Managed Service Provider (MSP)
A managed service provider (MSP) runs IT environments continuously for multiple customers, using a standardised toolchain of monitoring, ticketing, remote administration and automation. Distinctions: a systems integrator plans and delivers projects, an MSP owns ongoing operations, and a managed security service provider (MSSP) specialises in threat detection and response. NIS2 lists both in Annex I as the separate sector of ICT service management (B2B), so MSPs are regulated in their own right, not merely suppliers to their customers.
Managed Service Provider (MSP) in practice
An MSP's business model rests on standardisation: the same operating processes, runbooks and tooling across many customers. That is where the real advantage for mid-sized organisations comes from — capabilities that would be uneconomical to build in-house. Round-the-clock security monitoring is the clearest example: a single continuously staffed position covers 168 hours a week and arithmetically needs five to six full-time staff before leave, sickness and training are counted; eight to fifteen analysts is the figure commonly cited for running an in-house SOC.
An MSSP spreads that team across many tenants. The same pooling creates a risk: administering many environments makes a provider a worthwhile target, and one compromised provider account reaches every tenant it serves. Selection criteria therefore include clean tenant separation, privileged access with time-bound approval, phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, complete logging of administrative access, and a demonstrable information security management system, usually to ISO/IEC 27001.
The regulatory position has shifted: NIS2 lists managed service providers and managed security service providers in Annex I as the sector of ICT service management (business-to-business). From 50 employees or 10 million euro annual turnover, MSPs and MSSPs therefore carry their own obligations for risk management, reporting and registration, independently of their customers. For buyers that is a substantive selection criterion — a provider that meets its own obligations can supply the corresponding evidence.