How MSPs Can Monetise Cybersecurity with RoboShadow

The Truth About MSP Profitability in the Cloud Era

If you’re an MSP or IT service provider, people often assume you’re swimming in profit simply because you “work in tech.” The truth is, many of us have seen margins shrink as cloud computing and SaaS ecosystems eroded traditional hardware and on-prem revenue.

But there’s a new growth lever: cybersecurity monetisation.

RoboShadow, part of the NCSC for Startups programme and built by former MSP operators, has developed a model that lets MSPs turn security services into profitable, automated revenue streams.

This blog breaks down how to make money as an MSP using cybersecurity automation, pricing strategy, and compliance-driven service design.

Why Cybersecurity Is the Next MSP Profit Engine

Every MSP wants to achieve three things:

1. Increase revenue

2. Reduce costs through automation

3. Improve client retention

Cybersecurity touches all three.

Your competitors are already pitching cybersecurity services in renewal cycles, so not having a solid offering is like walking into a tender half-dressed. Whether you’re a small regional MSP or a multi-site provider, your cybersecurity pricing model can be a genuine differentiator.

Understanding the Three Types of MSP Clients

In our experience (and from hundreds of MSP conversations), there are three client types when it comes to cybersecurity:

1. The “We’ve Been Hacked” Clients: The easy ones. They understand risk and are ready to invest.

2. The “We Manage Data” Clients: Those who handle sensitive information and need proof of compliance.

3. The “Selective Amnesia” Clients: The majority. They don’t care about cyber until they’re breached.

The trick? Don’t sell fear - show visibility.

Roll out RoboShadow (or a similar vulnerability management platform) across all endpoints using our MSP Enterprise Plan. RoboShadow doesn’t charge per-agent, so you can deploy ubiquitously and immediately show clients where they’d fail a penetration test, a Cyber Essentials assessment, or a compliance audit.

This transforms the conversation from “Why should I pay for cybersecurity?” into “How much will it cost to fix this?”

Turning Cybersecurity Into Monthly Revenue

Once visibility is established, MSPs can monetise cybersecurity in several ways:

1. Daily SecOps Remediation

Offer daily remediation using RoboShadow’s Autopilot.

You can price this as:

• A per-device uplift ($2–$15 in the US / £2–£12 in the UK)
• Or a fixed fee (e.g. £250/month for smaller clients)

This model provides recurring income while maintaining continuous protection.

2. Read-Only Client Reporting

Sell “read-only” security visibility to clients who aren’t ready for full management.
You provide monthly or weekly RoboShadow reports, showing CVE risks, patch status, and compliance gaps, while letting the client decide on remediation.

It’s low-touch, profitable, and builds trust.

3. Compliance-Focused Services

Tie your service to a known compliance framework such as Cyber Essentials, NIST, or SOC 2.
Position it as “we’ll maintain your Cyber Essentials readiness”, a concept that clients instantly recognise and value.

For others, manage them to a CVSS 7+ compliance threshold, fixing high and critical vulnerabilities only. This focuses your time on what truly matters to their business.

How to Handle Cybersecurity Incidents Profitably

When a cyber incident strikes, most MSPs react in survival mode - phones light up, engineers log on remotely, and the team scrambles to isolate, contain, and recover.
The problem? The client assumes it’s all included, and the MSP ends up working all night for free.

That’s the hidden profit leak in most MSP cybersecurity services.

Step 1: Reframe Incident Response as a Managed Service

Start by packaging cyber incident response like any other managed offering.
Instead of “ad-hoc rescue,” position it as “incident readiness” - a proactive monthly add-on that gives clients priority response, escalation, and forensic review.

Example structure:

• £250–£400/month per SME client for Incident Readiness Subscription.
• Includes 24/7 triage, forensics, and restoration through your RoboShadow Autopilot integration.
• Clients who opt out still receive emergency support - but under hourly incident rates.

That single pricing change reframes the conversation:

“Would you like to be on the readiness plan, or handled ad-hoc if something goes wrong?”

Step 2: Automate Detection and Containment

RoboShadow’s continuous scanning and Cyber Heal Autopilot already identify vulnerabilities before they escalate.
During an incident, use Autopilot’s reporting to:

• Pinpoint the initial vector (e.g., unpatched third-party app).
• Generate a CVE-based timeline to demonstrate due diligence.
• Export a client-friendly AI Pen Test summary for insurance or compliance use.

This data turns reactive firefighting into evidence-based management — and proves the MSP’s value during board-level reviews.

Step 3: Protect Profitability with Clear Agreements

Even with automation, response work is unpredictable.
Many RoboShadow partners use a bond or retainer model:

• £5,000 bond per client, redeemable for emergency engineering hours, or
• A flat “cyber incident coverage” line item on every managed services contract.

That transparency prevents awkward disputes and ensures the MSP can scale without burning cash or goodwill.

Key takeaway: Every minute spent pre-defining pricing, response tiers, and automation saves hours - and preserves margin - when incidents actually hit.

Choose a Low-Noise, High-Automation Platform

Alert fatigue is the silent killer of MSP profitability.
If your engineers spend more time dismissing alerts than remediating them, your cybersecurity line isn’t profitable - it’s a liability.

The “Noise Ratio” Problem

Many tools flood technicians with non-actionable notifications: patch failures, duplicate CVEs, endpoint anomalies that never materialise.
Each false alarm costs time - and in MSPs, time equals margin.

RoboShadow was built by MSP operators who experienced this firsthand.
That’s why the platform prioritises “low noise, high action” operations.

How RoboShadow Minimises Noise

1. Autofix Intelligence – Automatically applies safe remediations for OS updates, third-party apps (7,000+ titles), and configuration benchmarks.
   → Result: 60–80% fewer tickets hitting your PSA.

2. Smart Thresholding – Surfaces only exploitable vulnerabilities (CVSS ≥ 7) to your dashboard.
   → Result: Technicians focus on what actually affects clients.

3. Daily Cyber Heal Report – Condenses activity into a single digestible summary you can export directly to clients.
   → Result: No more daily log-diving; visibility without noise.

The Commercial Upside of Quiet Platforms

A low-noise platform isn’t just a technical preference — it’s a business advantage.
It allows your engineers to manage more clients per head, improves SLA adherence, and enhances customer satisfaction by resolving real threats faster.

Automation converts “busy work” into “billable value.” That’s the essence of MSP cybersecurity monetisation: less human effort, more visible impact.

How We Scaled Our MSP to £10 Million Turnover

When we scaled 3Gi (our MSP) to over £10 million turnover, the breakthrough came from moving upmarket, into DevOps, cloud engineering, AI, and cybersecurity.

We stopped selling low-margin devices and started offering high-value managed services.

With ChatGPT-driven automation, MSPs can now deliver higher-end engineering work without massive overheads. The same approach applies to cybersecurity - offer smarter, automated, reportable value instead of more tickets.

That’s how you make money as an MSP in 2025 and beyond.

Key Takeaways for MSPs

• Deploy cybersecurity universally, not selectively.

• Automate patching and fixes to keep costs down.

• Productise incident response to make emergency work profitable.

• Use compliance frameworks as a billing anchor.

• Show clients data, not fear - let the evidence drive the sale.

Final Thought

Cybersecurity is no longer a bolt-on, it’s the core MSP growth engine.
By combining automation, visibility, and smart pricing, RoboShadow helps MSPs transform cyber protection into a predictable, recurring revenue stream.

If you’re an MSP owner looking to monetise cybersecurity or restructure your MSP pricing model, connect with us, we love discussing monetisation strategies with the MSP community on LinkedIn and Reddit.