How MSPs Can Successfully Launch and Deliver Compliance as a Service (CaaS)

This blog is taken from the Beyond the Horizon Podcast, MSP’s Guide to Getting Started with Compliance as a Service (CaaS).

Compliance is no longer just a concern for enterprise-level organizations or highly regulated industries. With cybersecurity threats on the rise and regulatory requirements tightening worldwide, businesses of all sizes are feeling the pressure to step up their compliance efforts. For MSPs, this shift represents both a challenge and a major opportunity.

Compliance as a Service (CaaS) is quickly becoming a key differentiator in the managed services space. Customers are looking for MSPs that can help them navigate regulations, reduce risk, and implement security frameworks that align with industry best practices. But building a CaaS offering isn’t as simple as adding another security tool to your stack—it requires strategic planning, process changes, and often, a cultural shift within your MSP.

If you’re looking to move into the compliance space or improve your existing services, here’s what you need to know to successfully launch and deliver CaaS.

Step 1: Start With an Internal Assessment

Before offering compliance services to customers, your MSP needs to answer one important question: Are we ready to handle compliance ourselves?

It’s one thing to manage security policies and documentation for a customer, but compliance requires structured processes, auditability, and the ability to prove that security measures are consistently enforced. That’s why the best way to start is by applying compliance principles to your own MSP first.

Key Questions to Ask:

• Do we have the expertise to support compliance frameworks like HIPAA, CMMC, NIST, or ISO\IEC 27001?
• Can we implement a compliance framework within our own MSP?
• Do we have the necessary tools and staff to manage ongoing compliance efforts?

If your MSP can’t align internally with compliance best practices, it will be difficult – if not impossible – to effectively guide customers through their compliance journey.

Pro Tip: Start by implementing a compliance framework within your own business. This gives you firsthand experience, helps identify gaps, and ensures your team knows what’s required before rolling it out to your customers.

Step 2: Train Your Team and Align Processes

Adding compliance to your MSP’s service offerings isn’t just about checking a box, it requires a fundamental shift in how your team approaches IT management. Traditional MSP services focus on efficiency, automation, and quick problem resolution, but compliance demands a more structured, process-driven approach.

For example, your team may be used to resolving an issue as quickly as possible to minimize downtime. But in a compliance-driven environment, proper documentation, audit trails, and policy enforcement matter just as much as the fix itself.

How to Prepare Your Team for CaaS:

• Provide training on compliance frameworks and regulations relevant to your customer base.
• Emphasize documentation and process adherence: compliance is about proving security, not just implementing it.
• Redefine roles if needed to ensure compliance responsibilities are clearly assigned.
• Avoid assigning compliance leadership responsibilities to existing roles, provide ample bandwidth and resources for new roles.

An MSP’s compliance success isn’t just about the technology, it’s about how well the entire team understands and supports compliance efforts.

Step 3: Choose the Right Compliance Framework

Not all compliance frameworks are created equal, and not every MSP needs to support every regulation. The best approach is to align your compliance offerings with the industries you already serve or want to target.

Common Compliance Frameworks for MSPs:

• HIPAA – Required for healthcare customers handling patient data.
• CMMC – Needed for government contractors processing controlled unclassified information
• NIST and ISO – Broad cybersecurity and compliance frameworks that apply across multiple industries.

Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, start with a single framework, master it, and refine your service delivery before expanding.

Pro Tip: Some frameworks have overlapping security controls, so choosing the right starting point can help you scale your compliance offerings more efficiently.

Step 4: Partner When Necessary

One of the biggest mistakes MSPs make when launching a compliance offering is trying to do it all in-house from day one. Compliance can be resource-intensive, requiring ongoing monitoring, reporting, and management. Without the right expertise and staffing, it’s easy to overextend your team and create service gaps.

Why Strategic Partnerships Matter

MSPs often hesitate to outsource compliance tasks, fearing loss of control or competition. But MSSPs, compliance vendors, and security partners can be valuable extensions of your team.

• MSSPs can handle 24/7 monitoring and SOC operations that may be beyond your current capabilities.
• Compliance specialists can assist with audits, reporting, and documentation to ensure regulatory requirements are met.
• Security vendors offer automation and tools to streamline compliance management.

Rather than seeing external partners as competitors, view them as enablers that allow your MSP to scale compliance services without overwhelming internal resources.

Step 5: Test Internally Before Rolling Out to Customers

Before launching compliance services to customers, run a pilot within your own MSP. This helps refine processes, resolve inefficiencies, and ensure your team fully understands the workflow before going live.

An internal test also highlights areas where additional training, automation, or staffing may be required. The goal is to ensure that when compliance services are introduced to customers, they are well-structured, repeatable, and scalable.

Pro Tip: Treat your own MSP as a customer – document every step of the process as if you were delivering the service externally.

Overcoming Common Compliance Challenges

Once compliance services are in place, MSPs often encounter operational hurdles that can make delivery more challenging. Here are a few of the most common issues, and how to solve them.

1. Internal Resistance to Change
   IT professionals are used to speed and efficiency, while compliance requires structure and documentation. Some team members may push back.
   Solution: Provide clear training and help your team understand compliance isn’t just another task, it’s a value-driven business function.
2. Resource Constraints
   Compliance requires ongoing effort, from log management to security monitoring. Many MSPs don’t have the bandwidth to handle it alone.
   Solution: Use partnerships and automation to reduce the manual workload and free up internal resources.
3. Customer Education and Buy-In
   Many customers don’t see compliance as urgent – until they face an audit or breach.
   Solution: Position compliance as a proactive investment that protects their business from regulatory fines, security threats, and downtime.

The Future of Compliance for MSPs

Compliance isn’t just about regulations, it’s about building a more secure, resilient, and future-ready business for both MSPs and their customers. Those who embrace compliance now will set themselves apart in an increasingly competitive market.

For a deeper dive into this topic, watch the full video interview, Beyond the Horizon—MSP Guide to Getting Started with Compliance as a Service (CaaS). The discussion  covers real-world strategies, insights, and practical advice to help MSPs make the transition successfully.

 Lewis Pope is the Head Security Nerd at N‑able. You can follow him on

LinkedIn: thesecuritypope