Most MSPs hate the word “compliance.” It sounds bureaucratic, painful, and full of acronyms like HIPAA, NIST, PCI, and GDPR. Worse, it often feels like something designed for enterprises with legal teams instead of small businesses trying to keep the lights on.
Your customers feel that pain even more.
To them, compliance is confusing, intimidating, and usually triggered by bad news: a failed audit, a cyber insurance questionnaire they don’t understand, or a customer demanding proof of security controls before signing a contract. They don’t know what applies to them, what’s optional, or what happens if they get it wrong. They just know they’re worried and are looking to you for answers.
But in reality, compliance is an opportunity. When approached the right way, it becomes a framework for better security, clearer conversations, and stronger client relationships. It’s a way to create clarity, demonstrate professionalism, and differentiate your MSP from the pack.
Here’s how to reframe and simplify compliance:
- Start with industry alignment: Work with clients in sectors like healthcare, finance, or legal? They’re already under compliance pressure. Step in as a translator and guide, not an auditor. Help them understand what they’re responsible for—and how you can support them.
- Map your services to common frameworks: Even if you’re not formally certified, you can show how your stack maps to NIST, CIS Controls, or ISO. Use visual guides in your proposals and reviews. It builds trust and separates you from MSPs who “just install antivirus.”
- Create basic compliance checklists: Simple docs that show whether the client has secure backups, 2FA, endpoint protection, and documentation go a long way. It’s not a legal audit, it’s a health check.
- Offer compliance-as-a-service (CAAS): This is a real opportunity. More vendors are offering tools that help MSPs deliver compliance reports, user training, and policy support. Package it. Price it. Own it.
- Keep it low-jargon and high-value: Your job isn’t to impress them with acronyms. It’s to simplify compliance; make them feel more protected and more prepared. That’s what they’ll pay for.
Check out the ChannelPro Compliance and Regulations Answer Center for resources from understanding regulations like GDPR and HIPAA to creating compliance-as-a-service offerings.
