and software hubs, which are designed to illuminate the channel on new opportunities through the lens of advanced vendor programs.
The panel shared dramatic efficiency gains from digital platforms:
- Data insight velocity: The time required to gather data insights has plummeted from two days to less than two hours.
- Quote and proposal speed: What once took days of manual work is now completed in minutes.
- Business Integration: Duane White, SVP of Calian ITCS, emphasized how deeply these tools are now woven into the fabric of service delivery. “Your dependency on the platforms is growing; it’s becoming more integrated with your business,” White observed, noting that constant automation is the key to scaling a modern MSP.
- Market Expansion: Alan McDonald, President of AllConnected, noted that leveraging distribution platforms is essential for growth. “I’m looking for my distribution channels to meet my marketing conditions so I can expand. Our distribution channels have a larger reach than I do,” he added.
The “Concierge” as an extension of your staff
Skelley emphasized that Arctic Wolf’s Concierge Security Team (CST) is designed to be a “white-glove security service” for MSPs. This team doesn’t just triage alerts; they advise customers on their long-term security journey.
“The concierge security team is really an extension of the MSP’s own staff,” Skelley explained. “Between our security triage and CST teams, we have about a thousand people – nearly a third of our total workforce – dedicated to this mission.”
For MSPs, this means they can leverage elite security services without having to build or hire an internal 24/7 security team. As Skelley put it: “We take that noise off their plate, so they don’t have to deal with it.”
Building a trust framework
As MSPs move toward an “agentic” future, the panel concluded that trust is the ultimate currency. However, the panel cautioned that technology alone isn’t a silver bullet. As McDonald put it, “The right balance between people and platform is really important: It requires the architect; it requires the help.”
By leveraging distributor-backed platforms, MSPs reduce human error, increase sales velocity, and provide a level of technical validation previously unattainable for smaller firms.
Skelley concluded with an open invitation to the channel: “We’re looking to add more MSPs to our ecosystem. We have a whole team ready to help them with technical validation and ensure they have the skills they need to be effective. Every customer’s security posture keeps us up at night – we want to help MSPs rest easier.”
