EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
DECEMBER 2025
The Three Pillars of a Reliable Managed Service Provider
As organizations increasingly rely on managed service providers (MSPs) for critical IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operational continuity, the traditional evaluation criteria of technical capabilities and service level agreements no longer suffice. This whitepaper identifies three foundational pillars that distinguish truly reliable MSPs from transactional vendors: accreditation and certification, hiring practices, and insurance coverage.
Accreditation and Certification: Beyond Marketing Claims
Third-party accreditation provides verifiable evidence that an MSP’s security controls and operational processes meet internationally recognized standards. ISO/IEC 27001 certification demonstrates that a provider has implemented 109 detailed controls across organizational, personnel, physical, and technical domains, all validated through rigorous annual audits. For organizations serving Canadian public sector clients, alignment with ITSG-33 framework requirements adds another layer of assurance. These certifications reflect significant investment in documentation, internal monitoring, and continuous improvement, transforming security from a checkbox into an auditable, accountable system.
Hiring Practices: Personnel as Security Infrastructure
Technology may run systems, but people build, configure, and protect them. Robust hiring practices extend beyond standard background checks to include enhanced criminal record checks, vulnerable sector screenings, identity verification, and employment history validation. When MSP technicians have broad access across multiple client environments, every hiring decision becomes a security decision. Organizations should evaluate how providers structure onboarding, manage role-based access, monitor internal behavior, and execute immediate offboarding protocols. These practices are particularly critical for MSPs serving regulated sectors such as healthcare, law enforcement, and education.
Insurance: The Safety Net You Need to See
Outsourcing IT does not automatically transfer liability. An MSP’s insurance portfolio directly affects client risk exposure, insurability, and recovery capacity during incidents. Comprehensive coverage should include Technology Errors and Omissions (Tech E&O), Cyber Liability Insurance with both first-party and third-party protections, and appropriate policy limits that reflect real-world breach costs. Well-insured MSPs also support clients through cyber insurance applications, pre-binding risk assessments, and post-breach claims coordination. As cyber insurance underwriters become more selective, your MSP’s insurance posture increasingly influences your organization’s own insurability.
From Vendor to Partner
The most capable MSPs demonstrate strength across all three pillars. They operate as if each decision carries long-term consequences, because it does. When a provider’s internal practices align with your external obligations, you gain more than a vendor, you gain a partner prepared to support continuity, reduce risk, and share accountability where it matters most.
Organizations evaluating MSPs should ask detailed questions about certification scope and audit cycles, personnel vetting protocols and access management, and insurance coverage limits and third-party protections. These conversations reveal whether a provider treats foundational disciplines as checkboxes or as critical elements of service delivery. In environments where data sensitivity is high and regulatory scrutiny is sharp, this distinction becomes the difference between transactional support and trusted partnership.
FSET Inc. is an ISO 27001-certified managed service provider based in Kenora, Ontario, serving public and private sector clients across Northwestern Ontario and beyond since 1999.