It’s no secret that cybersecurity expectations are skyrocketing. Businesses of all sizes are under pressure to protect sensitive data, comply with expanding regulations and defend against sophisticated threats. For IT professionals running managed service provider (MSP) businesses, rising demand is opening new doors that lead to business growth through offering Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) services.

In this blog, we’ll explore how MSPs can capitalize on the booming vCISO market by starting with smarter risk assessments. You’ll also discover how RapidFire Tools can streamline the process, helping you unlock recurring revenue faster.

What is a vCISO?

Executives are realizing that if they want their company to be successful (and profitable), they need to take security and compliance seriously. However, getting the right help can be a costly, daunting prospect. In today’s challenging economic climate, many businesses simply cannot afford to add an expensive, high-demand executive to the payroll. Enter the vCISO.

A vCISO is a cybersecurity expert who provides strategic security leadership and guidance to an organization on a part-time, remote or contract basis. It is the perfect choice for today’s businesses. Instead of taking on a major expense by hiring a full-time CISO, companies can gain access to the expertise they need to harden security and tighten compliance by choosing to employ a vCISO, creating a wealth of opportunities for MSP businesses.

Why the vCISO opportunity is exploding

Business leaders are seeing the results of not having the right security and compliance measures in place splashed across the news daily, making the need for the right help obvious. That’s why the vCISO role is a major growth area for MSP businesses. The numbers speak volumes:

• The U.S. vCISO market is growing at a 6.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
• Globally, the vCISO market is expected to expand by more than $420 million over the next seven years.

MSPs are taking notice — 75% of MSPs were projected to offer vCISO services by 2025. Your competitors are already getting in on the action. However, it’s not too late to capitalize on this trend because the accelerating global demand means there’s plenty of room to grow.

What does a vCISO actually do?

A vCISO acts as a trusted advisor, helping businesses strengthen their security posture and bolster compliance. The core functions of the role may include:

• Building and managing comprehensive security strategies
• Supporting compliance efforts across industries and frameworks
• Assessing risk and recommending security architecture improvements
• Developing essential policies (e.g., incident response, access control)
• Reporting to stakeholders and aligning IT efforts with business goals

Why MSPs hesitate (and how we can help)

Of course, expanding into vCISO services isn’t without its difficulties. Just like any other aspect of the MSP business, IT professionals need to clear a few hurdles before launching a vCISO service, including:

• Initial investment of time and resources
• Profitability and ROI concerns, especially when scaling
• Staffing limitations — how do you deliver all this with a lean team?
• Sales barriers — explaining and packaging these services can be tough
• Lack of repeatable processes and polished presentation tools

The good news? We’ve got a proven step-by-step framework to smooth the path to success.

Use this repeatable vCISO process framework

Many Kaseya partners have used this battle-tested framework to successfully launch and manage profitable vCISO programs:

• Discovery and assessment

  • Gather data via local/cloud scans or structured interviews.
  • Identify risk areas and gain full visibility into IT environments.
  • Tools to use: Network Detective Pro, Discovery Agents.

• Strategy and planning

  • Prioritize risks and develop a tailored security roadmap.
  • Align security objectives with business goals.

• Policy and program development

  • Establish key compliance documents and standards.

• Implementation support

  • Guide roadmap execution, leveraging automation and co-managed opportunities with clients.

• Monitoring and improvement

  • Continuously track compliance, measure improvements and refine strategies.

• Communication and reporting

  • Deliver clear, business-focused reports to leadership and stakeholders.

Accelerate discovery with Network Detective Pro

Discovery doesn’t have to be slow or manual. Network Detective Pro automates data collection from on-prem and cloud environments, delivering insights fast through:

• Automated scans: Quickly assess networks, endpoints and cloud assets

• Discovery agents: Lightweight and deployable via RMM tools for scalable data gathering

• Executive dashboards: Transform scan results into polished reports that business leaders understand

Turning assessments into revenue

Your assessments can quickly drive revenue when paired with the right presentation tools. With AudIT Integration, you can:

• Combine technical findings with clear business impacts

• Deliver rapid reports covering up to nine categories and 81 assessment items

Use assessments to:

• Prospect new clients with a 10-minute rapid assessment template

• Build reports manually with Q&A forms for no-scan scenarios

• Run cyberattack risk assessments with branded URLs for client-side scans

• Deliver comprehensive reports that blend verified issues with business context

Expand the offering with the Audit & Compliance Suite

Go beyond risk assessments with RapidFire Tools’ Audit & Compliance Suite:

• Leverage these features of Compliance Manager GRC:

  • Use the Risk Manager Dashboard to prioritize compliance risks

  • Rely on Compliance Monitor for real-time alignment with CIS benchmarks

  • Generate a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) to assign and track remediation tasks

• Provide evidence of compliance painlessly:

  • Integrated across the Kaseya ecosystem (e.g., BullPhish ID)

• Utilize a power pair of solutions to sniff out vulnerabilities:

  • VulScan to automatically scan for vulnerabilities

  • Vonahi vPenTest to test how a company’s defenses hold up under pressure

How to start your vCISO journey today

Ready to get started? Here’s your action plan:

• Dive into Network Detective Pro:

  • Use prospecting templates to kickstart client conversations

  • Customize audit categories and reports for specific verticals or clients

• Leverage integrated tools:

  • Connect assessments with audit, compliance and reporting features

• Automate and scale:

  • Deploy discovery agents and integrations to streamline delivery and reduce time-to-value

Final thoughts

The vCISO path isn’t just viable — it’s the next logical step for MSPs ready to level up and deliver higher-value cybersecurity services. With the right framework and tools, you can confidently step into this space, drive recurring revenue and help clients tackle today’s toughest security challenges.

Ready to get started? Schedule a session with a RapidFire Tools specialist today »