What Is Mssp In Healthcare?

What Is Mssp In Healthcare
Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) – Provide high-quality, coordinated care to improve outcomes and reduce costs. That’s the primary goal of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), The MSSP is an alternative payment model in which eligible providers, hospitals, and suppliers are rewarded for achieving better health for individuals, improving population health, and lowering growth in healthcare expenditures.

What is the purpose of MSSP?

Managed security service providers (MSSP) deliver management and outsourced monitoring of systems and security devices. An MSSP can also handle upgrades, system changes, and modification.

Is the MSSP same as ACO?

The MSSP is a permanent ACO program in traditional Medicare that provides financial incentives for meeting or exceeding savings targets and quality goals. The MSSP program has multiple tracks that allow ACOs to choose between sharing in both savings and losses, or just savings.

When did MSSP start?

Background The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) is the primary Medicare ACO program. The MSSP was derived from the Physician Group Demonstration Project, which started during the George W. Bush administration, and the MSSP was permanently authorized by the Affordable Care Act.

MSSP began in 2012 with two participation options, Track 1 and 2. MSSP Track 3 was added in 2016, and Track 1+ was added in 2018. CMS created a new program structure for MSSP in 2019 that the agency calls “Pathways to Success”. Tracks 1 and 2 were split to became Basic Levels A through D. Track 1+ became Level E, and Track 3 became the Enhanced Track.

Click the image above for NAACOS in-depth analysis of CMS’s final Pathways rule detailing everything ACOs need to know about the program. The COVID-19 pandemic has created several changes to MSSP that ACOs should be aware of. Visit our dedicated COVID-19 page for more information on those changes.

CMS MSSP webpage and federal regulations governing the MSSP

2022 MSSP ACOs, a list of 2022 participants and 2022 SNF affiliates

2022 ” Fast Facts ” from CMS NAACOS’s interactive table for ACOs to input their own projected values to help ACOs illustrate how they may perform under the various tracks.

NAACOS-Member Resources

NAACOS resource highlights ACO savings from 2012 to 2021 NAACOS ACO Comparison Chart showing each MSSP track and REACH model option NAACOS review assesses the impact of high-low revenue designations NAACOS chart of CMS Innovation Center models and their overlap with ACOs NAACOS Analysis of the final “Pathways to Success” Rule

Frequently Asked Questions on the Final Pathways to Success Rule NAACOS Review of ACO Pathways to Success Provisions included in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule

NAACOS holds webinar providing in-depth review of final ‘Pathways to Success’ rule and participation options for 2019 and beyond

CMS Resources

2023 Application Types and Timelines

Application Toolkit from CMS Key Application Actions and Deadlines

CMS guidance on how the COVID-19 PHE is changing shared savings and losses and assignment (Issued Dec.2020) CMS highlights MSSP flexibilities to fight COVID-19 CMS publishes telehealth factsheet CMS releases ACO toolkit highlighting strategies for delivering value-based care

A number of case studies and toolkits continued to be published on this CMS page

CMS Program Guidance and Specifications

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) 3-Day Rule waiver guidance ACO participant lists and participant agreements guidance Shared Savings and Losses and Assignment Methodology Specifications

News and Advocacy 2022

NAACOS Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Largest ACO Model NAACOS submits feedback on beneficiary engagement strategies NAACOS writes CMS with specific ways to drive MSSP participation National Health Groups Call on Congress to Strengthen APM Incentives NAACOS Issues a Call to Action for CMS to Spur ACO Growth

2021

Medicare ACOs Increased Savings for Seventh Straight Year in 2020

NAACOS resource highlights ACO savings from 2012 to 2020

NAACOS and 11 other organizations ask CMS to provide ACOs with the options to select pre-pandemic years for benchmarks in 2022 NAACOS and other notable organizations write HHS Secretary Becerra on advancing Medicare’s value-based care initiatives NAACOS and 13 other leading organizations support the Value in Health Care Act of 2021 Section-by-section summary and press release NAACOS submits comments to CMS in response to 2022 proposed IPPS rule NAACOS and 12 others write Congress in support of the Accountable Care In Rural America Act (H.R.3746) One-page summary of the “Rural Glitch” issue and press release on the letter NAACOS asks CMS to extend MSSP application deadlines NAACOS and 10 others write HHS asking for a delay in MSSP quality overhaul NAACOS writes HHS Secretary Becerra on policy priorities for the new administration ACO Participation Hit Low During Trump Administration

2020

Accountable Care Organizations Saved Medicare $2.6 Billion in 2019

Highlights of ACO results from 2019 and overall savings since 2012

NAACOS and 12 other leading organizations support the Value in Health Care Act

Section-by-section summary and press release

NAACOS Welcomes CMS’s Interim Final Rule Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic NAACOS Statement on MedPAC’s Position on ACOs During COVID-19 Nine Leading Organizations Ask CMS for More Participation Options for ACOs NAACOS Welcomes CMS’s Interim Final Rule Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic More than Half of Participants Likely to Leave Cost-Saving Medicare Program NAACOS Welcomes CMS’s Interim Final Rule Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic NAACOS and nine others ask CMS for relief from COVID-19 response NAACOS Calls on CMS to Address MACRA Implementation Issues NAACOS Urges CMS to Remove Beneficiary Notification Requirement for ACOs CMS announces 2020 Medicare ACO class

2019

2018 performance data from CMS shows MSSP generated $1.7 billion in savings, prompting this NAACOS statement

NAACOS resource includes highlights from the 2018 MSSP results

CMS Responds to NAACOS Concerns Regarding Beneficiary Notification Requirement CMS proposed 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule makes several changes to MSSP, which is available here along with this CMS factsheet, NAACOS statement on the 2019 Medicare ACO Class NAACOS Statement on MedPAC’s June Report to Congress NAACOS advocacy results in changes to ACO-17 quality measure for 2018

NAACOS urges CMS to make changes to scoring of ACO-17 (smoking cessation) quality measure for 2018

NAACOS Urges CMS to Postpone Beneficiary Notification Requirement NAACOS advocates for one-sided ACOs to have access to telehealth in revised legislation The application deadline for July 1, 2019 starts was February 19; NAACOS released a statement calling for CMS to extend the deadline into March

2018

CMS releases final ACO ‘Pathways to Success’ rule in December 2018

NAACOS statement on the final Pathways to Success rule NAACOS releases a report sharing ACO feedback on the proposed CMS Pathways to Success rule Lawmakers Ask for Key Changes in Final Medicare ACO Regulation Nine stakeholder groups urge CMS to ensure continued success of ACO program

ACOs Saved Medicare $2.7 Billion from 2013-2016

Final NAACOS comments on the Proposed Pathways to Success Rule NAACOS Testifies on Capitol Hill

Study Shows ACOs Saved Medicare $1.84 Billion from 2013 to 2015

2017 performance data from CMS shows positive results, prompting NAACOS statement NAACOS resource includes highlights of the 2017 MSSP results

NAACOS resource provides highlights of the 2018 Medicare ACO class and shows ACO growth over time NAACOS and five other provider organizations send a letter to CMS requesting that ACOs meeting cost or quality criteria be able to remain in Track 1

NAACOS comments on Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances policy for ACOs

NAACOS letter to CMS identifies PY2016 MSSP calculation error affecting ACOs with previous savings and rebased benchmarks in 2016

CMS Response about PY2016 Calculations

CMS announces 561 MSSP ACOs in 2018

NAACOS press release and CMS factsheet

2017 and earlier

CMS releases interim final rule establishing extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policies in MSSP for ACOs subject events such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires, effective for performance year 2017

Highlights of the 2016 Medicare ACO performance results

NAACOS press release on PY 2016 ACO results

CMS releases performance year 2016 MSSP results, available in this Public Use File and CMS Presentation

NAACOS letter expresses concerns about delayed PY 2016 results, urges CMS action

NAACOS March 2017 letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma on ACO improvements

NAACOS policy paper with detailed recommendations for improving the Medicare ACO program CMS Press Release on Announcement of 2017 ACO Class

NAACOS Joins CMS in Welcoming 525 ACOs in 2017! NAACOS Statement

Performance Year 2015 Results

Performance Year 2015 CMS Fact Sheet NAACOS Statement on Performance Year 2015 Results and Analysis of 2015 and early program years

NAACOS Statement on CMS’s Announcement of 2016 ACO Class Performance Year 2014 Results

CMS Announces 2014 Performance Year Results Performance Year 2014 CMS Fact Sheet NAACOS Statement on Performance Year 2014 Results

CMS Releases June 2015 MSSP ACO Final Rule affecting numerous MSSP policies.

CMS summary of the June 2015 Final Rule Provisions for ACOs under the MSSP NAACOS Statement Regarding CMS June 2015 MSSP ACO Final Rule

Performance Year 2013 Results

CMS Press Release on Performance Year 2013 Results NAACOS Statement on Performance Year 2013 Results

Performance Year 2012 Results

CMS Releases Performance Year 2012 Results by ACO CMS Announces ACO Savings from Performance Year 2012 NAACOS Statement on Performance Year 2012 Results

CMS Announces 123 New Accountable Care Organizations

What is the Medicare shared savings program?

Shared Savings Program ACO Participation Options – The Shared Savings Program offers different participation options (tracks) that allow ACOs to assume various levels of risk. The following table summarizes participation options under the BASIC track and ENHANCED track for agreement periods of at least five years, beginning on July 1, 2019, and in subsequent years.

Past experience of the ACO and its ACO participants in performance-based risk Medicare ACO initiatives, and Whether the ACO is a low revenue ACO or high revenue ACO.

Eligible ACOs may apply for a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) 3-Day Rule Waiver, and/or to establish and operate a Beneficiary Incentive Program (BIP) and use expanded telehealth services. Back to Top

How many ACOs are there in the US?

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) offer enormous opportunity for patients and providers to work together to achieve enhanced quality of care, reduced costs and improved health outcomes. As a market-based solution, ACOs rely on groups of physicians, hospitals, and other providers voluntarily collaborating to achieve these important goals.

As of January 2022, there are 483 Medicare ACOs serving over 11 million beneficiaries. Since 2010, more than 1,200 organizations have held an ACO contract in Medicare, Medicaid or the commercial sector and serving millions of additional patients. The accountable care model has a long history of bipartisan support, starting with the Physician Group Practice Demonstration Program passed under President George W.

Bush’s administration in 2000 and further expanded under President Obama’s administration. ACOs are proving to be one of the most promising solutions to bend the cost curve and provide high-quality patient care and are a premier payment model in the shift to value-based care.

What is the difference between an MSP and MSSP?

What is a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)? – A Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) is a company focused on the security of your technology. This laser-focus means that they have the right tools and people in place to protect, detect, and respond quickly to any data breaches or suspicious activity.

MSSPs use a variety of tools and evaluations including penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, network security monitoring, and more to help proactively defend your business against data breaches and other cyber-attacks.
An MSSP also understands that there are many security and privacy regulations that companies must follow.

MSSPs are experts at ensuring a company is doing all that it needs to do to follow regulations. Many companies are required to follow compliance frameworks such as CMMC, NIST CSF, or HIPAA that have data protection and cybersecurity components. A qualified MSSP will have the personnel in place to offer comprehensive compliance consulting,

This can be a huge weight off your company and free up your legal and IT teams to focus on other activities to move your business forward.
While the job of an MSP is to make sure your company has all the IT assets, access, and services you need to succeed, an MSSP offers the protection around those assets.

Another way to think of it is like a house. The MSP helps you build and maintain the house while the MSSP provides the fences, door locks, and security cameras to protect it. An MSP can go a long way in making sure your employees can share data, use tech systems easily, and can get the data they need, an MSSP provides cybersecurity monitoring and management.

While an MSP is focused on usability and performance, an MSSP is focused on security. Your MSSP handles preventing, detecting, and responding to threats before they wreak havoc on your data. Sadly, data breaches are common today. According to the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, ransomware attacks increased 13% over the past year — a jump greater than the last 5 years combined.

A breach can ruin a customer’s trust and a company’s reputation. It’s key for the success of your business that you keep your data protected from outside eyes. For many businesses, it’s often not a case of choosing an MSP vs MSSP, but rather leveraging both types of providers to get the technical solutions and services needed with the least amount of friction. One of the main jobs of an MSSP is to detect and respond to cyberthreats and one of the biggest assets in their toolbelt is Managed Detection and Response (MDR) software. MDR programs can analyze networks and detect suspicious activity, but they are only one piece of the cybersecurity puzzle.

What industry is MSSP in?

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) make up a branch of IT outsourcing that performs a variety of IT security-related tasks and reduces internal staffing needs within client organizations.

What is the difference between MIPS and MSSP?

Although somewhat familiar with CMS’s MIPS and MSSP programs, many healthcare providers have questions about the differences between the two. MIPS (Merit-Based Incentive Payment System) is currently CMS’s largest value-based care payment program and is designed to move the healthcare industry toward transformation from fee-for-service to pay-for-value care.

MIPS is mandatory for all providers who receive $90,000 in Medicare part B payments AND provide care for more than 200 Part B-enrolled Medicare beneficiaries AND bill more than 200 professional services per year. CMS and Congress (through the Bipartisan Budget Act) manage MIPS through the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).

MACRA requires CMS to publish each eligible clinician’s annual MIPS score and performance category scores within approximately 12 months after the end of the relevant performance year. Consequently, more than half-a-million 2017 MIPS scores became publicly available in early 2019, all identifiable by clinician and group.

Third-party consumer websites are able to access the data files containing scores and clinician ratings against national peers on a scale of 0 to 100.
In addition, a 5-star rating scale is applied to every MIPS quality measure for purpose of peer comparisons.
MACRA also mandates that CMS must gradually increase the MIPS performance threshold each year towards becoming the national historical mean or median in the 2022 performance year.

For this reason, MIPS can be likened to a “treadmill” which increases in speed and trajectory over time, motivating organizations and clinicians to put quality incentive programs in place now in order to stay ahead of the competition as the program gets more difficult.

2017 and 2018 performance years: MIP requirements initially included physicians (MD/DO and DMD/DDS), physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists Additions for 2019 performance year: MIPS expanded to include physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, clinical psychologists, and registered dietitians or nutrition professionals

MSSP (Medicare Shared Savings Program) is an alternative payment model in which eligible providers and hospitals are rewarded for achieving better health for patients, improving population health, and reducing costs for healthcare. To participate in MSSP providers must be part of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), a patient-centered network which shares medical and financial and responsibilities.

MSSP’s goal is the improvement of patient care while curbing unnecessary spending with the promotion of accountability for a patient population and coordination of services under Medicare Parts A and B.
The initiatives encourage investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes for high quality and efficient service delivery.

MSSP evaluates eligible clinicians on measures related to resource utilization, calculated using Medicare claims, patient experience surveys, and chart-abstracted quality measures. As part of healthcare’s move from the fee-for-service focus to value-based care, St.

Elizabeth participates in CMS’s MSSP program through the St. Elizabeth Provider Network (SEPN) and the ACO Healthcare Solutions Network (HSN). In 2018 MSSP transitioned from Pay-for-Reporting to Pay-for-Performance. In this third year of MSSP the shift focuses upon performance in the measures below and will have a large financial impact on providers and the institution.

St. Elizabeth’s participation in MSSP benefits our providers by also satisfying the required MIPS participation and saving the providers from having to complete this tedious process on their own. MIPS performance is scored based on three domains: Quality, Promoting Interoperability, and Improvement Activities.

MSSP performance is based on four domains: At-Risk Population, Patient/ Caregiver Experience, Preventative Health, and Care Coordination/ Patient Safety. St.
Elizabeth participates in MIPS and MSSP through the ACO (Accountable Care Organization) Healthcare Solutions Network, a partnership between SEPN and TriHealth.2017 performance resulted in a positive payment adjustment of 1.64% (the highest possible for performance year 2017) for the SEPN physician providers payable throughout this year, 2019.2018 performance will result in a 1.68% positive payment adjustment (the highest possible for performance year 2018) made payable to providers in 2020.

See below for HSN and SEPN’s performance in the chart-abstracted quality measures as well as the overall MIPS and MSSP performance. For any questions, please feel free to contact Shelley Simpson at 301-7335.

What is the risk adjustment for MSSP?

Abstract – The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) adjusts savings benchmarks by beneficiaries’ baseline risk scores. To discourage increased coding intensity, the benchmark is not adjusted upward if beneficiaries’ risk scores rise while in the MSSP.

As a result, accountable care organizations (ACOs) face an incentive to avoid increasingly sick or expensive beneficiaries. We examined whether beneficiary exposure to the MSSP was associated with within-beneficiary changes in risk score and whether risk score was associated with entry and exit in the MSSP.

We found that the MSSP was not associated with consistent changes in within-beneficiary risk score. Conversely, the highest-risk beneficiaries (99th percentile of risk score) had a 25.1% chance of exiting the MSSP compared to a 16.0% chance among median risk beneficiaries (50th percentile).

What is a next generation ACO?

Model Details – The Next Generation ACO Model was an initiative for ACOs that were experienced in coordinating care for populations of patients. It allowed these provider groups to assume higher levels of financial risk and reward than were available under the Shared Savings Program (MSSP).

The goal of the Model was to test whether strong financial incentives for ACOs, coupled with tools to support better patient engagement and care management, could improve health outcomes and lower expenditures for Original Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries.
Included in the Next Generation ACO Model were strong patient protections to ensure that patients had access to and received high-quality care.

Like other Medicare ACO initiatives, this Model was evaluated on its ability to deliver better care for individuals, better health for populations, and lower growth in expenditures. This was in accordance with the Department of Health and Human Services’ “Better, Smarter, Healthier” approach to improving our nation’s health care and setting clear, measurable goals and a timeline to move the Medicare program – and the health care system at large – toward paying providers based on the quality rather than the quantity of care they provide to patients.

What is the largest single share of Medicare benefit payments?

Spending on Physician and Other Outpatient Services Accounts for a Growing Share of Medicare Spending – Spending on benefits under each part of Medicare (A, B, and D) increased in dollar terms between 2011 and 2021, but the distribution of total benefit payments by part has changed over time.

Spending on Part B benefits, including physician services, hospital outpatient services, physician-administered drugs, and other outpatient services, increased from 41% in 2011 to 48% in 2021, and now accounts for the largest share of total spending on Medicare benefits (Figure 4).
The share of total spending on Part A benefits (mainly hospital inpatient services) decreased from 47% to 39%, reflecting a shift from inpatient to outpatient services.

Moving forward, Medicare spending on physician services and other services covered under Part B is expected to grow to just over half of total Medicare spending by 2031, while spending on hospital care and other services covered under Part A is projected to decrease further as a share of the total.

What is the largest ACOs in the country?

Major government ACOs to cover 13.2M people this year

Three of the government’s main accountable care programs will cover more than 13.2 million people enrolled in Medicare this year, the CMS announced on Tuesday, as it works to expand the number of beneficiaries in the value-based arrangements. More than 704,000 physicians and other organizations will participate in one of the agency’s value-based initiatives — the Medicare Shared Savings Program along with two CMS innovation center accountable care models, ACO REACH and Kidney Care Choices. More than 1,450 hospitals are in ACOs. ACOs and value-based care advocates cheered the news, with the National Association of ACOs calling 2023 a “turning point” for ACO growth.

The CMS is making progress on its goal to have all traditional Medicare beneficiaries in accountable care arrangements by 2030, according to new agency data released Tuesday. In 2023, 10.9 million beneficiaries are being cared for in MSSP ACOs, while 2.1 million are being cared for by REACH ACOs.

MSSP, which was established by the Affordable Care Act, is the largest accountable care initiative in the U.S. Participation in MSSP peaked in 2018 with 561 ACOs, but has fallen amid CMS rules that made involvement riskier financially. Now there are 456 ACOs in MSSP. The CMS said that, though MSSP experienced a decrease in ACOs and assigned beneficiaries for 2023, the policies finalized in should grow participation next year and beyond.

Policies include giving providers upfront investment dollars that are paid back through shared savings, a slower path to financial risk and more realistic policies around spending targets, according to NAACOs. Meanwhile, ACO REACH now has 132 participants,,

In ACO REACH, doctors can accept either full or partial capitation as payment, with the goal of coordinating primary and specialty care for patients while giving access to additional benefits like telehealth visits.
The model has a to implement a health equity plan and extend access in underserved communities, along with guardrails to increase provider governance.

“We expect 2023 to be a turning point for ACOs and growth in participation to really accelerate in 2024 thanks to CMS leadership,” NAACOs president and CEO Clif Gaus said in a statement on the data. “The interest in high-risk models like ACO REACH should be a signal that CMS needs to include more high-risk options in the Shared Savings Program with many of the features of REACH.” : Major government ACOs to cover 13.2M people this year

What is an example of ACOs?

How The Center For Medicare And Medicaid Innovation Should Test Accountable Care Organizations – By Stephen M. Shortell, Lawrence P. Casalino and Elliott S. Fisher Health Affairs July 2010 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to create a national voluntary program for accountable care organizations (ACOs) by January 2012.

ACOs are provider groups that accept responsibility for the cost and quality of care delivered to a specific population of patients cared for by the groups’ clinicians.
Accountable Care Models Accountable care organizations will be largely based on physician practices that, in turn, may be organized as patient-centered medical homes.

Many ACOs will also include hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes, and perhaps other delivery organizations. There are at least five different types of practice arrangements that could serve as ACOs. These are the integrated or organized delivery system, multispecialty group practices, physician-hospital organizations, independent practice associations, and “virtual” physician organizations, all described below.1.

Integrated Delivery Systems Integrated delivery systems involve a common ownership of hospitals, physician practices, and—in some cases—an insurance plan.
Some examples are Kaiser Permanente, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, and Geisinger Health System.
These systems typically have aligned financial incentives, electronic health records, team-based care, and resources to support cost-effective care.2.

Multispecialty Group Practices Multispecialty group practices usually own or have a strong affiliation with a hospital. Examples of this type of arrangement include Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. They usually do not own a health plan but, rather, have contracts with multiple health plans in their areas.

Most have a long history of physician leadership and highly developed mechanisms for providing coordinated clinical care.3. Physician-Hospital Organizations These organizations are a subset of the hospital’s medical staff. One example is Advocate Health in Chicago. Most were formed in the 1990s in response to managed care pressures to negotiate with health plans.

Some function like multispecialty group practices, focusing on reorganizing the delivery of care to achieve more cost-effective coordination. Although they may be less well suited than integrated delivery systems or multispecialty practices to qualify as ACOs, many could structure themselves to meet the criteria for that type of organization.4.

Independent Practice Associations Independent practice associations consist of individual physician practices that came together largely for purposes of contracting with health plans. Over time, however, many of these have evolved into more-organized networks of practices that are actively engaged in practice redesign, quality improvement initiatives, and implementation of electronic health records.

One example is Hill Physicians Group, in Northern California. Such organizations could qualify as ACOs, and that might encourage other independent practice associations to evolve similarly, given sufficiently strong financial incentives and technical assistance.5.

Virtual Physician Organizations Finally, a number of small, independent physician practices, many located in rural areas, can organize to become “virtual” physician organizations, such as Community Care of North Carolina.
This process can be led by individual physicians in rural areas or by a local medical foundation, state Medicaid agency, or similar organization that can provide the leadership, infrastructure, and resources to help small practices develop disease registries; implement electronic health records; share information; and provide better-coordinated, cost-effective care.

What is the disadvantage of MSSP?

MSSP Disadvantages Boil Down to Increased Risk – Before diving into the risks associated with hiring an MSSP, it’s important to understand that MSSPs do not completely eliminate your security costs—for example, you’ll still need an in-house CISO or similar security team member for the MSSP to report to and coordinate with.

MSSPs offer security expertise; but they are meant to supplement your own security team, not replace it. One disadvantage that keeps companies from outsourcing their security functions is the risk of letting someone take care of their sensitive data. For many companies, allowing outsiders to handle customer personal identifiable information (PII) is totally unacceptable.

This is why a detailed SLA is essential to an MSSP relationship—so that confidentiality can be maintained and you are protected legally in the case of a data breach. At least when security is in-house, you can take it on yourself to guarantee customer data protection, which leads to another risk-related MSSP disadvantage—a lack of control.

We mentioned the standard security appliances and applications any defense strategy needs; but with an MSSP you don’t have control over the actual cyber security portfolio.
While MSSPs are hired for their security expertise, it can still be a daunting task to relinquish all defense responsibilities to an external provider.

To mitigate these disadvantages, do your research before choosing who to outsource with. There are plenty of service providers and each one will approach your network slightly differently—make sure you take the time to ensure SLAs will meet your needs and that you can trust the provider with your sensitive data.

How many MSSPs are there?

The next few years will see a surge in channel spending. According to Jay McBain, an analyst at Forrester Research, spending on IT and telecommunications will be worth about $7 trillion by 2030. The channel is destined to land at least a third of that.

Competition is fierce. With about half a million VARs currently operating and roughly 75,000 MSPs, what opportunities exist for expansion? To many, the answer is security – there are only 10,000 MSSPs currently operating after all. And a recent Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) study notes that cybersecurity is likely to be the top area for increased IT spending for 2022.

According to ESG, 69% of organizations plan to spend more on cybersecurity in 2022. Another 29% say cybersecurity spending will be approximately the same as in 2021. The rest – 2% – intend to pay less for cybersecurity in 2022 compared to 2021. In the survey, cybersecurity spending came out ahead of other hot areas such as the cloud and artificial intelligence (AI).

“The research shows that cyber threats like ransomware have become a top priority for business executives and boards of directors,” said Jon Oltsik, an analyst with ESG. Between the increased attention cybersecurity received in 2021, with attention-grabbing attacks at the likes of SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline, and the persistent cybersecurity skills shortage, many companies lack the ability to adequately defend themselves, fueling increased demand for security services.

So how can MSPs – or for that matter, any company looking to add cybersecurity services to its offerings – transition effectively into the security space and add managed security services provider (MSSP) to their repertoire? Before beginning, it is important to understand market drivers, come to terms with the great many tools out there, survey the market and pick a simple place to start – one that is in demand among your existing user base.

What is MSSP vs non MSSP?

What’s the difference between an MSP and an MSSP? A Managed Service Provider (MSP) ensures your IT systems are operational, but a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) offers true security as a service, ensuring your people and systems are safe, secure and compliant. The VikingCloud MSP versus MSSP infographic below depicts the differences between the two types of service providers. What Is Mssp In Healthcare

Who needs an MSSP?

You need an MSSP when you can’t make do with pre-installed anti-virus software and firewalls. You need password managers, network monitoring software, threat detection tools, and more tools.

Why do we need managed security services?

Benefits of Hiring a Managed Security Service Provider – The primary benefit of managed security services is the security expertise and additional staffing they provide. The ability for MSSPs to manage security processes from an off-site location allows enterprises to conduct business as usual with minimal intrusion due to security initiatives, while the MSSP interface maintains a constant line of communication and seamless reporting to the business.

MSSPs ensure that enterprise IT is always up-to-date with the status of security issues, audits, and maintenance, enabling the hiring organization to focus on security governance rather than administrative tasks. There are a wide range of security services being offered by MSSPs today, from full outsourcing of security programs to specialized services that focus on a specific component of the enterprise’s security (such as threat monitoring, data protection, management of network security tools, regulatory compliance, or incident response and forensics).

By outsourcing security, enterprises are often able to realize cost savings by eliminating the need to maintain a fully staffed, full-time, on-site IT security department. Many organizations also turn to MSSPs for faster deployment times and improved time-to-value on security investments.

What is the importance of managed security service provider?

FAQs – What is the difference between an MSP and MSSP? A managed service provider (MSP) manages part of the business’ operations for a fee. These operations could include cybersecurity, backup, recovery, customer services, etc. Whereas an MSSP deals specifically in outsourcing your cybersecurity activities.

How does a managed security service provider help a business? It helps in many ways.
An MSSP offers a low-cost alternative to hiring in-house cybersecurity personnel.
Also, an MSSP can help you secure your systems in no time.
Another benefit is that an MSSP can optimize response times in the event of a cyber-attack.

What are the functions of a managed security services provider? Here are some of the major functions of an MSSP:

It protects businesses from security threats.Offers software and services to company data safe.Builds a network of security experts who can respond to attacks as they happen.Provide cybersecurity monitoring and management.Handle matters such as system changes, modifications, and upgrades.

Is demand for MSSPs rising? Yes, it is. The market for MSSPs is forecasted to reach $46.4 billion by 2025.