Welcome to the MSP World – Roles & Acronyms

Welcome to the MSP World – Roles & Acronyms | Root Access Guy

Welcome to the MSP World

New to MSPs? Root Access Guy has your back. Here’s the quick start to what an MSP is, how it differs from other models, and the roles you’ll actually work with — especially if you’re crossing over from finance, DoD, or commercial enterprise IT.

MSP 101 Roles & Acronyms Root Access Guy
Tip: start typing to see suggestions, then hit Enter to jump. Matches roles and glossary items.

Why This Guide Exists

I started in the financial sector — tight controls, heavy governance, and slow change. Then I moved into commercial enterprise IT, back before MSPs were really a thing. Over the years, MSPs grew into the default model for outsourced IT, and along the way I had to learn a lot of new roles, acronyms, and workflows that don’t show up as clearly in finance, DoD, or classic enterprise environments.

This guide captures that learning: what an MSP is, how it compares to adjacent models (MSSP, CSP, VAR/SI), and the roles — from advisory to engineering — that make it run.

What is an MSP?

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) delivers outsourced IT services to multiple clients on subscription or project models. Teams rely on standardized toolsets (RMM/PSA), operate against SLAs, and emphasize customer experience.

  • Many clients → competing priorities; strong context switching.
  • Tooling‑first ops → RMM/PSA unify work and automation.
  • SLAs & QBRs → formal response/resolution targets and exec reviews.
  • Advisory cadence → vCIO/TAM drive roadmaps and lifecycle.

Business Models Explained (MSP vs. Others)

  • MSP – Managed Service Provider. Broad IT services (end‑user, infrastructure, monitoring, projects, lifecycle).
  • MSSP – Managed Security Service Provider. Security‑focused (SOC, SIEM, EDR/MDR, IR, compliance).
  • CSP – Cloud Service Provider / Cloud Solution Provider. Resells cloud licenses + enablement.
  • VAR – Value‑Added Reseller. Hardware/software sales + installation/support.
  • SI – Systems Integrator. Complex enterprise implementations and integration consulting.

MSP Role Hierarchy (with Tools)

Executive
CIO / CTO / CISO Leadership & Governance
Sets technology and security vision; governance, risk, and compliance; portfolio standards.
Tools: NIST CSF, CIS Controls, ISO 27001; GRC: Drata, Vanta, OneTrust, Archer; M365 Purview; Power BI
Partners with: vCIO, SA, SecEng, SDM
Strategy & Advisory
vCIO Virtual Chief Information Officer
Owns client IT strategy, budgets, and multi‑year roadmaps; leads QBRs and lifecycle planning.
Tools: BrightGauge, Power BI; ScalePad (Warranty Master), Liongard; ConnectWise Manage/Autotask; Excel/Slides
Partners with: TAM, SA, SDM, Finance/AM
TAM Technical Account Manager
Client advocate orchestrating SLAs, adoption, renewals, and quarterly reviews.
Tools: ConnectWise Manage / Autotask, IT Glue/Hudu, BrightGauge, SharePoint
Partners with: vCIO, SDM, SSE/PE
SDM Service Delivery Manager
Ensures delivery quality, capacity planning, and project outcomes across teams.
Tools: CW/Autotask Projects, Jira/Asana/Smartsheet, Tempo, Power BI
Partners with: TAM, PM, Engineering Leads
Pre‑Sales & Solution Design
SE Sales / Solutions Engineer
Translates requirements into solution architectures, builds SOWs, demos platforms.
Tools: Lucidchart/Visio/draw.io; Zomentum, ConnectWise Sell/Quosal, QuoteWerks; Pax8, TD SYNNEX, Ingram
Partners with: AM/Sales, SA, vCIO
SA Solutions / Cloud Architect
Blueprints complex environments (hybrid cloud, security, networking) and guardrails.
Tools: Azure Architecture Center, Well‑Architected, Terraform/Bicep, Sentinel, Meraki/Forti/PAN
Partners with: SE, SSE, NE, CE, SecEng
Platforms & Tools (RMM/PSA/NOC)
RMM Admin Remote Monitoring & Management
Owns patch/monitoring baselines, alert routing, and automation policies across tenants.
Tools: N‑able, ConnectWise Automate, NinjaOne, Kaseya VSA; ConnectWise Control, TeamViewer
Partners with: PSA Admin, NOC, Automation Eng, SDM
PSA Admin Professional Services Automation
Maintains queues, workflows, SLAs, billing/agreements, and accounting integrations.
Tools: ConnectWise Manage, Autotask PSA, HaloPSA; QuickBooks/Xero; BrightGauge
Partners with: RMM Admin, SDM, Finance
Automation Engineer Scripting & Tooling
Builds onboarding, compliance, and remediation automation; API integrations.
Tools: PowerShell, Python, REST APIs, Terraform, Ansible, Git
Partners with: RMM Admin, CE, SecEng
NOC Manager / Analyst Network Operations Center
24×7 monitoring, patch windows, backup jobs, and alert triage/escalation.
Tools: Auvik, LogicMonitor, PRTG, SolarWinds, Veeam ONE
Partners with: RMM Admin, NE, SSE
Documentation & Knowledge Manager SOP / KB / Runbook Owner
Keeps SOPs, KBs, and client documentation accurate and enforceable.
Tools: IT Glue, Hudu, Confluence, SharePoint, OneNote
Partners with: TAM, Engineering Leads
Asset & CMDB Manager Configuration Management Database
Maintains authoritative inventory, relationships, and lifecycle data.
Tools: ServiceNow CMDB, Lansweeper, Freshservice, ScalePad
Partners with: PSA Admin, Procurement, SE
Reporting & BI Analyst Metrics & Dashboards
Builds KPI dashboards from PSA/RMM for SLAs, utilization, compliance, and risk.
Tools: BrightGauge, Power BI, Tableau, Databricks (optional)
Partners with: vCIO, SDM, Exec
Service Catalog / Process Owner ITIL / ITSM Governance
Defines offerings, intake flows, and continuous improvement of incident/change/problem.
Tools: ITIL, ServiceNow, Jira Service Management
Partners with: PSA Admin, SDM, Support Leads
Engineering & Implementation
SSE Senior Systems Engineer
Builds advanced systems: AD/Entra ID, M365, virtualization, backup/DR; complex escalations.
Tools: Windows Server, Hyper‑V/VMware, Entra ID, Intune, M365 Admin, Veeam, Proofpoint/Barracuda
Partners with: SA, CE, PE
PE Project / Implementation Engineer
Executes deployments (firewalls, Wi‑Fi, VoIP, M365 migrations) on defined SOWs.
Tools: Meraki/Aruba/Ubiquiti, Fortinet/Palo Alto, Microsoft 365, Intune Autopilot, RingCentral/Teams Phone
Partners with: SSE, NE, TAM
NE Network Engineer / Architect
Designs routing/switching, SD‑WAN, VPN, and edge security; SASE/Zero Trust enablement.
Tools: Cisco IOS/NX‑OS, Meraki, FortiGate, Palo Alto, Aruba; Auvik/NetBox; BGP/OSPF/EIGRP
Partners with: SA, NOC, SecEng
CE Cloud Engineer
Azure/AWS/GCP builds, IaC automation, identity, monitoring, and cost/security controls.
Tools: Azure (Portal/CLI), ARM/Bicep/Terraform, Entra ID, Intune, Defender for Cloud, Azure Monitor/Log Analytics
Partners with: SA, SSE, SecEng
SecEng / SecOps Security Engineer / Operations
Deploys SIEM/EDR/MDR, vuln management, and IR; hardens baselines & compliance.
Tools: Microsoft Sentinel, Splunk; Defender for Endpoint, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne; Tenable/Qualys; M365 DLP/Purview; SOAR/Playbooks
Partners with: SA, CE, vCISO/CISO, SOC
Support (Context)
T1 / T2 / T3 Tiered Service Desk
Escalation model for break/fix; gateway to engineering and project tracks.
Tools: PSA (CW/Autotask), RMM agent, ConnectWise Control/TeamViewer/AnyDesk, IT Glue/Hudu
Partners with: RMM Admin, PE, SSE

Acronym Glossary

  • MSP – Managed Service Provider
  • MSSP – Managed Security Service Provider
  • CSP – Cloud Service Provider / Cloud Solution Provider
  • VAR – Value‑Added Reseller
  • SI – Systems Integrator
  • RMM – Remote Monitoring & Management
  • PSA – Professional Services Automation
  • SLA – Service Level Agreement
  • QBR – Quarterly Business Review
  • CMDB – Configuration Management Database
  • SIEM – Security Information & Event Management
  • EDR/MDR – Endpoint/Managed Detection & Response
  • NOC – Network Operations Center
  • ITSM/ITIL – IT Service Management / IT Infrastructure Library
  • IaC – Infrastructure as Code

Role acronyms (vCIO, TAM, SDM, SSE, PE, NE, CE, SecEng) are expanded on each card under the aka line above.

© Root Access Guy • Bridging IT, Everyday Life, and Best Practices

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Your Core MSP Tool Becomes the Headline

⚠️ Security Advisory: N-able N-central on CISA KEV — CVE-2025-8875 (insecure deserialization) & CVE-2025-8876 (command injection). Active exploitation reported. Update to 2025.3.1 Or install 2024.6 HF2 Enforce MFA for Admins Share client notice MSPs, Take Note: When Your Core Tool Is in the Crosshairs The N-central news shows how fast a central platform can become a central risk. In the MSP world, your RMM/central platform is the heartbeat of patching, monitoring, and response. When it lands on the KEV list, it’s not just a patch—it’s an operational fire drill: validate exposure, confirm versions, brief staff, notify clients, and verify compensating controls. Why It Hurts the MSP Space Trust shockwave: Headlines trigger client anxiety. Even fully patched orgs get the “Are we safe?” calls. Operational drag: War-room time: scanning, change w...
Read more

DoD ↔ Commercial Security & IT Cheat Sheet

DoD ↔ Commercial Security & IT Cheat Sheet Quick mappings between common U.S. government (DoD/federal) terms and their closest commercial-world equivalents. IAVA STIG SCAP/ACAS RMF/ATO POA&M HBSS PKI/CAC NIPR/SIPR/JWICS SCIF CDS FedRAMP FISMA CUI DFARS NIST 800-171 CMMC TIC KEV DoDIN FOUO TEMPEST DoD / Gov Term What it Means Closest Commercial Equivalent IAVA / IAVM / IAVB / TA Mandatory alerts & guidance for vulnerabilities on DoD systems. Vendor advisories; CISA KEV ; Patch Tuesday. STIG (DISA) Hardening baselines & config requiremen...
Read more

Days 1 and 2 both are Available

Image
🚀 8 Days of Azure PaaS — Updates! Day 1 & Day 2 are live — and this is just the beginning. I’m two days into my new project: 8 Days of Azure PaaS 🎉 Over 8 days, I’m refreshing and documenting my knowledge of Microsoft Azure’s Platform as a Service (PaaS) offerings. Each day I dive into a different piece — App Services, Functions, SQL Database, AKS, Logic Apps, and more — while sharing notes, gotchas, and hands-on examples. 💡 This is a learn-in-public project . I’m sharing the journey openly — the good, the confusing, and the “aha!” moments — along with the learning sources I review. 👉 Read Day 1 — What is PaaS? 👉 Read Day 2 — Azure App Services 🔹 Why I’m Doing This In a recent interview, I realized I’ve been deep in the MSP world, IT security, RMM tools, and PSA platforms — but needed a refresher on Azure’s PaaS side. This project keeps me accountable and ...
Read more