The cloud is now the central operating environment for most organizations, spreading across multiple platforms, stretching into on-premises infrastructures, and incorporating software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications for widely distributed workforces and devices. Given that, securing those cloud environments has become paramount for enterprises.
That said, the rising complexity – and expanding attack surface – of those sprawling hybrid cloud environments are conspiring with an accelerating threat landscape driven by
bad actors’ adoption of AI to make it increasingly difficult for understaffed and overwhelmed security teams to effectively protect them, according to a survey released by cybersecurity vendor
Fortinet.
According to the authors of
Fortinet’s 2026 Cloud Security Report, responses from 1,163 cybersecurity professionals worldwide surveyed uncovered what they called a “widening cloud complexity gap.”
There is a “structural mismatch between the velocity of modern cloud environments and security teams’ ability to maintain consistent visibility, detection, and response in real time,” the authors wrote. “This gap is not driven by a lack of investment. Budgets are rising, yet maturity lags. The data suggests the problem is more fundamental.”
The report zeroed in on three factors that are creating that gap: a proliferation of disconnected security tools and services from myriad vendors that grows as the cloud environments expand, the accelerating pace of AI-driven attacks, and a
persistent shortage of skilled security pros, which is slowing response to threats and leading to more signals of attacks being missed.
None of this is new. Security vendors and researchers have been talking about tool sprawl, AI-armed attackers, and the difficult for organizations to fully staff their security teams. However, Fortinet’s survey attaches numbers to these trends to give a clearer picture of the hurdles.
They also illustrate the opportunity for MSSPs and MSPs to help clients address the challenges, act as strategic advisers, and be force multipliers to understaffed security teams.
The Cloud and Attack Surface Expand
Through the report, the view of the expanding and increasingly complex cloud environment comes into sharp relief. About 88% of organizations are spread across hybrid
or multi-cloud environments – up from 82% last year – and 81% of them rely on two or more cloud partners, a year-over-year jump from 78%. In addition, 29% use more than three cloud providers.
“This hybrid, multi-cloud model is no longer an intermediate stage: it is the de facto operating model for the enterprise,” the authors wrote. “These environments typically evolve over time through modernization efforts and business-driven expansion across teams and regions.”
The attack surface grows with it – more configurations and permissions, multiplying non-human identities, and sensitive data moving between clouds – as does the complexity. Along with that, more security tools from more vendors are added to the mix, which is driving the need for more tightly integrated platform over the past few years.
One report has the global cybersecurity platform market growing from $28 billion last year to
$55 billion by 2033, driven by demand for comprehensive protections against digital threats.
The Platform Approach
“Organizations need to
adopt a security platform approach that integrates across its solutions and more broadly with a large third-party ecosystem,”
Vincent Hwang, vice president of cloud security for Fortinet, told MSSP Alert. “Doing so can help strained security operations team find and resolve risks and threats faster by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of security alerts and correlating disparate events into meaningful, actionable alerts.”
The vendor has a range of platform offerings, including its Fortinet Security Fabric and Fortinet Cloud Security solutions.
However, the shift to a platform is not always easily accomplished, Hwang added, noting “real-world friction,” such as existing license commitments, concerns about large
rip-and-replace projects, and the always-present pressure to move quickly.
“That’s why platform adoption shouldn’t be viewed as an all-or-nothing decision,” he said. “An open platform approach allows organizations to evolve over time, integrating with existing tools while gradually consolidating capabilities as needs change.”
AI is Always a Factor
Adding to the challenges are threat actors rapidly embracing AI, even as security teams themselves are dipping into the AI waters. But it’s a slow process. About 32% said their AI adoption is limited to pilot efforts while 18% said AI-driven detection as fully operational across their cloud environments. This means most organizations rely on human-paced workflows to defend continuously changing environments. It puts them at a disadvantage.
“Attackers face no such constraints,” the report’s authors wrote. “As AI tools allow them to scan for misconfigurations, map permission paths, and identify exposed data, the time between exposure and exploitation continues to compress. In this context, defenses that depend on manual analysis or delayed response simply cannot keep up.”
Adding to all of this is the ongoing skills shortage, which has been an issue for the cybersecurity industry for years. Fortinet’s survey found that 74% of organization say they have such a shortage, and 77% said they were worried about the industry-wide skills gap. The gap is particularly hitting cloud security roles, where the talent has to include infrastructure, identity, data, and applications.
MSSPs Can Close the Gaps
MSSPs can help close with this. They can guide customers on implementing platform architectures, deliver security services that clients lack, and help defend against AI-armed attackers, Fortinet’s Hwang said.
“Reducing operational friction is just as important as deploying the right technology,” he said. “Service providers can help by leveraging platforms that simplify management, automate response, and scale efficiently.”
They can also embrace flexible consumption models that let clients scale security services up or down as needed. Fortinet – with its ForiFlex program – and other security vendors offer such models.
“For service providers, post-paid consumption models reduce upfront investment and financial risk, making it easier to launch new offerings and align costs directly with customer demand,” he said. “This enables MSSPs and MSPs to deliver security services in lockstep with their customers’ evolving strategies without adding unnecessary complexity for either side.”
