introduction
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) are putting pressure on them to provide strong cybersecurity outcomes in a landscape characterized by rising threats and evolving compliance requirements. At the same time, clients want better protection without controlling cybersecurity itself. Service providers need to balance these growing demands and work efficiently, deliver consistent results, and scale what they offer.
However, many service providers still rely on manual processes that slow delivery, make it difficult to maintain consistency among clients, and limit teams from focusing on more strategic initiatives. Even experienced service providers can find themselves growing thinly as they try to accommodate the rising expectations of their clients while managing operational complexity.
In this environment, automation offers opportunities to work more effectively and bring greater value. By streamlining repetitive tasks, improving consistency, and freeing up time and resources, automation helps providers to expand services, strengthen client relationships and grow sustainably.
We have created a guide to service providers to automate cybersecurity and compliance management, allowing providers to navigate the transition to automation. Inside, you can find a real-world overview of current challenges, real-world examples, and guidance to identify where automation can have the greatest impact.
Hidden costs of manual work
Tasks such as risk assessment, policy development, framework mapping, remediation planning, and executive reporting require 13-15 hours of manual work each. This level of effort puts pressure on internal teams, expands the project timeline, and delays client outcomes that can all limit growth.
Over time, these inefficiencies quietly erode both profitability and quality of service, making it difficult to effectively expand and compete.
Some of the important hidden costs include:
Time delays that impact client satisfaction and delay revenue across assessments and documents undermined the inefficiency of trusted personnel as senior staff handled management tasks instead of strategic tasks, resulting in a limited ability to upsell or wear new clients.
The manual process also creates specific bottlenecks across five critical areas of service delivery.
Onboarding and Evaluation – Repeatable, slow, often inconsistent framework mapping – Labor-intensive and prone to error remediation management – Extend and standardized reporting – Time-consuming, consistent and clear service customization – Manual adjustments reduce reproducibility
Automation is the key to overcoming these barriers and unlocking scalable, marginal service delivery.
How Automation Helps: 5 Key Use Cases
According to the state of the Virtual CISO 2025 report, VCISO providers using AI or automation have reported an average reduction of 68% in cybersecurity and compliance workloads over the past year.
AI-driven technologies such as Cynomi’s VCISO platform automate and standardize VCISO workflows end-to-end, reducing manual effort by up to 70%. Below are five important areas where automation can have measurable impacts:
Risk Assessment and Onboarding: Capture interactive, guided surveys and intensive data to exchange emails and interviews and reduce time from your onboarding timeline. Policy Development: An automated platform generates client-specific policies mapped to frameworks such as NIST and ISO. Compliance Tracking: Tasks are automatically mapped to the framework and updated as standards evolve, reducing the risk of monitoring and errors. Remediation Plans: Tasks are prioritized and automatically assigned to enable teams to track progress and results in a centralized hub. Progress Report: Client Brand Progress Reports are generated during clicks to turn security activities into clear, business-centric insights without the usual delays. Standardizing Service Delivery: Automation streamlines core tasks such as onboarding and compliance management, allowing providers to deliver consistent, high quality services across clients without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
Automation ROI
One of the most effective ways to measure the value of automation is to save uptime. Tasks that once took 13 hours or more can be completed in just a few runs, and can be freed nearly 10 hours per task to reinvest elsewhere. Multiplying it between clients will have a greater impact on margin and capacity.
As Steve Bowman, business partner at Model Technology Solutions, said, “When we started, it was four or five months ago that someone would do their own evaluations. Now it’s up to a month.” This dramatic improvement in ramp-up times highlights the potential for automation to affect not only daily operations but long-term scalability.
Here are some examples of time-consuming tasks and some examples of time savings service providers accomplish through automation.
For more realistic insights into the time automation saves across key cybersecurity functions, check out your service provider’s guide to automating cybersecurity and compliance management. This includes practical examples and simple formulas for calculating ROI in both time and dollars, allowing you to instantly see the measurable benefits of automation.
How to implement security and compliance automation
This is a practical roadmap for managed service providers that aims to integrate automation into VCISO or compliance operations.
Evaluate current process: Start by mapping existing workflows, such as onboarding, evaluation, repair plans, and reports. Identify repetitive tasks in the manual that slows you down or creates inconsistencies. Define automation goals: Make clear what you want to achieve through automation, such as reducing task time, increasing capacity, and improving service consistency. Measurable goals help you prioritize your efforts and guide you through platform selection. Select the deployment model. Explore the following three options: Build your own tools, use the GRC platform for compliance, or employ an all-in-one cybersecurity and compliance management platform like Cynomi. Each has different complexity, scalability, and resource demands. Pilot before scaling: Test your automation strategy with a single client or team to identify strengths, challenges and integration needs before a broader rollout. Team and Client Train: Provide customized training, maintain open communication, ensure smoother recruitment and build trust in your new platform. Measure and optimize impact. Track important metrics, such as time savings and reporting turnarounds. Use these insights to refine the process and maximize ROI.
Conclusion: Automation is a new differentiator
In today’s cybersecurity landscape, AI-powered automation has become a strategic need. This allows service providers to streamline operations, provide consistent value and scale without increasing overhead. Accept it, move faster, serve more clients, and position yourself to increase your role from technical support to trustworthy business advisors.
Whether you are starting or refine your current approach, service provider guides to automate cybersecurity and compliance management provide actionable insights into current challenges, real-world examples, what to automate, what to keep manuals, and how to choose the right tools to scale effectively.
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