Cyber Essentials for MSPs: Why It’s Now a Baseline Expectation — Not an Optional Add-On
Across the UK, the message from Government, insurers, customers, and regulators is becoming impossible to ignore:
Evidence now matters.
Cyber attacks aren’t succeeding because they’re more sophisticated.
They’re succeeding because basic cyber security controls are still being left unaddressed.
For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this shift has direct consequences — not just for how you protect clients, but for how your business is judged.
Cyber Essentials Is No Longer Client-Led
Cyber Essentials should no longer be positioned as something clients ask for.
Backed by the UK Government and supported by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Cyber Essentials is now recognised as the minimum cybersecurity baseline for UK organisations.
Through:
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The Cyber Governance Code of Practice
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Ministerial guidance to UK SMEs
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Wider national cyber resilience initiatives
Organisations are increasingly expected to demonstrate they have taken reasonable and proportionate steps to manage cyber risk.
Cyber Essentials is the Government-backed way of doing exactly that.
Why Cyber Essentials Now Matters Commercially
Organisations that hold Cyber Essentials are:
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92% less likely to make a cyber insurance claim
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More likely to pass supplier due diligence and tenders
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Viewed as lower risk by insurers, customers, and boards
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Increasingly favoured in supply-chain assurance processes
This is why Cyber Essentials is now being requested — and in some cases required — during:
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Cyber insurance renewals
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Supplier onboarding
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Contract and procurement reviews
For MSPs, the question is no longer whether to offer Cyber Essentials.
It’s how you deliver it — and how defensible that delivery is.
Where Many Cyber Essentials Platforms Fall Short
A growing number of Cyber Essentials providers focus on:
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Fully automated, self-serve workflows
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Minimal technical validation
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One-off certification with no follow-up
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Little MSP involvement or ownership
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Limited support when clients fail or need remediation
While fast, this model creates real problems:
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Clients believe they’re “secure” when they’re not
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MSPs carry the operational and reputational risk
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There’s no credible story for insurers or larger customers
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Certification becomes a checkbox, not protection
This is where MSPs lose differentiation — and control.
A Different Approach: Cyber Essentials Built for MSPs
Our model is designed around MSPs, not around bypassing them.
As a CTS partner, you can offer:
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Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus
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Independent third-party assessment (no self-certification, no “marking your own homework”)
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Meaningful technical validation aligned with real-world risk
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MSP-led remediation, keeping you in control of the client relationship
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Ongoing vulnerability assessments to support year-round compliance
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A clear path from baseline certification to continuous cyber assurance
This aligns far more closely with what:
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Insurers are actually asking for
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Enterprise customers expect from suppliers
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Regulators define as “reasonable steps”
Why This Works Commercially for MSPs
MSPs that standardise Cyber Essentials across their client base consistently see:
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Fewer preventable incidents caused by poor cyber hygiene
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Reduced emergency firefighting and unplanned work
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A consistent, defensible security baseline across all customers
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Stronger positioning as a trusted security advisor, not just IT support
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Clear protection through documented best-practice advice
In simple terms:
Better-secured clients are easier, safer, and more profitable to support.
The Opportunity for MSPs
The MSP role has changed.
Clients don’t always know what “good” looks like — that’s why they rely on you.
Cyber Essentials is now table stakes.
How you deliver it is what sets you apart.
If you’re an MSP not yet offering Cyber Essentials — or offering it in a way that feels risky, rushed, or hard to defend — there is a better model.
