Zero Trust for MSPs: A Clear and Compelling Business Case

Now available: Self-Service Zero Trust for Fun and Profit: A Workshop for MSPs
Our self-service option is now available from our digital media store. This fully-digital offering allows you to proceed at your own pace, while still being confident that you’re proceeding on the right track.
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Earlier this month, Numberline Security presented at the 2026 Right of Boom conference, a leading cybersecurity event that brings together managed service providers and security practitioners to focus on the operational and business realities of delivering security services in today’s threat environment.

We had two sessions at the conference:

• A three-hour workshop titled Zero Trust for Fun and Profit
• A mainstage presentation, Zero Trust and MSPs: Like Oil and Water, or Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate?

Zero Trust for Fun and Profit

We had a full room for the workshop—nearly 50 people—where we focused on a practical challenge many MSP leaders face:

Zero Trust is widely recognized as a modern security approach encompassing advanced technologies and operational best practices. But given the wide variety of MSP business models and customer profiles, it is not always obvious how Zero Trust can both strengthen internal security and drive meaningful topline revenue.

In the workshop, we introduced a structured model to help attendees determine the most appropriate Zero Trust strategy based on attributes of both their MSP and their customer base.

Through a series of structured exercises, participants:

• Evaluated their current Zero Trust readiness and maturity
• Worked through exercises to define a customized adoption roadmap
• Explored program design considerations
• Developed positioning strategies aligned to their specific customer segments
• Built a practical “game plan” for internal implementation and go-to-market execution

The “fun” part focused on designing and implementing Zero Trust internally to strengthen their own security posture and operational discipline.

The “profit” segment focused on how to position Zero Trust in a way that resonates with customers and prospects, with the goal of turning security maturity into a differentiated, revenue-generating offering.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the session was the level of engagement. Participants shared strong enthusiasm for applying Zero Trust principles not only to their internal systems, but also to customer-facing tools and processes. There was significant interest in using Zero Trust to create new or enhanced service offerings and to drive measurable business growth.

Zero Trust and MSPs: Peanut Butter and Chocolate

The following day, Numberline CEO Jason Garbis delivered a keynote presentation to the full conference audience of over 1,000 people.

This mainstage session explored the history and evolution of Zero Trust, its core architectural and operational principles, and why MSPs should adopt Zero Trust both within their own organizations and across their customer environments.

A key theme was that Zero Trust is not simply a technology refresh. It is a strategic shift in how access is designed, enforced, and governed. For MSPs, this shift has implications far beyond internal risk reduction.

A Unique Business Case for MSPs

One of the most interesting takeaways from our many conversations throughout the conference is how tightly bound internal security programs and processes are to customer security programs and processes within MSP organizations.

For most enterprises, information security can, at best, be positioned as an indirect revenue driver. It reduces risk and protects the brand but rarely produces a direct line to growth. MSPs operate differently.

Internal security credibility directly affects customer trust. Internal operational controls often extend into customer environments. The maturity of an MSP’s own security program influences how effectively it can design, deliver, and defend managed services.

We view this tight coupling not as a constraint, but as a powerful opportunity. By showing a straight line from investing in a Zero Trust program to strengthening internal maturity, and from there to enhancing customer offerings and driving top-line revenue growth, MSP security leaders can make a clear and compelling business case that resonates with executive leadership.

This is a unique angle for MSPs, and one that we believe is significantly underleveraged.

If you’re an MSP leader evaluating how Zero Trust can strengthen both your internal posture and your service portfolio, we invite you to learn more on our Zero Trust for MSPs web page.

There you’ll find additional information and a data sheet explaining our approach.