The Modern vCISO: Mastering the Art of Cybersecurity Storytelling 

As I reflect on the evolution of vCISO services over the last decade, I see familiar patterns—ones that echo my own 25+ years of experience in security leadership. At its heart, the role of a vCISO has always been about more than technology. It’s about communication: how we define risk, articulate reward, and show progress in a way that resonates with the business. 

Security communication often follows a natural arc: 

1. Awareness – Early conversations are about education. We describe risks (sometimes in stark terms) to ensure leaders understand what’s at stake.

2. Action – Awareness must lead to investment. The case is made, the budget is secured, and controls are put in place. 

3. Assurance – Once the business invests, it demands proof. Leaders want evidence that risk is reduced, that controls work, and that progress continues over time. 

This may sound straightforward. In practice, it isn’t. 

Stage 1: Awareness – Educating Beyond Fear 

Security risks are often communicated in negative terms. Even when we avoid the old “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt” playbook, we’re still describing threats, vulnerabilities, and failures. As security leaders, we can fall into the trap of being better at painting worst-case scenarios than at articulating progress. 

Real-World Example: A Retailer Runs a Resilience Simulation 

Consider a mid-sized e-commerce retailer that was growing rapidly. Its leadership, focused on sales and logistics, viewed cybersecurity as a technical “IT problem.” To reframe that perception, their vCISO led a tabletop-style simulation designed to explore how security incidents could affect business continuity. 

Rather than presenting alarming breach statistics or hypothetical ransomware horror stories, she walked the team through a structured “what if” scenario: 
What would happen if their order management and fulfillment systems were unexpectedly unavailable for 48 hours during peak holiday season? 

The exercise wasn’t about panic, it was about perspective. Together, the team mapped how such downtime would ripple through operations: delayed shipments, customer service backlogs, and missed delivery guarantees. Finance calculated potential revenue loss from even short interruptions. IT modeled recovery times based on current backup and redundancy capabilities. 

By the end, leadership saw cybersecurity not as an abstract IT risk, but as a core business resilience factor. The simulation highlighted where dependencies were fragile, where communication plans needed refinement, and where investments could be made to reduce downtime in future disruptions. 

Stage 2: Action – Securing Investment and Implementing Controls 

Once awareness is established, it must lead to action. This is where the CISO makes the case for investment, secures the necessary budget, and puts protective controls in place. It’s not just about buying new tools; it’s about building a capable, resilient security program. 

Real-World Example: A Healthcare Provider Takes Action 

Following a security assessment that highlighted critical vulnerabilities, a regional healthcare provider knew it needed to act. Their patients’ electronic protected health information (ePHI) was at risk. The CISO had successfully raised awareness, and now the board was asking, “What do we do?” 

The CISO presented a phased, three-year roadmap tied directly to business objectives. Instead of asking for a huge, one-lump sum, the plan prioritized actions based on risk. 

• Year 1: Focus on foundational controls. This included implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all clinical systems, deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) on all devices, and conducting mandatory phishing training for staff. The budget request was justified by showing how these steps would mitigate over 70% of the most likely attack vectors identified in the risk assessment. 

• Year 2: Build on the foundation. The plan called for segmenting the network to isolate critical patient data systems and investing in a security information and event management (SIEM) tool for better monitoring. 

• Year 3: Mature the program with advanced threat hunting and a more robust incident response plan. 

By breaking the problem down and linking each investment to a specific risk reduction, the CISO secured the budget. The plan provided a clear path forward, turning awareness into a concrete, funded strategy. 

Stage 3: Assurance – Telling the Story of Progress 

It’s not enough to say, “Well, we weren’t breached today.” Over time, that message loses impact. Instead, CISOs must show that controls are working, that risk is continuously managed, and that the program is evolving to meet new threats, whether from AI, quantum computing, or the next wave of regulations. 

Real-World Example: A Financial Firm Demonstrates Resilience 

A financial services firm had invested heavily in its security program over two years. The board, while supportive, started to feel like they were pouring money into a black hole. The CISO needed to demonstrate the return on their security investment, so he created a “journey narrative.” 

He used dynamic metrics to tell a story of momentum. 

• Where we were: He started with a slide showing the initial vulnerability scan from two years prior, which had over 5,000 critical vulnerabilities. He also showed the baseline phishing simulation results, where 30% of employees clicked a malicious link. 

• Where we are now: He then presented the current data. The number of critical vulnerabilities was now under 100, and were all patched within 72 hours. The latest phishing simulation had a click rate of less than 3%. He also showed a graph of blocked intrusion attempts, which had increased tenfold since the new firewall and EDR tools were deployed, not as a sign of more attacks, but as proof the new controls were working effectively. 

• Where we are going: Finally, he outlined the next six months, focusing on preparing for emerging threats related to AI-powered fraud and new financial regulations. He tied the existing capabilities to the firm’s ability to adapt to these future challenges. 

By framing the data this way, he moved from simply reporting events to telling the story of a cyber journey. He provided assurance that the program was not just a cost center but a strategic enabler of business resilience. 

The CISO as Communicator-in-Chief 

For years, CISOs have been told to “talk like the business.” That means explaining security in terms of cost, revenue, and risk/reward. It also means translating complex technical concepts into clear, accurate, and relatable narratives. 

This doesn’t require dumbing down the details. It requires storytelling—using illustrations, examples, and word pictures that connect with an executive audience.  

Make Metrics Dynamic 

As demonstrated in stage 3, the key is not just to report data points but to communicate momentum: 

• Where were we?

• Where are we now? 

• Where are we going? 

Dynamic communication turns flatline metrics into stories of progress. For example: 

• Show trends that highlight evolving risk profiles. 

• Share how today’s training prepares teams for tomorrow’s challenges. 

• Tie current capabilities in people, process, and technology to future threats and regulatory shifts. 

This is how you move from simply reporting events to telling the story of a cyber journey. 

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s this: the modern CISO must be more than a technologist. They must be a communicator-in-chief. The most fundamental skill is the ability to illustrate both risk and reward, not as isolated events, but as part of an ongoing narrative of resilience and preparedness. 

Security leadership is about movement. Yes, we must respond to incidents as they arise. But we can’t park there. We must always bring the business back to the bigger picture: “This is where we were. This is where we are. This is where we’re going.” 

That, in my experience, is the real secret sauce of the vCISO role.

Cybersecurity has become one of the most significant growth opportunities for MSPs, AND one of the hardest to deliver profitably. Clients expect strategic guidance, measurable risk reduction, and compliance leadership, not just protection. To meet that demand, many MSPs are expanding into services like vCISO services, compliance advisory, and third-party risk programs. Yet, while demand continues to rise, profitability hasn’t kept pace.

Margins continue to shrink as MSPs face rising delivery costs, a shortage of skilled cybersecurity talent, and pressure to offer enterprise-level expertise at fixed prices. Many still rely on manual workflows, disconnected tools, and one-off client projects that make it hard to scale efficiently. Each new engagement demands more time, more people, and higher costs, eroding profitability and limiting growth.

The numbers tell the story. According to the 2025 State of the vCISO report, 79% of MSPs and MSSPs report strong demand for vCISO services, but 35% say profitability is their top concern. The culprit is clear: without automation and structure, even the most valuable cybersecurity services become slow, inconsistent, and expensive to deliver.

Cynomi changes that equation in two powerful ways:

1. It increases margins by making cybersecurity delivery dramatically more efficient. 
2. It expands revenue by enabling MSPs to offer advanced, recurring cybersecurity services without adding headcount.

The result is a scalable, profitable cybersecurity practice that delivers expert-level service without draining internal resources.

The Efficiency Challenge: Manual Work Hurts Margins

Too many MSPs are still relying on outdated, manual workflows, including spreadsheets, Word docs, endless emails, and a mess of disconnected tools. It’s a model built on effort, not efficiency. 

The State of the Virtual CISO 2023 Report outlines several recurring responsibilities for service providers, along with estimated time requirements for completing each task manually. 

These include:

Multiply that by just a few clients, and your team’s buried in time-consuming work. 

Cynomi flips the script, streamlining the entire cybersecurity process so you can deliver more, faster, with fewer resources.

Cynomi: Purpose-Built for MSP Profitability

Cynomi was designed with one goal in mind: to help MSPs turn cybersecurity into a high-margin, scalable service. It achieves this through automation and standardization.

Automating Delivery: Do More with Less

Cynomi removes the manual overhead from cybersecurity delivery. Its AI-powered vCISO platform automates repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up your team to focus on higher-value strategy and client engagement.

Partners report up to a 70% reduction in manual work, translating to faster turnaround times, lower costs, and better margins.

With Cynomi, you can:

• Automate client onboarding and risk assessments with guided, intelligent workflows
• Instantly generate policies tailored to each client’s size, industry, and compliance needs
• Create risk-based remediation plans with prioritized tasks and timelines
• Monitor compliance in real time across frameworks like NIST, ISO, and HIPAA
• Produce client-branded, board-ready reports with just a few clicks

As Chad Robinson, CISO and VP of Advisory at Secure Cyber Defense, put it: “Cynomi transformed our client discovery process. What used to take weeks now takes just four hours. It streamlined our vCISO practice, allowing us to focus on meaningful security improvements.”

Want to see the impact for yourself? Use the ROI calculator in The Service Provider’s Guide to Automating Cybersecurity and Compliance Management.

Standardized and Guided Services: Deliver Consistently at Scale

Automation is only part of the equation. Cynomi also brings structure and consistency to your cybersecurity services.

With built-in frameworks, templates, and CISO-level guidance, Cynomi acts as your CISO copilot, ensuring every client gets a consistent, high-quality experience, whether the work is done by a seasoned expert or a junior team member.

Cynomi helps you:

• Apply a consistent, repeatable process across all clients for scalable, high-quality cybersecurity service delivery
• Equip junior team members to deliver like senior-level experts
• Reduce variability in output and increase service quality
• Ensure alignment with industry standards and compliance frameworks

As John Matis, Practice Leader of CISO Advisory Services at DeepSeas, shared: “We’ve been able to standardize the practice while still maintaining a high level of flexibility across our different customers.”

Standardization creates predictability in quality, time, and cost. And that’s the key to scaling without adding more headcount.

From Efficiency to Growth

Cynomi doesn’t just increase efficiency and expand margins, it creates a foundation for sustainable, scalable growth. With streamlined, repeatable delivery in place, you can shift focus from execution to expansion, growing your service portfolio, building stronger client relationships, and driving recurring revenue.

Unlocking Revenue: Expanding Cybersecurity Offerings with Cynomi

Once delivery is optimized, Cynomi enables MSPs to expand into new, high-value services. The platform not only supports entirely new cybersecurity offerings but also helps you identify and capture upsell opportunities within existing accounts, turning service delivery into a consistent source of expansion and recurring revenue.

With Cynomi, you can introduce new, high-value services such as:

• vCISO-as-a-Service
• Compliance Management
• Risk Management
• Third Party Risk Management

These offerings open new revenue streams and position your firm as a true strategic partner, not just another technical vendor.

Cynomi also makes upselling easier. With the built-in Solution Showcase, you can:

• Identify and recommend additional services that align with client goals
• Turn security insights into actionable business opportunities
• Strengthen strategic relationships by proactively guiding clients toward improvement
• Position themselves as trusted advisors who drive resilience, not just protection

See Cynomi’s Solution Showcase in action.

Proven Results: Real MSP Growth and Profitability

Cynomi is helping MSPs transform their cybersecurity services into scalable, high-margin growth engines. 

ECI: Increased Margins by 30% and Cut Assessment Times in Half

ECI, a leading MSP and MSSP, adopted Cynomi to modernize and scale its vCISO and GRC services. By automating assessments, policy development, and reporting, the company reduced manual effort across engagements and gained significant delivery efficiencies.

“Cynomi has transformed how we deliver vCISO services. It’s easy to use, allows us to serve more clients with fewer resources, and has had a direct impact on our profitability. We’ve significantly reduced time spent on assessments and increased our margins, all while delivering a high-quality service.”
– Chad Fullerton, Vice President of Information Security, ECI

With Cynomi as the backbone of its cybersecurity offering, ECI increased service margins by 30% while improving scalability and client satisfaction.

Read more about ECI’s story here.

Burwood Group: Driving 50 Percent More Upsell Conversions

Burwood used Cynomi to launch a two-day Cyber Risk Workshop, replacing manual workflows with structured, automated assessments. This approach cut delivery time from five days to two and positioned Burwood to drive strategic conversations with clients. Built-in frameworks, automated reporting, and standardized workflows enabled them to scale services while maintaining high margins.

The impact: over 50% of assessments now convert to vCISO contracts, unlocking recurring revenue and strengthening client relationships.

“Our risk assessments are the first step in an ongoing client relationship, both for our cybersecurity and other professional services practices, and over 50% of those clients convert to vCISO. It’s been a game changer – creating a clear, scalable path to grow our practice, all powered by Cynomi.” – Thomas Bergman, Sr. Cybersecurity Consultant, Burwood

Together, these success stories demonstrate the power of Cynomi as the foundation for a modern cybersecurity practice, one that scales efficiently, operates profitably, and grows strategically.

Read more about Burwood Group’s story here.

High Margins Are Within Reach

Cynomi helps MSPs break out of the manual delivery trap and build a cybersecurity practice that scales.

By combining automation, standardization, and built-in CISO expertise, Cynomi helps you streamline operations, reduce manual work, and consistently deliver expert-level service, without adding resources. This operational efficiency lays the groundwork for profitable growth and long-term client value.

Cynomi enables MSPs to:

• Streamline service delivery and improve profitability
• Deliver consistent, high-quality cybersecurity outcomes at scale
• Launch and grow recurring revenue streams without expanding your team
• Strengthen client relationships and position your business as a strategic partner

Schedule a demo to learn more.

Cybersecurity and compliance demands are growing faster than most service providers can keep up. MSPs and MSSPs are expected to deliver comprehensive services while also scaling efficiently, maintaining quality, and controlling costs.

But scaling presents significant challenges. Manual assessments, fragmented tools, and inconsistent processes lead to wasted time, duplicated effort, and missed risks. Managing multiple compliance frameworks adds complexity, as each has its own controls and documentation. Third-party risk assessments and rising client expectations stretch already limited teams. Meanwhile, providers must still prove value, retain clients, and compete in a crowded market.

Cynomi was built for service providers facing these exact challenges. It addresses the complexity of scaling cybersecurity and compliance by unifying cybersecurity, compliance, and risk management into one purpose-built platform. With Cynomi, MSPs and MSSPs can overcome resource constraints, streamline and standardize delivery, and clearly demonstrate value to every client at scale.

Overview: The Cynomi Platform

What is Cynomi

Cynomi is the first AI-powered vCISO platform built for service providers. Acting as a central cybersecurity and compliance management hub, it automates assessments, generates tailored policies and remediation plans, and provides real-time dashboards and task management for tracking progress. With guided workflows infused with CISO expertise, Cynomi enables teams to deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes across clients while improving margins and scalability.

Key Platform Pillars

• Unified Cybersecurity and Compliance: Cybersecurity and compliance are combined into a unified workflow, so that every security action automatically doubles as a compliance measure, maximizing efficiency and eliminating duplicate work.
• Built-In CISO Expertise That Scales: CISO-level knowledge and insights are embedded directly into automated workflows, empowering even junior staff to deliver expert-level security services.
• AI-Powered Intelligence to Automate, Customize, and Scale: Cynomi uses AI to assess risks, generate insights, and deliver recommendations rapidly, enhancing service efficiency and scalability.
• Ready to Use, Fully Tailored: Cynomi comes pre-configured for immediate use, yet automatically builds a unique cyber profile for each client. This saves setup time while ensuring every action is relevant and customized.
• Fully Connected Workflows: Every component in Cynomi’s platform—assessments, risk scores, tasks, remediation plans, policies, and controls—is connected in one seamless flow to ensure consistency, save time, and demonstrate progress.
• Instant Deployment: The platform automates security and compliance management with no manual hassle, working seamlessly from day one.

Who It’s For

Cynomi is built for MSPs, MSSPs, cyber consultancies, and service providers that need to scale security, risk, and compliance services without adding headcount or complexity. With multitenancy, centralized management, and repeatable workflows, it enables providers to manage multiple clients efficiently, deliver continuous oversight, accelerate onboarding, demonstrate value, and expand service offerings, all while reducing the time and effort typically required by manual processes.

Core Platform Capabilities & Use Cases

Cynomi translates cybersecurity complexity into structured, scalable services that deliver real value. From vCISO programs to compliance automation and third-party risk, each capability is purpose-built to solve the day-to-day challenges MSPs and MSSPs face.

Below is a quick overview of Cynomi’s core capabilities. 

How Cynomi Works: Process Flow

Cynomi streamlines cybersecurity, compliance, and risk management into a repeatable, end-to-end workflow. From initial assessments through planning, implementation, and continuous tracking, the platform provides a structured journey that simplifies operations, reduces manual effort, and delivers measurable value at every stage. Book a demo here to see Cynomi in action.

Assess and Identify

• Speed up client discovery and onboarding with guided, interactive risk assessment questionnaires
• Seamlessly integrate results from third-party scanners or run Cynomi’s built-in scanner
• Automatically generate a centralized risk register and interactive heatmap that unifies internal and third-party risk in one place
• Send security questionnaires to vendors and track responses with built-in workflows
• Instantly analyze overall security posture, identify gaps, and set goals

Cynomi’s Assessments Dashboard provides a central hub to launch and track cybersecurity assessments across all security domains.

Cynomi’s Risk Management Overview provides a clear view of risks, tolerance levels, and treatment plans to guide security decision-making.

Establish and Plan

• Auto-generate client-specific security and compliance policies tailored to industry, size, and needs
• Generate a unified risk and compliance action plan with prioritized remediation tasks
• Evaluate vendor documentation, such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, to calculate standardized risk scores
• Categorize vendors into clear risk levels based on impact × likelihood for easier prioritization
• Align cybersecurity programs to client business goals with interactive, streamlined Business Impact Analysis and Business Continuity Planning

Cynomi’s Tasks dashboard displays security tasks with status, severity, impact score, and ownership to streamline remediation and accountability.

Cynomi’s Compliance Overview dashboard tracks alignment with multiple frameworks, showing control status, security functions, and maturity scores at a glance.

Optimize and Track Progress

• Gain full visibility and manage all tasks from a single centralized dashboard
• Continuously track improvements to security posture, compliance readiness, and vendor risk levels
• Visualize internal and external risks with interactive heatmaps 
• Export custom-branded, board-ready reports to demonstrate progress and value at any stage
• Highlight top risks across all vendors and clients to support strategic decision-making
• Expand services, identify upsell opportunities, and deliver recurring value that drives long-term client relationships

Cynomi’s Main Dashboard provides a real-time view of security posture, compliance status, risk analysis, attack surface, and task progress in one place.

Cynomi’s Solutions Overview dashboard highlights potential areas for improvement across client environments, showing solution adoption opportunities and policy alignment to support meaningful upsell conversations.

Cynomi Benefits & Outcomes

Cynomi is designed to deliver measurable business impact for MSPs, MSSPs, and their clients. By automating manual tasks, unifying workflows, and embedding CISO-level expertise, the platform doesn’t just simplify cybersecurity and compliance, it drives efficiency, profitability, and long-term client growth.

• Efficiency gains: Eliminate manual spreadsheets and fragmented tools with faster, automated assessments and centralized workflows, freeing staff to focus on higher-value work. Many providers have successfully cut assessment times by up to 60%.
• Cost savings and improved margins: Scale services across more clients without adding resources, reducing costs and boosting profitability. For example, one Cynomi partner scaled to 100+ clients without scaling headcount at the same pace.
• Audit and compliance readiness: Stay continuously aligned with regulatory frameworks, keep evidence organized and audit-ready, and dramatically reduce preparation time. Many Cynomi partners use Cynomi as the backbone of their GRC services, leveraging its dashboards to simplify assessments, improve executive reporting, and deliver clear, compliance-driven insights to every client.
• Client trust and satisfaction: Use visual dashboards and branded reports to clearly demonstrate progress, strengthen relationships, and increase retention. Cynomi partners report higher retention and stronger executive engagement when using Cynomi in client conversations.
• New revenue opportunities: Turn assessments into recurring, high-value services such as strategic security, compliance, and risk management. For example, one Cynomi partner saw 50% of assessments convert into ongoing vCISO engagements.
• Consistency and standardization: Deliver repeatable, reliable outcomes across all clients with unified workflows that ensure quality at scale. Many Cynomi partners report that guided workflows empower junior staff to handle high-level assessments, allowing senior leaders to focus on strategic growth.

Case Studies

Here are some examples of how MSPs and MSSPs use Cynomi to scale smarter, operate more efficiently, and deliver stronger client outcomes. 

“Our risk assessments are the first step in an ongoing client relationship … over 50 % of those clients convert to virtual CISO services. It’s been a game changer — creating a clear, scalable path to grow our practice, all powered by Cynomi.” — Thomas Bergman, Senior Cybersecurity Consultant, Burwood

Explore more partner success stories here.

Delivering Real Value: The Cynomi Advantage for Service Providers

Cybersecurity has become a continuous, business-critical responsibility that MSPs and MSSPs must deliver with consistency, speed, and scale. Cynomi makes this possible by unifying vCISO services, risk management, compliance automation, and third-party risk into one AI-powered platform.

By simplifying complexity, automating manual effort, and embedding CISO-level expertise into every workflow, Cynomi helps service providers reduce operational burden, increase efficiency, and deliver measurable value across every client engagement.

Whether your goal is to expand vCISO services, streamline compliance management, or strengthen client risk management, Cynomi provides the foundation to scale smarter, stand out, and drive long-term growth.

Explore how Cynomi can help you grow your cybersecurity services. Book a demo here.

“Nothing happened.”  

For a cybersecurity provider, those two words should signal a resounding success. An attack was thwarted, a data breach was prevented, and business continued uninterrupted. Yet, for the client, “nothing happened” can feel like paying for a service that does nothing. This is the central paradox for MSPs and MSSPs: most of your greatest successes are invisible.  

When the phone doesn’t ring with a crisis, you’ve done your job. But how do you demonstrate the value of a non-event? How do you prove that your vigilance, technology, and expertise are the reasons for the quiet, not just a lack of threats?  

Many providers struggle to answer these questions. They get caught in a cycle of defending their invoices, trying to justify their existence with technical jargon that leaves clients confused and unconvinced. This disconnect creates churn, puts downward pressure on pricing, and makes it difficult to grow.  

This blog post examines why proving cybersecurity value is challenging and provides concrete, business-focused strategies to bridge the communication gap. We’ll show you how to shift the conversation from cost to value, turning invisible wins into tangible business benefits.  

The Core Challenge: Selling an Intangible  

The fundamental problem is that you sell an outcome that is difficult to see and quantify. Unlike an IT project that results in a new server or a software rollout, effective cybersecurity should result in the absence of disaster. This creates several specific pain points for providers.  

The Success Paradox  

Your team works around the clock, updating firewalls, patching vulnerabilities, and neutralizing threats before they can do harm. The client sees none of this. They only see the monthly bill. This creates a dangerous perception gap. Without a crisis to validate your service, clients may begin to wonder if the threat was ever real or if their investment is essential. 

The Language Barrier: Geeks vs. Suits  

Cybersecurity is an intensely technical field. Your team lives and breathes acronyms like EDR, SIEM, and SOAR. They discuss threat vectors, attack surfaces, and zero-day exploits. Your client stakeholders who sign the checks, however, are typically business leaders. They speak the language of ROI, EBITDA, and operational efficiency.  

When you try to prove value by presenting a report filled with “5.2 million packets blocked” or “3,487 phishing emails quarantined,” their eyes glaze over. These metrics are meaningless without business context. It’s like a mechanic telling a car owner about the precise torque settings they used, when all the owner wants to know is if the car is safe to drive.  

The Problem of Proving a Negative  

How do you prove a breach would have occurred without your intervention? You can’t A/B test a client’s security. This makes it challenging to establish a direct, causal link between your services and their ongoing operational stability. You know that a single blocked ransomware attempt saved them millions, but proving that hypothetical scenario is a significant communication hurdle. The result is that your service can feel like an insurance policy people are reluctant to pay for until after their house has already burned down.  

Watch our on-demand webinar, Transform Cybersecurity Conversations: 10 Steps to Gain Client Buy-In Without Selling, to learn strategies to reduce resistance, gain trust, and position cybersecurity as an essential client investment. 

From Invisible Expense to Invaluable Partner: How to Fix It  

Overcoming these challenges requires a strategic shift. You must move from being a technical vendor to a strategic business partner. This involves understanding your audience, communicating in business language, reframing your value proposition, and making your invisible work visible.  

Know Your Audience 

To demonstrate your value, you first need to understand who you’re talking to. Unlike IT roles that primarily interact with company staff on technical issues, successful security service providers communicate extensively with their clients’ key stakeholders and executive management.  

This involves conveying complex cybersecurity issues in a manner that is understandable to non-technical audiences. During client onboarding, it’s crucial to understand both the organization and the communication preferences of its executives. Determine what information they need and how they prefer to receive it. 

When communicating with executives and board members, focus on the big picture, encompassing business impact, reputation risk, financial implications, and regulatory and compliance considerations. They prefer concise, high-level summaries with clear progress and recommendations. It’s important to adapt your approach to the audience. A CFO may be more financially and insurance motivated, while a CEO may want to hear more about the security impact on business services, longevity, and revenue protection. 

Learn more about how to tailor your communication to different stakeholders in our vCISO Academy course: Thinking and Communicating Like a CISO. 

Translate Technical Metrics into Business Impact  

The most critical step is to connect your security activities to tangible business impact. Stop reporting on what you did and start reporting on what it means for the client. Frame achievements in terms of cost savings, risk reduction, and operational continuity. For example: 

• Vulnerability Management: “We patched 15 critical vulnerabilities this month. Preventing just one breach could have saved an estimated $1.2M in recovery costs, regulatory fines, and downtime (averaging 21 days).” 

• Business Impact Analysis: Instead of “completed a BIA report,” say, “identified critical business functions and reduced potential downtime by 40%, ensuring continuity during disruptions.” 

• Continuity Planning: Replace “created a business continuity plan” with “developed a recovery strategy that minimizes downtime to under two hours, reducing potential revenue loss by $100,000 per incident.” 

• Disaster Recovery Testing: Rather than “conducted annual disaster recovery test,” say, “validated the ability to recover 100% of critical systems within four hours, ensuring uninterrupted customer service.” 

• Risk Mitigation: Instead of “assessed risks for key departments,” communicate, “prioritized mitigation strategies for high-risk areas, reducing potential financial impact by 60% during a disaster.” 

• Third-Party Risks: Replace “evaluated vendor risks” with “ensured 95% of key suppliers have business continuity plans, reducing supply chain disruption risks by 70%.” 

Implement Executive-Level Reporting  

Executives don’t need technical logs, they need actionable insights that are concise, focused, and directly tied to business outcomes. As an MSP, your ability to present security reports in a way that resonates with decision-makers is key to demonstrating value and building trust. 

Here’s how to structure an impactful executive report: 

• Security Posture Score: Use a simple, color-coded system (e.g., green, yellow, red) to summarize the client’s overall security status. Show how your efforts have improved this score over time with clear before-and-after comparisons. This visual, straightforward metric enables executives to quickly grasp their current position. 

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Focus on high-level metrics that don’t just show what you’ve done, but why it matters to their business objectives. Highlight progress in areas such as:
  • Risk reduction and its tangible business impact 
  • Business continuity and resilience improvements
  • Incident response rates and time-to-remediation
  • Compliance status
  • Vendor risk management progress 

• Benchmarking: Provide industry comparisons to give context to their security posture. Demonstrate how they compare to peers and competitors, highlighting areas where they excel. 

• Strategic Recommendations: Offer targeted, business-aligned priorities with clear next steps. Use language that connects security to their goals. For example:
  • “To support your European market expansion, we recommend implementing X to ensure GDPR compliance.”
  • “To reduce downtime risk during peak sales periods, we suggest enhancing Y with Z technology.” 

This approach makes your recommendations actionable and relevant to their strategy AND positions you as a strategic partner invested in their success. 

For more resources on executive and board-level reporting, check out: 

• Translating Tech to Strategy: Showing Security’s Business Value in the Boardroom 

• Taking the Pain Out of Cybersecurity Reporting: The Guide to Mastering vCISO Reports 

• Cynomi vCISO Academy: How to create effective reports  

Conduct Regular Strategic Business Reviews (SBRs)  

A monthly PDF report is not enough. You need face-to-face (or video) time with decision-makers. Schedule quarterly Strategic Business Reviews that are not about technical minutiae but about the intersection of security and business strategy.  

Use this time to:  

• Review business goals: Start by asking about their business. Are they launching a new product? Entering a new market? Hiring rapidly?  

• Align security with their goals: Connect your security roadmap directly to their business objectives. Show them how your services enable, rather than hinder, their growth.  

• Tell stories: Humans connect with stories, not data points. Share a sanitized story of how you stopped an attack for another client (without naming them). For example, “Last month, a similar company in your industry was targeted by a ransomware group. Here’s how the attack unfolded and how our systems stopped it at stage two. Your own systems blocked the same threat, protecting you from what could have been a major disruption.”  

• Simulate an incident: Run a tabletop exercise. Walk them through a hypothetical breach scenario and show them, step by step, how your team would respond. This makes the threat real and your value undeniable.  

Monetize Your Value  

Whenever possible, attach a dollar figure to your services. This is the most powerful way to speak a business leader’s language. Use industry-standard data to build a value calculator.  

Key data points to use include:  

• Average cost of a data breach: Use figures from reputable sources, segmented by industry and company size.  

• Cost of downtime: Work with the client to calculate their revenue per hour to make this figure specific and impactful.  

• Cost of non-compliance: Research the fines associated with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA.  

When presenting your SBR, include a slide that says, “Estimated ROI on Security Investment.” Show them the total cost of your service versus the estimated value of the disasters you helped them avoid. Even if the numbers are estimates, they can provide a powerful financial justification for your partnership.  

Shifting from Defense to Offense  

Struggling to prove your value puts you in a constant defensive posture, always justifying your cost. By reframing the conversation around business risk, impact, and ROI, you go on the offensive. You stop being the “IT security guys” and become the strategic partner who protects revenue, enables growth, and ensures business resilience.  

When your client understands that the quiet is a direct result of your expert work (and that the value of that quiet is measured in the millions), your invoice is no longer an expense. It’s one of the best investments they can make.  

Unlocking Value with Cynomi’s Reporting Features  

To demonstrate your value quickly and seamlessly, utilize automated tools like Cynomi that simplify the reporting process, allowing you to spend less time on formatting and more time advising. Cynomi’s dynamic dashboards transform complex cybersecurity activity into clear, business-focused reports your clients will instantly grasp. 

Key features include: 

• Executive-Level Summaries: Deliver non-technical, visually engaging reports highlighting progress, risk reduction, and compliance achievements. 

• Industry Benchmarking: Show clients how their security stacks up, positioning your services as essential. 

• Actionable Roadmaps: Provide prioritized recommendations and transparent views of ongoing work, reinforcing your role as a strategic advisor. 

By automating your client communications with Cynomi’s reporting, you’ll bridge the gap between technical performance and business outcomes, proving your indispensable value in every conversation. 

Book a demo to learn more about Cynomi’s reporting features.

In today’s competitive cybersecurity landscape, managed service providers (MSPs) are under constant pressure to scale their offerings, deepen client relationships, and increase recurring revenue. But delivering more services alone doesn’t guarantee growth. To truly expand, MSPs must adopt a model that provides ongoing, measurable value while maintaining efficient operations.

Risk-based cybersecurity is the foundation for that model. By focusing on a client’s risk posture rather than just technical fixes, MSPs can shift from reactive engagements to proactive, strategic partnerships. The result? More consistent service delivery, better client retention, and higher-margin opportunities.

This blog explores how risk-based cybersecurity drives scalable growth for MSPs, why AI-powered platforms are essential for delivering it efficiently, what features to look for in a modern platform, and how Cynomi helps MSPs consistently deliver high-impact services and build stronger client relationships. To dive deeper into specific tactics and tools, read our full MSP Growth Guide: How MSPs Use AI-Powered Risk Management to Scale Their Cybersecurity Programs.

Why Risk-Based Cybersecurity Drives Growth

Many MSPs provide critical cybersecurity services—from firewall management to compliance support. However, these services often focus on isolated issues or one-time needs, which can limit opportunities for recurring revenue and long-term client engagement.

A risk-based approach changes that. Rather than focusing solely on tools or technical tasks, it enables MSPs to take a broader view of the client’s overall risk landscape. This allows providers to align cybersecurity efforts with business objectives and deliver outcomes that matter at the leadership level.

By identifying and prioritizing the most pressing risks, MSPs deliver more relevant, business-aligned protection. Clients benefit from improved resilience, while MSPs unlock new opportunities to offer recurring services, align with compliance mandates, and position themselves as trusted advisors.

When MSPs adopt a risk-first model, they:

• Shift from reactive fixes to proactive planning
• Move from one-off projects to ongoing engagements
• Present cybersecurity in business terms, not just technical language
• Unlock new revenue by identifying additional services based on risk gaps

Learn more about the fundamentals and methodologies of risk management in our latest vCISO Academy course.

From Strategy to Scale: Six Risk Management Challenges AI Solves for MSPs

Risk-based service models offer major advantages, but executing them manually is slow and inconsistent. That’s where AI-powered risk management platforms come in. They automate the most complex and time-consuming parts of risk management, enabling MSPs to scale efficiently without compromising quality.

Here are six core obstacles MSPs face in delivering risk-based cybersecurity and what to look for in a platform to overcome them:

1. Manual, Time-Consuming Risk Assessments: Manual assessments take too long and delay client value. 
   • What to Look For: Automated workflows that deliver prioritized results quickly.
2. Unclear Remediation Plans: Many MSPs struggle to turn assessment results into clear, prioritized action. 
   • What to Look For: Structured, task-based plans aligned with business needs and compliance goals.
3. Proving Value to Clients: Business leaders don’t speak in technical jargon. 
   • What to Look For: Reports that translate technical risk into clear business impact.
4. Staying Compliant: Aligning risk management with compliance frameworks is a labor-intensive process 
   • What to Look For: Built-in automation that maps risks to frameworks.
5. Limited Cyber Talent: Skilled cybersecurity experts are scarce. 
   • What to Look For: Platforms that embed virtual CISO-level expertise into every assessment, enabling consistent, expert-quality service delivery at scale without increasing headcount.
6. Unmanaged Third-Party Risk: Vendor and partner risks are often overlooked, creating vulnerabilities and compliance gaps.
   • What to Look For: Centralized assessments that automate scoring and integrate third-party risks into overall security programs.

Choosing the Right AI-Powered Risk Management Platform

To scale cybersecurity services effectively, MSPs need a platform that performs core risk management functions, such as assessment, remediation planning, and compliance mapping, while also streamlining operations, simplifying reporting, and uncovering upsell opportunities. 

Key features to look out for include:

• Automated Risk Assessments: Deliver faster results with fewer resources
• Dynamic Risk Registers: Prioritize threats using heatmaps and scoring
• Actionable Remediation Plans: Turn insights into business-aligned action
• Customizable Risk Tolerances: Adapt to each client’s goals and appetite for risk
• Compliance Mapping: Link tasks directly to frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST, SOC 2
• Integrated Workflows: Connect with existing tools to eliminate manual handoffs
• Third-Party Risk Management: Identify and score vendor risks to strengthen overall security and compliance
• Executive Reporting: Communicate in operational and financial terms

With these capabilities, MSPs can move faster, deliver more value, and confidently grow their client base. For more detailed information on how to choose the right Risk Management Platform, read our MSP Growth Guide: How MSPs Use AI-Powered Risk Management to Scale Their Cybersecurity Programs.

How Cynomi Powers MSP Growth

Cynomi is an AI-powered risk management platform purpose-built for MSPs and MSSPs. It combines automation, embedded expertise, and business-aligned reporting to help providers scale efficiently and deliver exceptional results.

With Cynomi, MSPs can:

• Run AI-guided risk assessments in minutes
• Import technical scan data and translate it into clear business impact
• Generate auto-mapped risk registers and compliance-aligned remediation plans
• Track posture changes over time with continuous monitoring
• Manage third-party risks with centralized, automated assessments and scoring
• Produce branded, executive-ready reports that resonate with decision-makers

Customer Spotlight: How CompassMSP Modernized Risk Management with Cynomi

CompassMSP adopted Cynomi to modernize its risk management services and streamline delivery. By replacing spreadsheets with dynamic tools, they now:

• Close deals 5x faster using Cynomi dashboard and risk scores during client meetings
• Run guided, multi-framework assessments effortlessly
• Ingest scan data from tools like Microsoft 365 Secure Score
• Deliver visual risk registers with heatmaps and clear prioritization
• Align every action with client risk tolerance and compliance goals

According to Jim Ambrosini, Director of Cyber Advisory Services, “One of my favorite pieces of Cynomi is the risk register. Risk is the language of executives and using that tool to deliver a risk report, we can track and manage risk to the appropriate tolerance of the organization.”

Unlock Scalable Growth with AI-Powered Risk Management

For MSPs ready to scale, risk-based cybersecurity is the model and AI is the engine. With the right platform, you can streamline operations, deliver greater value, and strengthen every client relationship.

Explore how AI-powered risk management helps MSPs like yours grow smarter, faster, and with more impact in our MSP Growth Guide: How MSPs Use AI-Powered Risk Management to Scale Their Cybersecurity Programs. 

To learn more about Cynomi, visit www.cynomi.com.

MSPs and MSSPs are at the forefront of protecting businesses from cyber threats. However, they face a critical challenge: the growing cyber skills gap. The demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has skyrocketed, but the supply simply hasn’t kept pace. ISC²’s 2024 Workforce Study reports a global shortage of about 4.8 million cybersecurity workers. But the problem doesn’t end there. It’s not just the shortage of labor, but also the shortage of the right talent that can leave cybersecurity teams overstretched, clients at risk, and businesses struggling to find the expertise they need to stay secure.  

To thrive in this environment, MSPs must proactively address the talent gap and get creative. This blog explores why the cyber skill gap exists, the risks of ignoring it, and actionable steps MSPs can take to overcome this challenge. 

Why is there a cyber skills gap? 

The cybersecurity talent gap stems from several critical factors, making it increasingly difficult for service providers to hire and retain skilled professionals. Understanding these challenges is key to addressing them effectively. 

The Critical Need for Specialized Cybersecurity Skills 

A 2025 global study from SANS and GIAC revealed that 52% of cybersecurity leaders say the real issue is not the number of people but a lack of the right people with the right skills. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, attack surfaces expand, and technology evolves, cybersecurity professionals must possess a diverse and ever-evolving skillset, including expertise in network security, cloud environments, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, and compliance frameworks.  

The same study highlighted a significant shift in hiring priorities. Technical capability now ranks as the top criterion for candidates, surpassing work experience. Notably, certifications have become the second most important qualification during the hiring process. 

This creates a moving target for recruiters, as the qualifications needed today may shift tomorrow. Finding candidates who possess the right mix of technical skills and adaptability can be a significant hurdle for MSPs. 

2025 Cybersecurity Workforce Research Report by SANS | GIAC 

Security Professionals Are Expensive and Hard to Find 

The ongoing shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals has significantly increased competition for talent. As demand rises, so do salaries, making it difficult for MSPs, particularly smaller providers, to attract and retain the expertise needed to deliver comprehensive security services. This talent gap can lead to higher operational costs, delays in service delivery, and added pressure on existing teams, ultimately impacting the quality and scalability of cybersecurity offerings. 

Big Companies Attract Top Talent 

Tech giants and large enterprises often have the resources to offer enticing salaries, generous benefits, and high-profile career opportunities. These factors make it difficult for MSPs to compete for top-tier cybersecurity talent. Skilled professionals are often drawn to the prestige and financial security of working for major corporations, leaving small to mid-sized MSPs with fewer options when it comes to hiring experienced staff. 

The Burnout Factor 

The cybersecurity field is notorious for its high-pressure environment. Professionals are often tasked with protecting critical systems under tight deadlines, responding to incidents, and staying up to date on the latest threat vectors and regulatory changes. This intense workload can lead to burnout, causing frequent turnover and creating a revolving door of talent. For MSPs, this means not only struggling to fill open roles but also dealing with the ongoing challenge of retaining their existing team members. 

What are the risks of ignoring the shortage? 

Failing to address the cyber skills shortage can have serious consequences for MSPs, their clients, and their overall growth potential. These risks include: 

• Overstretched Teams: When staffing is insufficient, existing team members may be forced to take on more work, increasing the likelihood of mistakes, reduced efficiency, which can eventually lead to employee burnout. 

• Missed Growth Opportunities: Limited staffing capacity can prevent MSPs from taking on new clients or expanding their service offerings. This hinders business growth and leaves money on the table. 

• Erosion of Client Trust and Business Loss: A shortage of skilled professionals could compromise an MSP’s capacity to deliver high-quality cybersecurity services. The inability to adequately protect client environments can lead to security incidents, resulting in significant loss of client trust, reputational damage, and client churn. 

To avoid these outcomes, MSPs must take proactive steps to address the talent gap and build resilient teams capable of meeting the demands of modern cybersecurity. 

5 Strategies to Overcome the Cyber Skills Gap 

Addressing the cyber skills gap requires a multifaceted approach (and a little creativity) that taps a good balance of investing in people and adopting platforms and processes that let MSPs scale their expertise efficiently.  

Here are five strategies MSPs can implement to close the gap and strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities: 

1. Leverage Automation and AI 

Automation and AI tools can dramatically lighten the load on cybersecurity teams by streamlining repetitive tasks, eliminating inefficiencies, and enabling consistency across clients. By adopting AI-powered cybersecurity tools, service providers can operationalize best practices and do more with their existing team, reducing the pressure to find senior-level talent. 

Learn how to leverage automation to improve workflows and grow your business in The Service Provider’s Guide to Automating Cybersecurity and Compliance Management. 

2. Standardize Service Delivery with a vCISO Services 

Beyond task automation, implementing a comprehensive vCISO platform like Cynomi provides a structured vCISO services framework that standardizes your entire cybersecurity and compliance portfolio and workflow. With Cynomi’s “CISO Copilot” guiding every action, junior-level staff can confidently execute complex cybersecurity and compliance tasks, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery. This reduces reliance on senior-level talent for day-to-day operations and frees them up to focus on strategic initiatives.  

3. Invest in Training and Development 

Upskilling the existing workforce is one of the most effective ways to address the talent shortage. MSPs should offer ongoing training and support employees in pursuing certification programs to ensure their team members stay ahead of emerging threats and technologies. Certifications such as CompTIA Security+, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) are highly valuable in the cybersecurity field. In addition to formal training, MSPs can establish mentorship programs, pairing experienced team members with newer employees to accelerate skill development. By prioritizing education and growth, MSPs can build a highly skilled team from within. 

Cynomi’s vCISO Academy is a free, professional learning platform that can further support this effort by equipping team members with structured, CISO-level knowledge and practical skills. 

4. Build a Strong Company Culture 

There is a relatively high voluntary employee turnover rate in the cybersecurity industry, so maintaining a positive and supportive company culture is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. MSPs should strive to create an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to grow. This starts with fostering open communication, encouraging collaboration, and recognizing individual contributions. Employees who feel connected to their workplace and aligned with its mission are far more likely to remain loyal, reducing turnover and building a more stable team. MSPs should continuously monitor turnover rates within their cybersecurity teams to better understand employee retention and attrition trends. 

5. Showcase Career Growth Opportunities 

Cybersecurity professionals are often ambitious and driven to advance their careers. MSPs can appeal to this mindset by clearly outlining career progression paths within the organization. For instance, an entry-level analyst might have the opportunity to grow into roles such as security engineer, incident responder, or even vCISO. 

Platforms like Cynomi can facilitate this growth by exposing team members to strategic CISO-level functions, such as compliance management and strategic planning, helping them build the skills needed for senior roles. When professionals see a clear path to growth, they are more likely to choose (and remain with) an MSP that invests in their future. 

Should MSPs Outsource or Scale Differently? 
 

For many MSPs, outsourcing security roles may seem like a quick fix. While outsourcing can provide immediate expertise, it often comes with challenges: lack of consistency, dependency on external resources, and limited integration with your long-term strategy. 

Instead, MSPs can turn to platforms like Cynomi that embed CISO-level expertise directly into their team’s daily workflows. Cynomi enables MSPs to empower junior staff to perform at a senior level and maintain control of service delivery without the high cost or complexity of recruiting and hiring senior experts or managing third parties. 

Proactively Build a Resilient Future 

The cybersecurity skills gap is a long-term challenge that MSPs must address head-on. By adopting proactive strategies, MSPs can overcome this obstacle and position themselves for sustainable growth. Investing in training, fostering a strong company culture, embracing automation, and leveraging platforms that operationalize expertise are all steps that can help MSPs build resilient teams and deliver exceptional security services. 

By taking these measures, MSPs can protect their clients more effectively, gain their trust, and drive business success, even in the face of a challenging talent market. 

See Cynomi in Action: Book a Demo 

With Cynomi, MSPs can expand their cybersecurity and compliance offerings, reduce the burden on overstretched teams, and meet client expectations, all without the struggle of filling hard-to-hire roles. Cynomi acts as your CISO Copilot, extending your team’s capabilities and helping you thrive despite the industry-wide talent shortage. 

Book a personalized demo to see how Cynomi can streamline your operations.