Why MSPs Need Multi-Client Compliance Services

Compliance is no longer a nice-to-have, it's a must-have. But between complex regulations and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, keeping up can be challenging. That pain point is behind the rapid expansion of the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform market—we're talking about a projected $44 billion growth by 2029.

MSPs are uniquely positioned to provide relief and capitalize on that growing need, but how do you keep multiple clients organized, compliant, and happy? The answer is straightforward: You invest in multi-client compliance services.

Read on to discover how they set your MSP apart in a crowded compliance landscape.

The Pitfalls of Ad-Hoc Compliance Management

Ad-hoc compliance is a reactive approach to meeting compliance requirements. Rather than having a structured, ongoing program in place, organizations with ad-hoc compliance programs respond to audits, incidents, or regulatory changes as they occur.

Maybe you can manage an ad-hoc compliance program for one or two of your clients, but this unsystematic approach quickly becomes unsustainable as your client base grows. Here’s why:

Scattered Documentation and Version Control

Documents scattered on shared and personal drives, multiple users editing and reviewing, and the inability to categorize, sort, or search leaves too much room for human error. Important compliance documents can easily get lost, deleted, forgotten, mixed up, or published when they shouldn’t be.

Resource-Intensive Manual Processes

Speaking of organization, manual compliance processes are time-consuming, especially when you’re managing multiple (unorganized) compliance programs. Gathering data, conducting assessments, generating reports, and making necessary updates all require significant manual effort.

Client Reporting Bottlenecks

When generating reports is laborious and time-intensive, it's challenging to track the compliance posture of your clients. Preparing for audits becomes a nightmare in this scenario, not to mention that you’ll have difficulty demonstrating the value of your compliance services without evidence to support your case.

Growth Limitations for MSPs

Manual processes simply don't scale. As the number of clients requiring compliance services increases, the workload explodes exponentially. Spreadsheets, email chains, and individual client folders become unmanageable, making it impossible to provide consistent service.

Risks of Manual Compliance Management for MSPs

The obvious consequence of all the above is inefficiency. Managing compliance in this way drains resources and reduces your capacity to grow and focus on revenue-generating activities. Of course, there’s also the expected client dissatisfaction that comes with inconsistent service, slow turnaround times, and an inability to demonstrate your value.

Perhaps less obvious, but far more costly, is the potential for non-compliance inherent in ad-hoc approaches. Disorganization, pitfalls with reporting, and an inability to properly track and assess leads to a lack of oversight, and non-compliance becomes a serious risk.

Overlooking just one critical requirement can lead to fines, legal fees, and reputational damage for your MSP and your client. If the overlooked requirement leads to a data breach, you can add the costs of remediation fees, loss of trust, and loss of future investment to your damages. What’s more, this risk is amplified with each new client added to your manual system.

Multi-Client GRC Software: The Modern MSP Solution

With multi-client software architecture, all clients access the same software application, but each client's data is completely isolated and logically separated from all other clients' data. The MSP, however, has access to all client data within the platform, enabling them to manage and oversee the compliance programs for each client individually.

Key Features of GRC Software for MSPs

Multi-client compliance services offer a suite of features designed to streamline and centralize compliance management. Here are some of the top features that empower MSPs to efficiently oversee multiple client programs:

Centralized dashboard: For managing compliance across all clients within a single, unified platform.
Document management: Shared library to store and organize compliance-related documentation.
Search and Discoverability: To enable search within clients’ programs and find what you need in a click.
Client-Facing Portal: To foster collaboration with clients on all aspects of their compliance program.
Assessments and Reporting: To track progress, identify vulnerabilities, and prepare for audits.
Customization: To adapt to each client’s unique wants and needs.
Security: To protect sensitive data within and between client ecosystems.
Updates and Maintenance: Automatic software updates and security patches to simplify maintenance.
Access Control: User-based credentials and feature availability for enhanced security and privacy.

How Multi-Client Compliance Services Drive MSP Growth

Multi-client compliance services offer MSPs a range of key benefits, including greater efficiency, stronger client relationships, and enhanced profitability. Here are all the benefits you can expect:

Lower costs

Centralized client management reduces the disorganization that leads to lost or misplaced documents. It also simplifies the onboarding process. Optimizing your resource utilization in these ways ultimately means lower operating costs.

Manage risk

With greater organization and oversight over all the moving parts of compliance, and the ability to assess them with ease, the risks of noncompliance are greatly reduced.

Report Efficiently

Simplified reporting reduces the need for manual data entry and analysis, saving MSPs significant time and resources. With a consolidated view of compliance status across all clients, MSPs can quickly identify potential issues, track progress toward compliance goals, and generate customized reports for individual clients or regulatory bodies.

Conduct Assessments

Implementing a compliance program is only half the battle. MSPs require the ability to assess the effectiveness of that program. With all the documents you require organized and in one place, you can assess the gaps and make informed decisions about addressing those vulnerabilities.

Prepare for Audits

Evidence collection for audits is easier with a tracked, categorized, and readily accessible repository of information.

Scale

Because all clients share the same software instance, adding new clients and managing their compliance programs becomes easier and more efficient. This allows MSPs to grow their compliance business without proportionally increasing costs.

Ensure Security

The isolation of client data means that one client cannot view or access the data of another client. This ensures data security and privacy for all tenants and minimizes the impact of a breach, should one occur.

Reduce Liability

Liability is a four-letter word for MSPs who run compliance programs on behalf of their clients. Multi-client compliance services create clear audit trails, enforce standardized security across clients, and provide proof of due diligence and fulfillment of contractual obligations.

Revenue Generation

Multi-tenant platforms enable the delivery of consistent, reliable, and comprehensive compliance solutions that improve customer satisfaction. MSPs that leverage this software can establish themselves as trusted compliance advisors and differentiate themselves from competitors who rely on less sophisticated approaches, thus creating opportunities for revenue generation.

Compliance Scorecard: Your Multi-Client Compliance Partner

Compliance Scorecard is a multi-client GRC platform designed to empower MSPs to build recurring revenue with compliance as a service (CaaS). In addition to all the usual features of multi-tenant software, we also offer:

Policy packs: For rapid onboarding of medical, defense, financial, and health clients
Scorecards: To align and assess your compliance program with industry best practices
Repeatable processes: To enable one-click deployment and further improve efficiency
Customization Options: To tailor programs and dashboards to specific client needs
Integration with other MSP tools: For seamless workflow and data sharing
Scalability: To accommodate future growth
Professional services: To guide you from compliance novice to master

Ready to see how it works? Schedule a live demo today and discover how Compliance Scorecard can help you mitigate risk and capitalize on the growing demand for compliance services.