MSP vs MSSP: What’s the Difference in IT Security?

Key Takeaways

• MSPs handle day-to-day IT operations, while MSSPs focus specifically on cybersecurity, monitoring, and incident response.
  
• Many companies start with an MSP and add an MSSP as their security needs grow.
  
• As organizations scale, visibility and control over security tools and policies become critical to reducing risk.
  
• The right model depends on company size, compliance needs, risk tolerance, and internal expertise.

What Is an MSP?

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) is a company that manages a business’s day-to-day IT operations on its behalf.

Organizations typically hire MSPs to keep their technology running smoothly without building a full internal IT team. This includes managing employee devices, maintaining networks, setting up user accounts, deploying software, and handling technical support.

MSPs are most commonly used by small and mid-sized businesses that need reliable IT operations but do not yet have the budget or scale to support dedicated internal IT and security teams.

While MSPs play an important role in keeping systems available and productive, their focus is operational rather than security-driven. An MSP ensures computers work, employees can log in, and systems stay online. An MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider), by contrast, specializes in protecting those systems from threats, monitoring for attacks, and responding to incidents.

In practice, many companies work with both: an MSP to run IT and an MSSP to secure it.

Engagement models vary. Some businesses fully outsource IT management to an MSP, while others use a co-managed approach, where internal staff retain ownership over strategy and key decisions while the MSP handles daily execution and support.

What MSPs Typically Handle

MSPs are responsible for keeping a company’s everyday IT environment running smoothly. Their work focuses on reliability, access, and user support rather than advanced security operations.

Common responsibilities include:

• Device setup and ongoing management – provisioning laptops and phones, applying basic configurations, installing required software, and handling replacements or repairs.
  
• User onboarding and offboarding – creating accounts, assigning permissions, and removing access when employees join or leave.
  
• Helpdesk and employee support – responding to technical issues, troubleshooting software problems, and resolving day-to-day IT tickets.
  
• Email and collaboration tools – administering platforms such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, including user accounts, shared drives, and permissions.
  
• Network and basic infrastructure support – maintaining Wi-Fi, VPN access, printers, backups, and cloud or on-prem systems.
  
• Basic security setup – deploying operating system updates, rolling out antivirus software, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), and applying standard security configurations.
  

While these tasks are essential, they do not replace dedicated security operations.

MSPs typically do not provide 24/7 threat monitoring, advanced incident response, or continuous security analysis. Those responsibilities fall to MSSPs or internal security teams that specialize in detecting attacks, investigating suspicious activity, and managing security tools at scale.

What Is an MSSP?

An MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) is a company that manages cybersecurity operations for a business.

In simple terms, where an MSP keeps computers, networks, and software running, an MSSP focuses on keeping those systems secure. This includes monitoring for threats, managing security tools, investigating suspicious activity, responding to incidents, and helping organizations meet compliance requirements.

Businesses typically adopt an MSSP when security becomes more complex than basic IT support can handle. Common reasons include:

1. New compliance or regulatory requirements
   
2. Increased exposure to cyber risk as the company grows
   
3. Customer or partner security expectations
   
4. Limited internal security expertise or staffing
   
5. The need for continuous monitoring beyond business hours
   

MSSPs are most often used alongside MSPs, not instead of them. An MSP may manage devices, networks, and user access, while the MSSP monitors and protects those systems. Together, they cover both IT operations and security operations.

At the enterprise level, some large technology companies also operate MSSP services. For example, IBM’s MSSP offerings support global organizations with complex infrastructure, strict compliance requirements, and dedicated security teams. Smaller businesses typically work with specialized MSSPs designed for leaner environments and budgets.

What MSSPs Typically Handle

MSSPs focus on protecting a company’s systems, data, and users from security threats. Their role centers on detection, response, and continuous security oversight rather than general IT support.

Common responsibilities include:

1. Monitoring systems and networks for suspicious activity – analyzing logs and alerts to detect potential attacks or unusual behavior.
   
2. Managing security tools – operating platforms such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), SIEM, firewalls, and cloud security services.
   
3. Investigating alerts and coordinating incident response – determining what happened, containing threats, and guiding recovery after a security event.
   
4. Producing security and compliance reports – documenting security posture, incidents, and control coverage for leadership, auditors, and customers.
   
5. Supporting audits and customer security reviews – helping prepare evidence for regulatory requirements or vendor risk assessments.
   
6. Advising on security configuration and policies – recommending improvements to access controls, device security, monitoring, and data protection practices.
   

MSSPs generally do not manage employee devices, user onboarding, or helpdesk support. Those responsibilities remain with an MSP or internal IT team.

This separation allows businesses to combine operational stability (from MSPs) with dedicated security expertise (from MSSPs) as their environments grow more complex.

How MSPs and MSSPs Use Software

Both MSPs and MSSPs rely heavily on software to manage complex IT and security environments at scale. The difference lies in what they use software for.

MSPs primarily use IT management platforms to automate routine operational work, such as:

• Monitoring device health and system uptime
  
• Deploying software updates and patches
  
• Managing user accounts and access
  
• Tracking support tickets and service requests
  
• Configuring networks and cloud services
  

These tools help MSPs support many organizations efficiently, but they are designed to keep systems running—not to deeply analyze security threats.

MSSPs, on the other hand, depend on security-focused platforms, including:

1. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools
   
2. Security information and event management (SIEM) systems
   
3. Cloud security monitoring platforms
   
4. Identity and access monitoring tools
   
5. Threat intelligence and incident response systems
   

This software allows MSSPs to detect attacks, investigate alerts, and respond to incidents across large numbers of systems in real time.

However, as companies grow, this software ecosystem often becomes fragmented. Tools are spread across MSPs, MSSPs, cloud providers, and internal teams. Policies drift. Ownership becomes unclear. And leadership loses visibility into what is actually protected.

That gap between tool usage and organizational control is one of the main reasons many businesses move toward co-managed security models and centralized visibility platforms as they scale.

How Zip Helps Teams Stay in Control as They Scale

As businesses grow, security becomes harder to manage through people and checklists alone. Tools multiply. Providers change. Ownership becomes unclear. And small gaps can remain hidden until an audit or incident forces them into the open.

Zip is designed to solve that problem.

Instead of replacing your MSP or MSSP, Zip sits above the tools and services you already use. It gives teams a single place to understand what security controls exist, how they are configured, and whether they are actually enforced as environments change.

This helps organizations:

1. Maintain consistent security policies across devices, users, and cloud systems
   
2. Preserve visibility even as vendors, tools, and infrastructure evolve
   
3. Reduce risk created by misconfigurations and ownership gaps
   
4. Demonstrate security coverage to auditors, customers, and leadership
   
5. Keep long-term control in-house while still leveraging external providers
   

For business leaders, that clarity answers simple but critical questions:

1. What’s protected?
2. What isn’t?
3. And who owns it?

Zip turns security from a constant source of uncertainty into something visible, measurable, and manageable.

See how Zip helps teams run security with clarity and confidence.

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