In every era of managed services, a “must-have” shift defines the leaders of the next wave. In the early 2010s, it was backup and disaster recovery. Mid-decade, it was cloud migration and Office 365. Now, in 2025, that driver is clear: compliance has gone mainstream.
For years, compliance frameworks like HIPAA, PCI, FTC Safeguards, and CMMC were seen as niche requirements for regulated industries. But as cyberattacks increase, cyber insurance gets tougher, and regulators tighten enforcement, compliance is becoming table stakes for all organizations — no matter how small or what sector they serve.
And for MSPs, that shift isn’t just another box to check — it’s an opportunity to build trust, win more deals, and generate new recurring revenue. Blacksmith InfoSec can help you leverage that opportunity.
Why Compliance Isn’t Optional Anymore
Clients may not always say the word “compliance,” but they’re already feeling the pressures that lead to it:
- Cyber insurance renewals that require documented risk controls
- Vendor contracts asking for proof of due diligence
- Rising breach headlines where “lack of compliance” makes the news
- SMB boards and executives wanting assurance that financial and reputational risks are being properly managed
The pattern is clear: security alone is no longer enough. Clients need proof. They need documentation. They need to know they’re audit-ready.
Compliance as a Sales Accelerator
The data is compelling: MSPs that weave compliance into their offerings close deals at a significantly higher rate. That’s because positioning compliance reframes the MSP from “IT provider” to risk advisor.
When you lead with compliance, you position your business as:
- A strategic shield against regulatory and insurance risk
- An operational safeguard that ensures consistent practices
- A trusted partner who provides peace of mind alongside technology
Even prospects who aren’t yet mandated to follow a specific standard see immediate value in working with a partner that can demonstrate measurable best practices.
Turning Compliance into a Profit Center
One of the misconceptions MSPs have is that compliance is complicated, resource-heavy, and only realistic for large providers with vCISOs on staff. The reality? With the right processes and tools, compliance can become a repeatable, scalable, and profitable offering.
Here are a few ways MSPs are operationalizing compliance today:
- Policy Management Made Easy
Use a compliance management tool that systematizes written policies, updates them annually, and makes them client-facing. This turns what used to be manual busy work into a structured, billable service.
- Automated Evidence Collection
Instead of piecing together spreadsheets before an audit, MSPs are leveraging automation to demonstrate proof of patching, access reviews, MFA enforcement, and more.
- Take a look at our ConnectWise PSA Integration
By integrating compliance directly into ConnectWise, already used to manage tickets and monitoring, MSPs are turning “compliance tasks” into documented, billable actions.
- Compliance by Default
Instead of treating compliance as a menu item, the most successful MSPs are including it in every client’s stack. How? By requiring every client to be compliant with a known framework such as NIST CSF. This might sound like a hard sell, but when an MSP can show that “framework” isn’t a buzzword, but a roadmap to actual security, compliance becomes a sales tool. Right now, it’s a matter of pointing to competing MSPs who aren’t building their security programs around frameworks and explaining why that’s a bad idea; soon, it will only be the least mature MSPs who choose not to enforce some manner of compliance across the board.
The key is that compliance stops being a standalone burden — and becomes an embedded service that both protects the client and grows the MSP’s MRR.
Early Movers Gain the Advantage
In every industry wave, early adopters take the lion’s share of opportunity. MSP leaders who position compliance now won’t just meet competitor pressure — they’ll set the standard that others scramble to follow.
If you wait until clients demand compliance, you’ll be stuck reacting at cost. But if you proactively lead clients into compliance, you can own the narrative, deliver more value, and win deals faster.
Final Thoughts
In 2025, compliance has shifted from a niche requirement to a market expectation. MSPs that embrace it aren’t burdened — they’re building resilience, credibility, and profitability.
The question is no longer if compliance will become the baseline. The only question is: will you lead your clients into this new standard, or follow competitors who already put compliance at the center of their business?
Now is the moment to operationalize compliance as a differentiator. With the right processes, playbooks, and tools in place, MSPs like yourself can transform compliance from a challenge into their next big growth driver.
The term 'ConnectWise' is a trademark of ConnectWise, LLC. This application uses the ConnectWise API but is not a ConnectWise product or service and is licensed separately from ConnectWise products and services.
