Workplace shifts: Office-first policies rise amid IT challenges

Office-first policies surge as IT teams battle shadow software and AI hurdles

While most organizations are increasing investment and expressing optimism around AI, the report shows many lack the governance, time, and infrastructure needed to translate that momentum into execution.

For MSPs and channel partners, the findings point to a widening gap between what customers want to achieve with AI and what their environments can realistically support.

AI optimism grows, but adoption lags

The survey includes both MSPs and corporate IT teams, with MSPs accounting for roughly one-third of respondents.

While 67% of all respondents say they are optimistic about AI, only 5% report it is core to IT operations, underscoring a gap between interest and implementation.

Governance remains uneven. While 59% say their organization has an AI policy and 28% are developing one, awareness varies widely by role. 76% of IT leaders report having an AI policy, but only 42% of help desk staff do.

At the same time, frontline teams show the strongest demand for AI training-but lack the capacity to pursue it. Nearly half of respondents (48%) spend 10 to 20 hours per week on support tickets, limiting time for adoption.

MSPs flag shadow IT and shadow AI as top risks

MSPs are increasingly focused on shadow IT and shadow AI as operational and security challenges.

Twenty percent of MSPs say shadow IT is the most underestimated issue by leadership, ahead of disaster recovery and staffing concerns.

SaaS sprawl continues to outpace visibility. According to the report:

61% of organizations discover unauthorized SaaS apps at least monthly
23% report weekly discoveries
More than 100,000 shadow AI apps were identified in 2025 alone

To Auvik CEO Doug Murray, that lack of visibility is preventing many MSPs and end customers from moving forward with plans to achieve efficiency gains.

"Shadow IT, and now shadow AI, are big problems. They are going to impact your ability to get to an autonomous structure," Murray told Channel Insider.

"Everyone hears about the future of autonomous IT, and of course, it's a powerful promise, but without full visibility into where everything is and how it all works, your AI isn't going to work, and the blind spots you have won't go away," he continued.

Higher budgets fail to fix time and staffing constraints

Nearly half of respondents report increased IT budgets, but those gains are not translating into faster execution.

Auvik's findings show:

49% say budgets increased year over year
48% cite lack of time as the main barrier to new initiatives
33% point to staffing shortages
Only 30% cite budget constraints

The findings highlight a persistent "budget vs. time" disconnect, in which increased spending is absorbed by maintenance, tooling, and operational overhead rather than by new initiatives.

"Everybody is talking about what is possible with AI and other automation capabilities, but everybody is still trying to figure it out in practical terms," Murray said, adding that some MSPs and their customers still don't have formal AI adoption plans in place.

Tool sprawl also remains a concern for channel partners, with 36% of MSPs using 10 or more tools, driving interest in consolidation and automation.

Workplace shifts don't reduce IT complexity

Organizations are moving away from traditional hybrid models, with office-first environments rising to 51% in 2026, up from 31% in 2024. Meanwhile, 50/50 hybrid models have dropped to 25%.

Despite the shift, IT teams continue to support distributed users through remote access and SaaS platforms, maintaining operational complexity regardless of workplace policies.

IT teams overestimate readiness amid ongoing gaps

The report also highlights what it calls a "maturity mirage," where organizations overestimate their operational readiness.

Among the top concerns are similar findings to those above: staffing constraints, reactive work, and visibility are issues across the board.

The report cites the following response rates:

27% cite network visibility as a top challenge
42% report staffing constraints
33% say reactive work limits proactive improvement

More than half of respondents also report spending significant time on support tasks, reinforcing the extent to which reactive work dominates IT operations.

"The complexity and acceleration across really all technology is hard for everyone to keep up with," said Murray.

"It's like Whack-A-Mole: MSPs and IT teams have known for a while they need to address network visibility, but then SaaS grew, and now that we're starting to realize SaaS sprawl is an issue, shadow AI is everywhere," he continued.

Channel opportunity: turning investment into execution

As AI, SaaS, and distributed environments continue to expand, the gap between investment and execution is becoming a defining challenge for IT teams.

For MSPs, that gap represents both risk and opportunity-particularly in helping customers improve visibility, reduce tool sprawl, and operationalize AI initiatives.

To Murray, the promise of autonomous IT is powerful, even if adoption is slower than excitement at this point in the market.

He told Channel Insider that Auvik's product roadmap and business focus remain on enabling its MSP partners and enterprises to gain the visibility, alert prioritization, and other tooling they need to embrace the next wave of innovation.