ConnectWise Retires IT Nation Secure, Folds Cybersecurity Content Into Flagship Connect Conferences

‘When IT Nation Secure was launched, cybersecurity was still a new and separate discipline for MSPs. Today, it’s impossible to have an MSP that doesn’t have cybersecurity embedded into every decision. It just didn’t make sense anymore to separate it out,’ says Peter Kujawa, executive vice president and general manager of service leadership and IT Nation at ConnectWise.

ConnectWise Tuesday said it will retire its IT Nation Secure conference as a stand-alone event. Starting in 2026, it will embed its cybersecurity programming directly into its global IT Nation Connect conferences held annually in North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand.

The change reflects how deeply cybersecurity has become integrated into MSP operations as well as the abundance of events they attend each year, according to Peter Kujawa, executive vice president and general manager of service leadership and IT Nation at the Tampa, Fla.-based company.

“When IT Nation Secure was launched, cybersecurity was still a new and separate discipline for MSPs,” Kujawa (pictured) told CRN. “Today, it’s impossible to have an MSP that doesn’t have cybersecurity embedded into every decision. It just didn’t make sense anymore to separate it out.”

The decision was also heavily influenced by feedback from the MSP and vendor communities.

“We heard from many of our solution partners and MSPs that there were simply too many events in the industry,” Kujawa said. “At the same time, we made the decision to take our European and ANZ Connect events from every other year to annually. So instead of increasing the total number of events, we’re shifting the focus to make each one more valuable.”

The company’s future strategy is to deliver more immersive, high-impact events with deeper, role-specific content. This model will debut with Automation Nation at the upcoming Connect conference in Orlando, Fla., this fall, where a full day of automation content will run prior to the keynote. A similar “event-within-an-event” format is planned for cybersecurity content in 2026. Details about specific content and tracks are still being finalized, but Kujawa said ConnectWise will focus on “developing deeper, more creative and experiential security content.”

“We’re carving out a dedicated space for cyber. It won’t be diluted; it’ll be elevated,” he said.

ConnectWise partner Craig Fulton praised the shift to a consistent global cadence, emphasizing that cybersecurity won’t be dropped but rather become an “essential layer” to the content the event puts out.

“I’m actually really excited about this,” said Fulton, M&A advisor for San Francisco-based Evergreen. “They used to rotate…one year London, the next year Sydney and back again. Now we get annual events in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. That’s pretty great. Every continent gets the attention it deserves.”

And he doesn’t have concerns of content being diluted, arguing that cybersecurity should be a part of every conversation from service delivery to operations.

“This isn’t the end of Secure,” he told CRN. “It’s Secure becoming something bigger.”

New Charter Technology CEO Peter Melby, another ConnectWise partner, said the vendor has invested “significantly” in the community and their events, which drove a lot of competition.

“I appreciate them concentrating on the depth of ITN Connect and recognizing that more is not necessarily better,” he told CRN in a text message. “There are too many events and the engagement is spread too thin.”

IT Nation Secure’s final event, held in June, saw an uptick of four percent in MSP attendance compared to the 2024 event, according to the vendor.

“Content was strong, attendance was up, sponsors were happy…that’s how you want to close a chapter,” Kujawa said.

Looking ahead, ConnectWise is also exploring the emerging intersection of cybersecurity and AI and how to curate content to guide partners through that convergence.

“This is a win for partners,” Kujawa added. “Fewer events. More impact. Better use of your time. I ran an MSP for 11 years, I know how hard it is to step away for a few days. We’re committed to making that time worthwhile and delivering the best events in the industry.”

Some Partners Believe IT Nation Secure Should Remain A Stand-Alone Event

While some partners praised the convergence of the Secure and Connect events, others raised concerns and believe they should remain separate.

“Yeah, I don’t agree with that at all,” said Bill Campbell, CEO of Waldorf, Md.-based MSP BalanceLogic. “I think it’s critically important to have a separate security conference. Yeah, there are a lot of IT conferences and a lot of security conferences, but security-focused MSPs are a different demographic. When you combine the two, you’re not going to reach them the same way.”

Campbell, who recently spoke at CRN parent company The Channel Company’s XChange Security event in July, said MSPs who go to security-specific conferences are going because they want to learn more about cybersecurity.

“It’s a totally different mindset,” he told CRN. “At Connect, cybersecurity might just be another breakout session on the schedule. That doesn’t cut it for people who are serious about building real security practices.”

Keith Nelson’s concern centers on the growing complexity of cybersecurity, especially in an era of tightening compliance and regulatory environments.

While ConnectWise has positioned the move as a strategic reflection of how cybersecurity has become embedded in every aspect of IT services, Nelson sees it differently.

“I’ll disagree with them respectfully, but I think there are MSPs that specialize in security and others that specialize in service,” said Nelson, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based Vistem Solutions. “I think we’re going to see more specialization in the IT space, not less. Trying to be a generalist isn’t the future.”

Dawn Sizer attended the most recent IT Nation Secure conference as a community event leader. She said the change feels like a step backward.

“I think it’s sad that they’re rolling it in that way,” Sizer, CEO of Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based MSP 3^rd Element Consulting, told CRN. “I don’t think it gives the opportunity to hear the right voices at the right time. There is content we need to hear as security practitioners that we may not hear in the same way at a standard event.”

While dedicated security tracks are expected to be preserved, questions remain about whether the same depth, focus and community connection can exist within a much broader IT-focused format.

“I’m sure they’ll do dedicated tracks, but it’s not just about having a track,” she said. “It’s about who’s speaking and whether the right people are in the room.”

Dustin Bolander, founder of Austin, Texas-based Clear Guidance Partners, argued that while cybersecurity is baked into managed services, it’s the most critical part, “It deserves its own spotlight.”

What he liked about IT Nation Secure is its hands-on, in-depth content and the community it fostered. It also didn’t overlap with the more sales- and service-focused attendees at IT Nation Connect.

“The culture, the people, the focus at Secure, it was different,” he told CRN. “People came because they actually wanted to learn security. That’s not something you can easily replicate in a blended crowd. They’ve got to be really thoughtful if they want to preserve what made Secure so valuable.”