Industry Voice: Westcoast Cloud: How Partners Can Close the AI and Security Skills Gap

Without the right expertise in place, many partners risk being left behind by their competitors — or worse, exposing existing customers to avoidable vulnerabilities.

For all the optimism surrounding AI adoption, the channel is grappling with the accelerating gap between what customers expect and the skills partners can realistically deliver.

As organisations embrace AI-driven services and increasingly cloud-centric operating models, they’re also facing a surge in new security threats, skills shortages, and operational pressures.

And today, solution providers are feeling this strain more acutely than ever.

The skills gap remains the ‘biggest challenge’ for channel leaders and end-users

Across the UK and Europe, partners report that they’re underresourced, underskilled, and under pressure to deliver AI-ready, secure environments at a speed that often outpaces internal capability.

A 2025 CRN survey of 100 channel leaders found that a ‘lack of expertise or skilled personnel’ was the biggest challenge when operating in the cybersecurity space, and a 2025 Computing survey of 100 end-users found that a ‘lack of skills or expertise in AI/ML’ was the biggest challenge in the adoption and scaling of AI.

Security teams in particular battle these personnel challenges while wrestling with evolving threats, tool sprawl, and regulatory complexity. At the same time, 84% of MSP leaders say clients now expect them to manage not just cybersecurity, but broader IT estates and strategic needs — up from 65% last year.

Without the right expertise in place, many partners risk being left behind by their competitors — or worse, exposing existing customers to avoidable vulnerabilities.

Closing the AI and skills gap

That being said, navigating this gap isn’t just about hiring, training, and retaining the right talent.

The modern partner must blend security knowledge with AI awareness, cloud expertise, business context and, critically, ongoing enablement. Increasingly, that also means helping organisations foster a culture where AI adoption is encouraged across teams — creating space for experimentation, shared learning and open conversation. That’s where many partners struggle — and where structured support becomes essential.

Westcoast Cloud is stepping in to help close this gap. Rather than leaving partners to build capabilities piecemeal, the distributor is equipping them with the resources, training pathways and support frameworks they need to stay ahead. Through partner programmes such as Thrive, Westcoast Cloud is helping partners strengthen their AI and security skill sets, modernise their cloud practices and confidently support customers navigating digital transformation.

Thrive provides each partner with a bespoke learning plan that combines curated, Microsoft‑aligned training, hands‑on labs delivered by Westcoast Cloud, sales and technical playbooks, on‑site training, and ongoing coaching from the Thrive team. This tailored approach enables partners to modernise their cloud practices with confidence. Technical teams gain the core competencies required to deploy secure, AI‑ready cloud environments, while commercial teams are equipped with the narratives and value framing needed to lead higher‑value customer conversations.

Crucially, it helps partners translate AI and security complexity into tangible, monetisable offerings.

But Thrive goes further than traditional enablement. As Westcoast Cloud’s flagship partner‑development programme, it gives solution providers a structured, end‑to‑end pathway to sharpen their cloud strategy, deepen skills, and bring new services to market faster.

In fact, well over 150 partners have already gained access to role‑based learning journeys, scenario‑driven workshops, and guided labs that map directly to real‑world customer needs across security, modern work, Azure, and AI.

With Thrive, partners can gain the confidence, capability and consistency needed to close the AI and security skills gap — and turn it into a long-term competitive advantage.

Want to find out more about Westcoast Cloud and Thrive? Register for Thrive and a member of our Thrive team will be in touch with further details: https://www.westcoastcloud.co.uk/welcome-to-thrive/

This article is sponsored by Westcoast Cloud.