Technology alone can’t mitigate supply chain risk, but strategic partnerships can

The disruptions of 2025 have laid bare critical vulnerabilities across global supply chains. Nearly 19% of breaches now stem from supply chain attacks, with average costs exceeding $4.7 million. As we all know, these incidents don’t just disrupt operations. They undermine the foundational trust that businesses are built on. 

The good news is that businesses are not facing these challenges alone. Over the past few years, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have evolved from tech support to fully end-to-end strategic partners. They now work closely with leadership, helping organisations adapt to regulatory changes and operational risks and strengthen long-term resilience.

Visibility fuels regulatory adherence

Achieving visibility across supply chains remains a consistent challenge for many organisations. Data is often dispersed across various systems, making it difficult to detect issues before they evolve into significant operational disruptions. While cloud computing has become indispensable to today’s supply chain infrastructure, gaps in transparency, access management and security controls still leave many businesses exposed to huge risk.

Cloud-native solutions such as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) are increasingly vital in addressing these challenges. By integrating networking and security functions into a unified platform, SASE helps organisations streamline oversight and improve access controls throughout cloud and IoT environments. This not only strengthens security but also breaks down data silos, which is an essential step for maintaining compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

MSPs are essential partners in rolling out and maintaining the likes of SASE solutions. Their technical know-how enables them to navigate the complexities of setup, integration and long-term management, allowing companies to strengthen their supply chain security without expanding internal IT teams. Just as importantly, MSPs offer localised regulatory insight, ensuring businesses are aligned with compliance requirements across regions.

The importance of adopting Zero Trust

SASE’s advanced visibility capabilities also lay the groundwork for adopting Zero Trust security principles. By delivering insights into network behaviour, organisations can implement continuous validation of users and devices, ensuring that only verified entities gain access.

This approach is particularly vital in the context of global supply chains, where operations stretch across borders and involve third-party partners. The sheer scale and complexity of these ecosystems introduce countless endpoints that must be monitored. Zero Trust mitigates this risk by enforcing strict, ongoing authentication for every user, device and application, regardless of their location. Reflecting this growing need, Gartner forecasts that by the end of 2025, 60% of enterprises worldwide will have embraced Zero Trust architectures, a sharp rise from 20% in 2022.

MSPs are key enablers of this transition. Their global reach and strong vendor networks position them to guide organisations through the deployment and management of Zero Trust frameworks, bolstering defences against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

The role of MSPs in building resilient supply chains

Sustained growth isn’t achieved through technology alone. It also relies on the strength and flexibility of the entire network of partners and suppliers that support a business. MSPs play a crucial role here, empowering organisations to rethink and redesign their supply chain operations for greater resilience.

Gone are the days of simply offering IT assistance; MSPs now well and truly help organisations diversify their supplier base, implement adaptable technology solutions and nurture the kind of collaboration essential for staying ahead in unpredictable markets. By partnering with agile and innovative suppliers, companies of all sizes can better navigate disruptions and keep their operations moving, no matter what the market throws their way.