Louisiana may have been the first State to pass an MSP law, but it certainly won't be the last. Four other states, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas, all have bills that deal with ransomware payments, and even some specifically mentioning MSPs.  

Highlights: 

NY Law - NY State Senate Bill S6806A (nysenate.gov) 

NC Law - House Bill 813 (2021-2022 Session) - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov) 

TX Law - TX HB3892 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | LegiScan 

PA Law - Bill Information - Senate Bill 726; Regular Session 2021-2022 - PA General Assembly (state.pa.us) 

MSP Analysis 

Whether they are called SLAs or service guarantees, the concept of outcome-based terms within a contract is not new for MSPs. Whether MSPs should still continue to use guarantees within their service agreements today, that is a different question.  

Will cybersecurity resellers have an impact on managed service providers? Like the value-added resellers of yesterday, these upgraded VARs are making a splash by capitalizing on cybersecurity. But, what is it they are really offering? Are they delivering any services themselves?  

Highlights:  

Traditional VARs vs. Cybersecurity Resellers 

Are these cybersecurity resellers offering any managed services?  

What can MSPs do to differentiate themselves?  

Besides the obvious answers to this question, such as profit margin, ability to scale, efficiency, and higher customer satisfaction, one of the biggest differentiators between MSPs (proactive) and reactive or break/fix providers, is their view of data privacy and security. 

Summary 

• Data breach requirements

Pricing your managed services offerings has been a longstanding debate within the MSP community. When certain types of customers present more lucrative targeting from cybercriminals, perhaps it is time to revisit pricing techniques for MSPs and their more high-profile clients.

• Risk-Based Pricing Review