Agenda

Managed Services Summit Manchester 2025

The summit features expert presentations from major industry leaders, providing insights into current trends and technologies in managed services. Delegates will enjoy dedicated networking breaks, ideal for connecting with potential business partners and expanding professional networks. Manchester’s focus on regional collaboration and growing investment in cloud, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure positions it as a critical hub for managed services.

This event combines high-level presentations, interactive discussions, and opportunities to engage with industry peers and sponsors, making it essential for senior decision-makers in the IT channel. Whether aiming to grow your business, discover innovations, or forge valuable partnerships, the Managed Services Summit – Manchester 2025 is key.

2025 Agenda

Tuesday 18th November 2025 starting at 08:00 Local Time
08:00 Registration and Welcome Refreshments
09:10 Welcome, Opening Remarks and Housekeeping
09:15 Headline Sponsor Message

How MSPs can harness AI for competitive growth

Presented by Katie King, MBA - CEO

During this practical Keynote, Katie will outline how MSPs can harness AI ethically for competitive advantage. Beginning with a poll to assess key challenges and current adoption, Katie will outline the practical steps MSPs can take. She will share her Scorecard for Success and 6-Month Action Plan to enhance adoption. Katie will advise on how to successfully navigate the evolving ethical landscape, and build an AI Taskforce and Playbook.

09:20 KEYNOTE
How MSPs can harness AI for competitive growth
Presented by Katie King, MBA - CEO
During this practical Keynote, Katie will outline how MSPs can harness AI ethically for competitive advantage. Beginning with a poll to assess key challenges and current adoption, Katie will outline the practical steps MSPs can take. She will share her Scorecard for Success and 6-Month Action Plan to enhance adoption. Katie will advise on how to successfully navigate the evolving ethical landscape, and build an AI Taskforce and Playbook.

2025 Cyber Threat Landscape: Key Insights from Huntress

Presented by Alex Hitchen - Huntress

As cyber attacks grow more targeted and relentless, MSPs remain on the front lines defending small and medium businesses. In this fast-paced session, we’ll unpack key findings from the Huntress 2025 Cyber Threat Report; spotlighting the latest attack trends, real-world incident data, and the tactics adversaries are using to bypass traditional defenses. You'll walk away with actionable insights to strengthen your clients' security posture and stay one step ahead of today’s evolving threats.

09:50 2025 Cyber Threat Landscape: Key Insights from Huntress
Presented by Alex Hitchen - Huntress

Three actionable tips to set your MSP up for Success

Presented by Jenna Vreugdenhil - Kaseya

In this session, we’ll share real-world, practical tips from some of the fastest-growing MSPs in the UK—of all shapes and sizes—on how they’ve been accelerating their growth in 2025, and how you can do the same. We’ll cover: 1. Their process for acquiring new clients and securing meetings 2. How they approach these meetings to engage prospects and increase conversion rates 3. How to package your offering to stand out from the crowd

10:00 Three actionable tips to set your MSP up for Success
Presented by Jenna Vreugdenhil - Kaseya

Revolutionising Business & MSP Success - How and Why Hyperautomation is the Secret!

Presented by Dean Osborne - ConnectWise

In this session, we will delve into the world of IT and MSPs and explore why Hyperautomation is the key ingredient for their success in the present and future landscape. Through a compelling case study example showcasing a remarkable cost reduction from $75k to $12k per year, we will highlight the transformative power of Hyperautomation. Additionally, we will discuss the strategic positioning of what role platforms have to play right now.

10:10 Revolutionising Business & MSP Success - How and Why Hyperautomation is the Secret!
Presented by Dean Osborne - ConnectWise

Build a Safe Digital Future

Presented by Jack Hallam - Hornetsecurity

Managed Service Providers are on the front line of securing businesses in an increasingly complex threat landscape. This session will explore how MSPs can turn cybersecurity challenges into growth opportunities by delivering robust, scalable security solutions. We will cover the recent Ransomware Survey findings and its key action points for you to continue protecting your clients.

10:20 Build a Safe Digital Future
Presented by Jack Hallam - Hornetsecurity

Here and now! Regional trends, challenges and opportunities

Panel includes Huntress, Hornetsecurity, Kaseya, and ConnectWise

For our opening panel session, our panellists will examine the current state of the managed services market across the region. With questions from the audience, the lively debate examines challenges, opportunities and the strategies impacting MSP's. With a focus on key areas including sales, marketing, and service delivery, this session aims to understand best practice for driving revenue, growth, and differentiation within a highly competitive landscape.

Alex Hitchen

Sales Engineer

Huntress

Irvin Shillingford

Regional Manager Northern Europe

Hornetsecurity

Jenna Vreugdenhil

Channel Development Manager

Kaseya

Tashan Johnson Daniel

Senior Solutions Strategist

ConnectWise

10:30 PANEL SESSION
Here and now! Regional trends, challenges and opportunities
For our opening panel session, our panellists will examine the current state of the managed services market across the region. With questions from the audience, the lively debate examines challenges, opportunities and the strategies impacting MSP's. With a focus on key areas including sales, marketing, and service delivery, this session aims to understand best practice for driving revenue, growth, and differentiation within a highly competitive landscape.
Huntress, Hornetsecurity, Kaseya, and ConnectWise
10:50 Morning Break - Refreshments and Networking Time

Accelerate Success in the Microsoft Cloud: Driving MSP Growth with Ingram Micro

Presented by Sean White - Ingram Micro

Ingram Micro and Microsoft are committed to helping Managed Service Providers accelerate their cloud success. Through a combination of enablement, automation, and go-to-market support, Ingram Micro helps partners simplify cloud operations, strengthen customer relationships, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Join us to discover how our partner programs, expertise, and end-to-end ecosystem empower MSPs to scale faster, differentiate in a competitive marketplace, and build long-term, profitable growth with Microsoft Cloud.

11:20 Accelerate Success in the Microsoft Cloud: Driving MSP Growth with Ingram Micro
Presented by Sean White - Ingram Micro

Smarter AI For All

Presented by Artur Bar - Intel

In this session, you will hear about Lenovo's vision to unleash the power of AI to drive Intelligent transformation in every aspect of our lives and every industry. Learn how you can team with Lenovo and our global partner ecosystem to bring AI to your customer's data where and when they need it most, from pocket to cloud.

11:30 Smarter AI For All
Presented by Artur Bar - Intel

The Problem with Agentic AI & Emerging Challenges in Email Security

Presented by Gavin Roberts - Topsec Cloud Solutions

As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly autonomous and capable of independent decision-making, organizations face unprecedented security challenges. This presentation explores the dual threats posed by agentic AI: the inherent vulnerabilities and control challenges of autonomous AI systems, and the ways malicious actors are weaponizing these technologies to target enterprise communications. Looking at the unpredictability, and the difficulty of maintaining human oversight— investigate how sophisticated threat actors are exploiting these capabilities to orchestrate advanced email-based attacks. From AI-powered social engineering and adaptive phishing campaigns to automated credential harvesting and reconnaissance, bad actors are leveraging agentic AI to scale and personalize attacks with unprecedented sophistication. The presentation concludes by discussing emerging trends and rising threats in email security, including the convergence of AI and traditional attack vectors, and provides actionable insights for organizations seeking to defend against these evolving risks.

11:40 The Problem with Agentic AI & Emerging Challenges in Email Security
Presented by Gavin Roberts - Topsec Cloud Solutions

Building a better MSP

Panel includes Intel, Ingram Micro, and Topsec Cloud Solutions

In our second debate, our panel will discuss what it takes to build an efficient and profitable MSP operation. From staff recruitment, through service creation, marketing and sales, this session examines the key elements that drive success. With questions from the audience, this panel offers insights into emerging best practice from a team of industry experts.

Artur Bar

EMEA Trainer of Intel Technologies

Intel

Mike Markey

Lead Partner Development Manager - Microsoft Copilot

Ingram Micro

Niall Mackey

Commercial Director

Topsec Cloud Solutions

11:50 PANEL SESSION
Building a better MSP
In our second debate, our panel will discuss what it takes to build an efficient and profitable MSP operation. From staff recruitment, through service creation, marketing and sales, this session examines the key elements that drive success. With questions from the audience, this panel offers insights into emerging best practice from a team of industry experts.
Intel, Ingram Micro, and Topsec Cloud Solutions
12:10 Lunch Break and Networking Time

Leadership Insights Gained and Shared from a Lifetime in Football

Presented by Gordon Strachan

Gordon Strachan, OBE, whose long and varied career as a professional footballer, manager, and coach has made him one of the most respected voices in British sport. Through his “Leadership insights gained and shared from a lifetime in football,” Gordon will draw parallels between leading teams on the pitch and inspiring performance in business. His stories of motivation, resilience, and teamwork offer valuable lessons for MSPs seeking to strengthen culture, develop talent, and lead through change.

13:30 KEYNOTE
Leadership Insights Gained and Shared from a Lifetime in Football
Presented by Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan, OBE, whose long and varied career as a professional footballer, manager, and coach has made him one of the most respected voices in British sport. Through his “Leadership insights gained and shared from a lifetime in football,” Gordon will draw parallels between leading teams on the pitch and inspiring performance in business. His stories of motivation, resilience, and teamwork offer valuable lessons for MSPs seeking to strengthen culture, develop talent, and lead through change.

New Playbook for Profitable, Sustainable MSP Growth

Presented by Justin Neale - SuperOps

The abstract for this presentation is not yet available.

14:00 New Playbook for Profitable, Sustainable MSP Growth
Presented by Justin Neale - SuperOps

Automation Made Simple, Customization Made Possible

Presented by Melvyn White - Rewst

Automation doesn’t have to be complicated, or one-size-fits-all. This session explores how MSPs are using automation to solve everyday challenges like on boarding, ticketing, and documentation. We'll share practical examples of how teams simplify processes, reduce errors, and scale operations by customizing workflows to fit their existing tools. Whether you're just getting started or looking to level up, you'll walk away with ideas to apply immediately.

14:10 Automation Made Simple, Customization Made Possible
Presented by Melvyn White - Rewst

From Panic to Profit: How a Platform Approach Transforms Cybersecurity for MSPs

Presented by Steven Wood - OpenText Cybersecurity

Cyber attacks don’t send calendar invites. One day your client’s humming along, the next—boom—panic, downtime, and a 3 a.m. call to “fix it… now!” Here’s the awkward truth: most MSPs excel at prevention, do “OK” at containment, but when it comes to rapid recovery? Let’s just say there’s a lot of planning going on. And it’s not just the bad guys making life hard—limited budgets, skill shortages, and tool sprawl are doing their share of damage. Enter OpenText™ Secure Cloud Platform: one console to provision, monitor, and bill for security, compliance, and productivity services—across all your tenants—without juggling five logins, seven invoices, and twelve browser tabs. You’ll get faster onboarding, automated billing, real-time dashboards, and a single pane of glass that turns chaos into calm. In just 10 minutes, we’ll unpack fresh peer-group data, expose the hidden cracks in your incident response, and show you how a platform approach can tighten defenses, slash operational overhead, and make your service delivery sparkle. Because in the war against cyber threats, the fastest way to win is to stop fighting with your own tools.

14:20 From Panic to Profit: How a Platform Approach Transforms Cybersecurity for MSPs
Presented by Steven Wood - OpenText Cybersecurity

Compliance, Insurance, and AI – The Latest Wave of Conversations Driving Cybersecurity Services

Presented by Kyle Torres - Sophos

Join Sophos as we discuss an overview with an aim to untangle the latest conversations driving cybersecurity services. Compliance, Cyberinsurance, and Generative AI all have end users asking questions. In this session we take a look at how each of these fit into the conversation around selling Cybersecurity Services.

14:30 Compliance, Insurance, and AI – The Latest Wave of Conversations Driving Cybersecurity Services
Presented by Kyle Torres - Sophos

Empowering MSPs with Cloud, Security and AI-Driven Services

Presented by Reece Dennis - Arrow

Arrow supports MSPs through its ArrowSphere platform – enabling them to deliver cloud, security and AI-based services at scale. Learn how MSPs can use Arrow's tools, ecosystem and marketplace to drive customer success and simplify operations.

14:40 Empowering MSPs with Cloud, Security and AI-Driven Services
Presented by Reece Dennis - Arrow
14:50 Afternoon Break - Refreshments and Networking Time

Ransomware-Proof Backups with Immutable Storage

Presented by David Johnson - Object First

Object First enables MSPs to safeguard data using ransomware-proof, immutable storage designed specifically for Veeam. Learn how a secure, simple and powerful approach to backup can help MSPs ensure business continuity for their clients.

15:20 Ransomware-Proof Backups with Immutable Storage
Presented by David Johnson - Object First

4 Steps to Proactive Security for MSP’s - A Practical Guide to Reducing Customer Risk and Improving Margins in the AI Era.

Presented by Matthew Resch - Check Point

AI-driven threats demand more from MSPs than reactive security. Matthew Resch, Partner Sales Manager UKI, shares a 4-step proactive framework to reduce risk, boost resilience, and scale security services—turning cybersecurity from a buzzword into a business-critical strategy for MSPs to stay competitive and trusted in today’s digital landscape.

15:30 4 Steps to Proactive Security for MSP’s - A Practical Guide to Reducing Customer Risk and Improving Margins in the AI Era.
Presented by Matthew Resch - Check Point

The SOC Case Files: Defending Against Attacks in real-time

Presented by Harri Hadjikyriacou - Barracuda

Harri will run through a real-life example of a recent attack that was detected by the Security Operations Centre (SOC) through a single threat vector. The critical role of a SOC is providing the visibility in identifying threats with the potential for enhanced response through greater integration of a customer’s infrastructure. Additionally, the presentation will highlight the importance of a SOC as a vital component of a comprehensive, multi-layered cybersecurity strategy.

15:40 The SOC Case Files: Defending Against Attacks in real-time
Presented by Harri Hadjikyriacou - Barracuda

Addressing barriers to sustained MSP profitability & growth

Presented by Darran Clare - Cyber Distribution

Are tool sprawl, rising operational costs, and challenging sales, blocking your MSP's next stage of growth? The demands of modern cybersecurity are forcing many MSPs into unsustainable models: managing too many single-point tools, suffering alert fatigue, and paying elevated rates for top talent or licencing. This session cuts straight through the noise. We’ll show you exactly how a unified, AI-native cybersecurity platform with human led SOC response can help you overcome these barriers. You will learn how Guardz eliminates vendor overlap and licensing waste, empowers your current technicians with automated MDR, and provides the instant-impact prospecting tools and reporting you need to close security gaps and win new business faster. Discover the operational model that finally converts cybersecurity from a high-cost burden into a predictable, high-margin revenue engine for your MSP.

15:50 Addressing barriers to sustained MSP profitability & growth
Presented by Darran Clare - Cyber Distribution

Beyond Alerts: How MSPs Can Deliver True Cyber Resilience

Presented by Daniel Eberhorn - Arctic Wolf

MSPs face a growing challenge: clients don’t just want alerts - they expect outcomes. In this session, we’ll explore how shifting from reactive cybersecurity to proactive security operations creates measurable resilience and trust. Learn how to reduce risk and turn security into a strategic advantage for your MSP business. Walk away with practical steps to differentiate your services and deliver value that goes far beyond the noise.

16:00 Beyond Alerts: How MSPs Can Deliver True Cyber Resilience
Presented by Daniel Eberhorn - Arctic Wolf

Scaling Smarter: Growth, Investment and Exit Strategies for MSPs

Panel includes Rydal Group, WTA Partners, and Chess

The UK MSP market is evolving fast, with opportunities on multiple fronts – from organic growth and operational transformation to acquisitions, investment, and eventual exit strategies. This panel brings together MSP leaders and M&A experts to share both the financial and operational playbooks shaping success in 2025. We’ll explore what investors and buyers are really looking for, how valuations are shifting, and the practical strategies MSPs are using to scale – from refining service portfolios and leveraging AI to building operational maturity. Expect candid insights into the realities of deal-making, growth challenges, and the pathways that can position your business for long-term value creation – whether your next move is scaling, selling, or simply strengthening your competitive edge.

Dion O'Byrne

Head of Channel

Rydal Group

Jeffrey Jenner

Partner

WTA Partners

Richard Btesh

Director

Chess

16:10 PANEL SESSION
Scaling Smarter: Growth, Investment and Exit Strategies for MSPs
The UK MSP market is evolving fast, with opportunities on multiple fronts – from organic growth and operational transformation to acquisitions, investment, and eventual exit strategies. This panel brings together MSP leaders and M&A experts to share both the financial and operational playbooks shaping success in 2025. We’ll explore what investors and buyers are really looking for, how valuations are shifting, and the practical strategies MSPs are using to scale – from refining service portfolios and leveraging AI to building operational maturity. Expect candid insights into the realities of deal-making, growth challenges, and the pathways that can position your business for long-term value creation – whether your next move is scaling, selling, or simply strengthening your competitive edge.
Rydal Group, WTA Partners, and Chess
16:40 Closing Remarks and Prize Draw Giveaways
16:50 Networking Drinks Reception
Presentation times and order are subject to change. This agenda was last updated on 16 Nov 2025 at 8:05pm.

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