Metcloud brings AI governance to their clients in the UK

How a Birmingham-based MSP is turning Shadow AI into a managed service for regulated industries, with DefensX AI Guard One as the control point.

The challenge

METCLOUD.AI's clients sit in some of the most closely regulated parts of the UK economy. Their teams were already using AI to work faster, often through tools nobody had approved, and the people responsible for compliance had little way of seeing it. Blocking AI would cost these organisations the productivity their competitors are already gaining. Leaving it unmanaged would put client records, patient data and commercial information at risk.

71%

of workers have used unapproved AI tools at work

Microsoft, 2025

The approach

Metcloud built its programme around a simple idea: AI should be adopted the same way as any other business system, with an owner, a policy and a record. “AI Adoption, Securely Managed” combines Metcloud's advisory and managed services with DefensX technology, and it runs in four stages.

01 Assess

Map the AI tools already in use and where sensitive data meets them.

02 Strategy

Agree policies and governance aligned to each client's regulatory obligations.

03 Implement

Roll out DefensX to apply those policies in daily work, with monitoring and reporting.

04 Assure

Keep visibility and control in place through an ongoing managed service.

Why AI Guard One

For Metcloud, the platform had to cover AI wherever it shows up. DefensX AI Guard One, announced at Pax8 Beyond EMEA in Copenhagen, brings AI visibility, data protection and governance into one control point across browsers, Office extensions, native applications and AI agents.

That gives Metcloud a single place to see which AI tools each client uses, keep sensitive data out of AI interactions, enforce policy at the point of use, and produce the audit trail regulated clients are increasingly asked for.

“We built AI Guard One for our MSP partners because we want them to be part of the AI value chain, not left on the sidelines of its growth.”

Osman Erkan, CEO and Co-founder, DefensX

What it means for MSPs

Metcloud's programme shows what that looks like in practice. AI governance becomes a recurring service with a clear scope, delivered from one multi-tenant platform, and offered to clients at the moment they are actively looking for help with AI.