WatchGuard Named Champion in Omdia Report: Why It Matters for MSPs in 2026

Omdia has recognized WatchGuard as a Champion in its 2026 Global Cybersecurity MSP Ecosystems Leadership Matrix, validating our partner-first strategy and continued innovation to help MSPs grow revenue, streamline operations, and scale profitable security services. 

But this recognition is about more than analyst validation. It reflects a broader shift happening across the managed services market, one where MSPs are rethinking how they deliver cybersecurity, consolidate operations, and build long-term profitability. 

Managed service providers are being asked to do more than ever before. Customers expect stronger protection, faster response, and broader coverage across endpoint, identity, network, and cloud. At the same time, MSPs are under pressure to control costs, improve efficiency, and grow recurring revenue. 

This growing complexity is forcing MSPs to move away from fragmented security stacks and toward integrated platforms that simplify operations while expanding service opportunities. In many ways, the Omdia report highlights which vendors are best positioned to help MSPs navigate this transition. 

The Omdia Global Cybersecurity MSP Ecosystems Leadership Matrix evaluates vendors based on analyst assessment, ecosystem feedback, and performance metrics. In 2026, Omdia assessed 24 cybersecurity vendors and positioned WatchGuard in the Champion quadrant with a Leadership Score of 73 percent and a Momentum Score of 58 percent.  

For WatchGuard, this recognition reinforces the strength of a strategy we have been investing in for years: delivering a unified cybersecurity platform designed specifically for MSP operations, backed by flexible consumption models, automation, and a true partner-first approach. It is especially meaningful because partner feedback plays a significant role in Omdia’s evaluation, making this recognition a reflection of the trust, collaboration, and candid input from our global partner community, whose success continues to shape our strategy and drive our innovation. 

What Omdia Recognized 

In its report, Omdia highlighted how WatchGuard is helping MSPs build more scalable, profitable security practices.  

• Grow Revenue and Profitability - Streamlined renewals, cross-sell initiatives, and high-impact enablement programs, including webinars, roadshows, and the Accelerate pre-launch readiness program, help partners strengthen pipeline and increase recurring revenue. 
• Scale Operations Efficiently - The unified WatchGuard Agent, PSA integrations, automated ticketing and billing workflows, and streamlined certification renewals reduce operational complexity and improve productivity. 
• Expand Security Services - Unified MDR across endpoint, network, identity, cloud, and SASE, along with Open MDR support for third-party tools, enables MSPs to broaden their offerings and build on existing investments. This flexibility matters because MSPs increasingly operate in heterogeneous customer environments. Open platforms that integrate with existing ecosystems allow partners to expand security services without forcing disruptive rip-and-replace transitions. 
• Stay Ahead of Evolving Threats - AI-driven investigations and expanded cloud go-to-market momentum through AWS help partners deliver advanced protection and respond faster to emerging threats. As AI reshapes both cyberattacks and cyber defense, MSPs need vendors that can operationalize AI in practical ways improving investigation speed, reducing analyst workload, and helping teams respond faster without increasing staffing requirements. 

A Platform Built for MSP Growth 

For more than three decades, WatchGuard Technologies has focused on one mission: helping MSPs and channel partners deliver enterprise-grade cybersecurity to small and midsize businesses. 

Today, more than 25,000 MSPs use WatchGuard to protect over 1.5 million customers worldwide. Our Unified Security Platform for MSPs brings together network security, endpoint protection, identity security, Managed Detection and Response, secure Wi-Fi, and cloud application security in a single platform built specifically for MSP operations. 

With centralized management, automation, and flexible consumption models, partners can reduce tool sprawl, streamline service delivery, and improve profitability. What differentiates WatchGuard is not simply the breadth of the platform, but the intentional focus on MSP usability. Many cybersecurity platforms are adapted for service providers after the fact. WatchGuard’s approach has been to build for MSP operational realities from the start, with multi-tenant management, billing flexibility, and simplified deployment. 

Building for What Comes Next 

The Omdia recognition validates the progress we have made, but we are continuing to invest aggressively in the future of MSP security. 

The cybersecurity market is entering another major transformation driven by AI adoption, cloud expansion, and identity-centric attacks. MSPs need platforms that not only solve today’s operational challenges, but also prepare them for emerging security demands and new revenue opportunities. 

At the WatchGuard IMPACT Partner Conference 2026, we introduced two important innovations designed to help partners unlock new growth opportunities. 

• Rai™ is WatchGuard’s agentic AI digital workforce. It automates cybersecurity tasks and helps MSPs scale operations without adding headcount. 
• WatchGuard Cloud Detection and Response (CloudDR) extends our platform into cloud and SaaS environments. Powered by Perimeters.io, CloudDR helps MSPs detect compromised identities, cloud misconfigurations, shadow IT, and shadow AI risks. 

Together, these innovations address two of the biggest opportunities in the market today: using AI to improve operational efficiency and expanding into cloud security services. 

Importantly, these innovations are not standalone additions. They reflect WatchGuard’s broader platform strategy: helping MSPs consolidate security operations, reduce complexity, and deliver modern security outcomes through a unified experience. 

Why This Matters to MSPs 

The cybersecurity market is moving toward platform-based security. MSPs are looking to consolidate tools, automate repetitive work, and deliver broader protection without increasing complexity.  

That is exactly what WatchGuard is built to do. 

Omdia’s recognition signals that the market increasingly values vendors capable of combining platform consolidation, operational simplicity, and partner enablement into a cohesive MSP strategy. 

Being named a Champion by Omdia reinforces what our partners already know. WatchGuard combines a partner-first cybersecurity platform with continuous innovation to help MSPs scale with confidence. 

Read the Full Report 

Download the Omdia Global Cybersecurity MSP Ecosystems Leadership Matrix 2026 to learn why WatchGuard was named a Champion and how we are helping MSPs simplify security, grow profitably, and build for what comes next.