‘This isn’t about AI replacing people. It’s about giving MSPs an ‘easy button’ where possible and letting them focus on growing their business while we handle the intelligence behind the scenes,’ says Cavelo CEO James Mignacca on Cavelo’s AI tools.
For James Mignacca, the future of cybersecurity in the channel will be shaped by thoughtful AI adoption, closer collaboration among vendors and tighter alignment around MSP growth.
Rather than treating AI as a cure-all, the CEO of Canada-based Cavelo said the company is prioritizing remediation and workflow intelligence and helping partners cut through hundreds of alerts.
He said that the goal is not to replace people with AI, but to simplify operations where possible. This gives MSPs an “easy button” so they can concentrate on scaling their businesses while Cavelo delivers the intelligence working quietly in the background.
Part of that push was through Flash, an agentless, near real-time risk posture assessment tool, launched earlier this month.
“For MSPs, if they can’t articulate cybersecurity in business terms to their customer, it’s a much tougher conversation,” he said. “Our job is to solve real problems for MSPs so they can focus on what really matters.
Looking at 2026’s roadmap, AI is a big player, but it’s not overtaking the company. “AI is another attack vector. It introduces new vulnerabilities,” he said. “We’re not an AI company, we use AI to solve real problems. There’s a difference.”
The roadmap is also about closer alignment, fewer silos and smarter automation. Mignacca said the company has already built out its core modules and product depth, and the focus now is on solving tangible, real-world problems for partners.
“We’re not going to flip a switch and say, ‘AI fixes everything.’ That’s not real,” he said. “Instead, we’ll be the intelligence behind the scenes creating smart, SLA-driven tickets, reducing wasted time and making MSPs look good in front of their customers.”
CRN spoke further to Mignacca about what Cavelo is focused on this year, cybersecurity trends and what differentiates the vendor in a crowded cybersecurity market.
You’ve positioned Flash as a sales enablement tool rather than just a security product. Do you see cybersecurity vendors increasingly aligning their roadmaps to MSP go-to-market needs instead of purely technical features?
If you think about our roadmap, sure, we talk about vulnerabilities, CVEs, data discovery, all the technical layers of the stack, and that’s fine. But my belief is you have to understand the problem you’re solving from a business perspective first. No one wakes up and says, ‘I need a vulnerability management solution today.’ What they do wake up to is the news that another company got breached. They understand that cyber insurance premiums are going up. They understand risk.
So for MSPs, if they can’t articulate cybersecurity in business terms to their customer, it’s a much tougher conversation. Our job is to solve real problems for MSPs so they can focus on what really matters. They shouldn’t have to hire more people just to stand up a security practice. At the same time, they need to grow, more logos, more recurring revenue. That’s where Flash comes in. Yes, it can be used as a one-time audit. But let’s be honest, a one-time audit isn’t best practice. Cybersecurity is a moving target. Compliance is a moving target.
So Flash gives prospects something tangible. It shows them the full stack they would get. It’s a door opener. But the recurring piece, our 360 platform, that’s where you have to be. We want to be part of the workflow, part of ticket creation, embedded in how MSPs operate. That’s how they make money.
When you talk to partners, what’s their biggest challenge and how does Cavelo help address it?
The first challenge is noise. Every MSP I talk to knows they need some form of cybersecurity practice. The challenge is you can’t just hire one person and magically build it. It’s complex.
What we bring is a turnkey solution. We consolidate the tech stack. And it comes back to business outcomes… you don’t need to hire a security analyst or become an expert overnight. It’s plug-and-play, enterprise-grade quality.
But here’s the part I get excited about, MSPs need new logos. We don’t do transaction selling, we do relationship selling. When our partner grows 30 percent, we grow 30 percent. So I always ask them, ‘Where do you want to be in a year?’ Then we work backward from there. Flash is part of that. It enables their sales teams. It helps them close deals faster. It’s not just security for security’s sake, it’s about helping them win.
So as CEO, what’s your biggest challenge?
First, building trust in the channel. Everyone says they understand the channel, but trust takes time. Second, AI. I’m not saying it’s a bubble but there’s a lot of over-torquing happening. It reminds me of when cloud first came out and everyone talked about it without really understanding the implications. AI is another attack vector. It introduces new vulnerabilities. We’re not an AI company, we use AI to solve real problems. There’s a difference.
What worries me is MSPs getting caught up in the hype. You have to be pragmatic. Use AI where it makes sense but understand the risks. And honestly? I wish I could build our brand faster. I’m old school. I want to shake hands, look people in the eye. I do a lot of one-on-one meetings. That face-to-face trust-building, it’s never fast enough for me.
You’ve also been vocal about mental health in the channel. Why is that important to you?
Because it changed my life. I had a panic attack and went to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack. I always saw myself as resilient. I thought, ‘I can handle stress.’ But that moment made me realize we’re all vulnerable. When I started talking about it, what blew my mind was that everyone had a story. If it’s not them, it’s someone close to them. There’s this stigma around being vulnerable, especially in entrepreneurial communities like MSPs.
Maybe this is part of my healing journey. But I’ve found that when I’m vulnerable first, it breaks down walls. Then the conversations become real. The MSP community is unique. Even competitors want to help each other. This initiative I’m behind, MSP Well, isn’t about me or about Cavelo. It’s community-based, 100 percent. It’s about saying, ‘You’re not alone.’ Because at some point, this will affect everyone.
What’s on the product roadmap over the next 18 months?
We carve out 30 percent of our roadmap for customer feedback. They’re in the trenches, we’re not. That matters. We’re investing heavily in reporting and ecosystem integrations. We’re not going to build everything but we’ll provide rich APIs so SOC teams can consume our data.
We’re also doubling down on remediation. Early on, I avoided it because you need solid data before you remediate. Now we have that foundation. But remediation isn’t cookie-cutter. Every tenant is different. Every SLA is different. That’s why it’s hard. We’ve built the workflow engine to handle that complexity. This isn’t about AI replacing people. It’s about giving MSPs an ‘easy button’ where possible and letting them focus on growing their business while we handle the intelligence behind the scenes.
How does Cavelo stand out in a crowded cybersecurity market?
If you go to most vendor websites, it’s hard to tell what they actually do. There’s so much noise.
First, quality. We deliver enterprise-grade quality. We built our engine in-house. When an MSP goes through an audit, that quality matters. If something gets missed, they’re liable.
Second, we shift the conversation from CVEs to business risk. We quantify potential liability in dollars. That changes the boardroom conversation. It even informs how much cyber insurance you should carry.
And third, remediation. It’s not enough to say, ‘Here’s a big list of issues.’ We’re using AI-driven remediation and workflow automation to cut through noise. Instead of overwhelming an MSP with 500 alerts, we focus on the three that matter most and push them directly into their ticketing system with SLA awareness.
What’s your view on the wave of M&A activity in the IT services space?
Private equity has figured out the playbook. It provides exits for MSP owners, which is healthy for the industry. But consolidation creates complexity. When five MSPs merge, they’re running thousands of tools. You have to streamline or you won’t be efficient. That’s actually good for vendors like us that deliver enterprise-grade solutions. Larger, more mature MSPs need mature platforms.
I also think MSPs will move upmarket. Larger enterprises will lean on them more — especially for compliance and cybersecurity oversight. Sometimes you need someone else to check your homework. Eighty percent of breaches involve human error. That external validation layer is critical.”
What would you like to see more of in the channel?
Vendors working closer together. I’ve gone to other CEOs and said, ‘We have to collaborate more.’ I don’t believe in competition for competition’s sake. Some vendors do certain things better, that’s normal. But partnerships have to be like a marriage. If we put our names out together, we both have to deliver. If one fails, we all look bad. If we truly focus on solving business problems together, we all get stronger.
What cybersecurity trends are you watching closely?
Social engineering amplified by AI. Imagine someone cloning your voice for authentication. These attacks will become more sophisticated and more effective.
What used to be ‘nice to have’ layers of security will become mandatory. Over the next year or two, I think we’ll see more sophisticated attacks hitting end customers. The industry needs to prepare for that shift.
Lastly James, what’s your message to partners about what’s coming from Cavelo in 2026?
We’re going to work even closer with our partners. We’ve built the modules, we have the depth…now it’s about solving real problems. Remediation has to happen. But it has to be pragmatic, SLA-driven, tenant-aware. That’s why it’s such a hard problem. We’re not going to flip a switch and say, ‘AI fixes everything.’ That’s not real. Instead, we’ll be the intelligence behind the scenes creating smart, SLA-driven tickets, reducing wasted time and making MSPs look good in front of their customers. At the end of the day, if our partners win, we win. That’s the model.
