The pace of change is accelerating, and those prepared to adapt will find the greatest opportunities ahead.
At IT Nation Connect ANZ™ 2025, industry leaders, MSPs, and IT professionals from the region gathered to explore the forces shaping the global and regional industry, from mounting cybersecurity threats to the AI's transformative potential.
Key highlights
- The global IT industry is at a crossroads, facing tool sprawl, rising customer and end-user demands, and budget pressures to balance efficiency, security, and innovation.
- Key trends are reshaping operations, including transformation through people and AI, tighter profitability expectations, and the pressure for consistent quarterly growth.
- For ANZ, cybersecurity, AI, and automation represent the biggest opportunities for growth, efficiency, and resilience, especially against threats such as ransomware, phishing, and supply chain attacks.
- To help address industry challenges, ConnectWise is focused on partner needs and continuous innovation to unify operations and strengthen cybersecurity and data protection.
The state of the IT industry
The IT landscape is experiencing a pivotal shift. While opportunities for growth and impact remain strong, MSPs and IT departments are navigating a complex mix of challenges. Opportunities and success depend on striking the right balance between efficiency, security, and innovation.
Challenges
- Tech sprawl: Consolidation is becoming a top priority to reduce operational drag and minimise risk exposure. organisations are juggling a patchwork of point solutions that don’t always integrate smoothly or need a lot of maintenance. This creates inefficiencies, increases security gaps, and makes it harder to deliver consistent end-user or customer experiences.
- Margin and budget pressure: Rising vendor costs, heightened competition, and wage inflation are squeezing profitability and straining budgets. With limited room to increase pricing or expand spending, organisations are turning to automation, efficiency gains, and smarter service packaging to protect the bottom line.
While these pressures are real, they are also catalysts for change. Leaders are embracing new strategies, developing talent, and leveraging technologies to turn obstacles into opportunities.
Trends
- Transformation through people and AI: Technology alone won’t deliver the change required. MSPs and IT departments are making targeted investments in skilled talent while leveraging AI to scale more effectively. Combining human expertise with AI insights can accelerate problem resolution, reduce repetitive tasks, and deliver added value.
- Profitability and budget pressures: Flat or shrinking margins are forcing organisations to rethink operating models. Efficiency through automation, smarter allocation of resources, and predictable recurring revenue or budget-friendly service delivery are becoming essential.
- Quarterly growth and performance challenges: Leadership teams and stakeholders increasingly expect consistent quarter-over-quarter results. This raises the bar for reliable service delivery, stronger reporting, and the ability to scale without sacrificing quality.
Opportunities
Despite the headwinds, the growth path is clear: MSPs and IT departments that adapt will thrive. Essential opportunities include:
- AI: Beyond efficiency, AI is enabling predictive analytics, self-healing systems, and smarter defences. MSPs and IT departments that embrace AI now will position themselves as forward-looking organisations capable of scaling service delivery with speed and precision.
- Cybersecurity: With ransomware, phishing, and supply chain compromises on the rise—particularly in Australia and New Zealand—security is the foundation of trust. MSPs can expand security offerings for clients, while IT departments can strengthen organisational defences, ensuring resilience against increasingly sophisticated attacks.
- Automation: From patch management to ticket triage to compliance reporting, repetitive processes are ideal candidates for automation. MSPs and IT departments that adopt automation will not only lower costs but also reallocate valuable staff time to higher-value, strategic initiatives that fuel growth and innovation.
How ConnectWise can help
ConnectWise empowers partners to transform today’s challenges into opportunities for growth, efficiency, and security.
A true platform built for MSPs and IT departments
Built with AI and automation at its core, the ConnectWise Asio® platform helps MSPs and IT departments consolidate tool sprawl, streamline operations, and scale efficiently. Businesses can run more effectively with truly unified tools, grow profitability despite budget constraints, and transform service delivery in step with customer or company demands.
See how Mangano IT implemented a robust automation strategy powered by the ConnectWise Asio® platform, which saved 165+ hours and cut ticket backlog by 50%.
Third-party patching
With ransomware and supply chain compromise on the rise, patching and endpoint protection are more critical than ever. ConnectWise is significantly expanding its third-party patching capabilities to support over 7,000 third party applications to help organisations automate updates, close security gaps, and maintain compliance, delivering efficiency and stronger resilience against evolving threats.
Email security enhancements
As phishing continues to be one of the most persistent attack vectors, ConnectWise is collaborating with Proofpoint to bring enterprise-grade email security to the industry. This collaboration equips organisations with advanced inbox protection against phishing, business email compromise, and other email-borne threats, addressing one of the top cybersecurity concerns across the ANZ region and globally.
IT Nation Evolve
While technology drives efficiency, true transformation comes from people. IT Nation Evolve™ peer groups provide leaders with the strategies, accountability, and shared experiences needed to tackle growth challenges head-on. By aligning talent development with industry best practices, businesses can stay competitive in a market that demands consistent performance. IT Nation Evolve is celebrating 15 years of helping MSP leaders transform in ANZ!
Looking ahead with ConnectWise
The industry's challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. Organisations that update strategies to more heavily include AI, automation, and cybersecurity will be best positioned to drive growth and protect their future. ConnectWise is here to support our partners through technology, community, and support.
