The 2026 MSP: AI Threats, Business Risk, and the New Model for Growth
Managed services are heading into one of the most important transitions in their history. AI‑driven attacks are accelerating, cyber insurance is tightening, regulators are raising expectations, and clients are less interested in tickets closed than in risk reduced and revenue protected. For MSPs, 2026 is not just another planning cycle; it is a structural reset […]
Always-On, Always At Risk: MSP Mental Health in the Age of 24/7 Incidents
MSPs are carrying more risk than ever, and it is not just technical. Chronic stress, 24/7 expectations, and nonstop incidents are turning mental health into a frontline security issue. When an MSP’s people are exhausted, clients are less safe. The always-on reality of MSP work MSPs live in a world of middle-of-the-night alerts, demanding SLAs, […]
Adding AI to Everything is Making Compliance a Nightmare for MSPs
Have you noticed how AI is being worked into everything…often without adding any value beyond the marketing headlines? (That was rhetorical, because of course you’ve noticed.) If you’ve been around IT for more than a few years, it might bring back not-so-fond memories of the IoT wave. Back when everything from cameras to light bulbs […]
Blacksmith Wins Multiple 2025 MSP Influencer Awards
Blacksmith proudly received two awards from the great people at MSP Influencer! We were awarded the 2025 Vendor Excellence Award in Governance & Compliance for MSPs. This award goes to vendors going above and beyond for MSP partners, a distinction our compliance tool earned through “disciplined, engineering-driven approach to helping MSPs build stronger, more secure, […]
Choose Your Own Adventure: You Are the CMMC Project Manager
You wake up in a cold sweat. The calendar says “CMMC Readiness QBR,” the invite says “mandatory,” and your inbox says “57 unread: URGENT.” Congratulations: you are now the CMMC Project Manager. You didn’t apply for this job. That’s how you know it’s real. Your mission: get your defense shop to CMMC Level 2 without […]
From Cost Center to Capture Strategy: How Compliance Wins Defense Contracts
For years, “compliance” has been treated like an unavoidable tax on doing business with the Pentagon. Today, with CMMC 2.0 tied directly to award eligibility, it has quietly become one of the strongest competitive levers defense contractors and their MSP partners can pull. According to recent research, only about 1% of defense contractors report being […]
New York: Mass SMS Scam via Hijacked Alert Service
On November 10th, hackers exploited a legitimate mass texting service to send hundreds of thousands of scam messages — including to New York State’s official alert subscribers. This incident, which leveraged public trust in emergency messaging channels, marks an evolution in SMS phishing (“smishing”) scams and raises pressing concerns for individuals and organizations alike. What […]
MSPs: Are You Prepared to Be AI Compliance Officers?
The integration of artificial intelligence into business operations has brought sweeping changes, creating opportunities and compliance challenges. As organizations scramble to harness AI’s potential, a corresponding demand has emerged for specialized oversight that bridges legal, technical, and ethical gaps. This demand is fueling the rise of a new professional: the AI Compliance Officer. Their task […]
MSP as Compliance Coach: Educating Clients to Prevent Regulatory Mistakes Before They Happen
Managed service providers are more than just technical troubleshooters — they’re essential compliance coaches, guiding clients through complex requirements and helping them avoid costly mistakes before they happen. Here’s how smart MSPs can position themselves as compliance coaches, using technology and education to drive measurable client success (and how tools like Blacksmith make that journey […]
Free, Open Source Risk Assessment Tool for MSPs and vCISOs
We Just Released a Free Risk Assessment Tool! We’ve been talking with a lot of our partners lately, and a couple of things keep coming up: risk assessments and sales enablement. MSPs want a simple tool to evaluate client risk and show value early in the conversation without getting buried in complexity or licensing costs. […]