Who to Hire, Who to Train, and Who to Engage: CMMC Consultant Guide for MSPs

Successfully navigating CMMC isn’t just about tools or documentation—it’s about people. Knowing when to engage external help, hire dedicated personnel, or train your own team can make or break your compliance strategy. This guide helps MSPs at any stage determine the right blend of consulting, staffing, and upskilling to support CMMC readiness and certification.

Other blogs in this series: CMMC Certification Process: Step-by-Step Guide for MSPs

Types of Support Providers

There are four key types of consultant MSPs need to consider when undertaking CMMC certification:

When to Engage External Support – and How

Engage an RP or RPA when:

• You’re in the discovery or planning phase and want expert insight into CMMC requirements.
• You need help with readiness assessments or POA&M development.
• You’re unsure how to scope your compliance strategy across client environments.

How: Find verified RPs/RPAs via the Cyber AB Marketplace. The Cyber AB is the official accreditation body of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ecosystem and the sole authorized non-governmental partner of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in implementing and overseeing the CMMC conformance regime. The site allows you to select the type of consultant you need, region, time zone, how many years experience they have, and the scope of services you require.

Or reach out directly to trusted RPOs (e.g., Prescott) who have certified personnel on staff

Engage an RPO when:

• You want a turnkey solution or lifecycle support from assessment to documentation and tool alignment.
• You have limited internal staff or experience with regulated frameworks.
• You need to show clients that your MSP has a clear compliance roadmap.

How: Use RPOs as compliance project leads. Assign them internal liaisons and ensure you have clear deliverables: SSP, POA&M, gap remediation roadmap, and implementation sequencing.

Engage a C3PAO when:

• You’ve completed remediation and documentation.
• You’re ready for formal audit and certification for CMMC Level 2 or higher.
• Your clients require validated compliance evidence to maintain contracts.

How: Engagement begins via the Cyber AB Marketplace. Be audit-ready with complete documentation (SSP, POA&M) and demonstrable evidence of implementation.

When to Hire In-House— and What to Look For

Hiring in-house specialists can make sense when:

• You’re building long-term CMMC services (CMMC-as-a-Service).
• You want to reduce consultant dependency.
• You have compliance experience but need dedicated focus.

If you going to do this make sure you look out for the following skills:

• Experience with NIST 800-171 or other regulatory frameworks (such as, HIPAA, ISO, SOC 2 etc).
• Ability to translate technical configurations into audit-friendly documentation.
• Certifications: RP, Security+, CISSP, or practical experience with CMMC tooling.

Some tips on hiring… Recruit from cybersecurity communities, compliance groups, or MSP job boards. Make sure to include test scenarios in the interview process, such as “How would you document this control?”, “Walk us through POA&M remediation”.

When to Train Your Team Internally

Sometimes training can be your best option. This is particularly true when you want full ownership and scalability over time, you already have highly technical staff with capacity to upskill, or you’re building toward RPO status and want to avoid repeated consultant costs.

Best Practices for Training

If you decide it’s the right course of action to go down this route. Here are some tips to keep in mind throughout the process:

• Enroll one or more staff in Registered Practitioner (RP) training through Cyber AB-approved courses.
• Shadow an RPO during your first compliance implementation (hybrid model).
• Document learnings and convert them into internal SOPs or knowledge base content.
• Encourage participation in bootcamps like the “ABCs of CMMC” or “Is CMMC Right for You?” tracks.

MSP Playbook: Hire, Train, or Engage?

Certified Resources

Start here to find vetted experts:

• Cyber AB Marketplace: https://cyberab.org/marketplace
• Prescott (RPO & C3PAO-in-process): https://www.prescott.us
• N‑able CMMC Resource Hub: https://www.n-able.com

Driving MSP Success: CMMC Compliance and Readiness

For more on CMMC download our ebook: CMMC: A guide to the What, When, Why, and How?

Looking for more blogs on compliance and regulation, then check out the Compliance section of our blog.

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

LinkedIn: thesecuritypope

Twitch: cybersec_nerd