MSP SaaS security readiness checklist

Modern businesses run on SaaS applications. According to the State of SaaS 2025 report, a company uses approximately 106 different SaaS apps today.¹ For MSPs, that means more responsibility than ever.

Your clients rely on you to manage their SaaS tools, keep their users and data safe from evolving threats and everything in between. With so much at stake, just one overlooked gap can lead to a costly breach.

That’s why we’ve created this actionable checklist to help MSPs like you know the risk, close the gaps and secure your clients’ SaaS environments confidently. The questions in the sections below will help you assess vulnerabilities, standardize protections and deliver true peace of mind to clients.

Know the risk across your clients’ most critical SaaS applications

Today, businesses use a plethora of SaaS apps, and the harsh reality is that all these apps are under attack. To better protect your clients, you need full visibility into their most critical SaaS apps, user behavior and risk exposure. This section is designed to help you identify the weak spots in your clients’ SaaS environments.

Do you have complete visibility into your clients’ most critical SaaS applications?

Unmanaged apps may lack security oversight.

• Monitor SaaS applications for anomalous behavior that may indicate a breach.
• Ensure only authorized users on authorized devices can gain access to SaaS apps.
• Regularly assess third-party vendors to ensure they meet your clients’ security requirements and don’t introduce hidden risks into their SaaS environments.
• Proactively identify and remove dormant accounts to block backdoor access points and prevent unauthorized access.

Have you performed a baseline SaaS security audit for each client?

A SaaS security audit is critical to protecting your clients’ end users and mission-critical data.

• Conduct cyber-risk assessments periodically to identify security gaps, learn their incident response plans and ensure compliance with industry regulations.
• Tailor security posture per client based on industry, size and risk profile.
• Include third-party integrations, newly added devices, user access and sharing settings.

Can you detect SaaS-based threats in real time across all tenants?

Real-time alerting is critical to detecting and responding to threats quickly and minimizing potential damage.

• Deploy tools that continuously monitor user behavior, app usage and system logs so you can spot threats before they impact your clients.
• Look for a robust SaaS security solution like SaaS Alerts, which uses ML-powered threat detection and instantly alerts you when an abnormal event is detected.
• Implement tools that allow you to categorize and prioritize alerts, customize SaaS security event thresholds or combine multiple behaviors into a single alert.

Close the gaps — Standardize & scale secure operations

Once you’ve identified potential risks in your clients’ SaaS platforms, it’s time to take action. The questions and checklist points in this section are crafted to help you streamline security operations and proactively defend your clients while elevating service quality.

Do you enforce MFA across all high-risk SaaS applications for your clients?

Email, collaboration and file-sharing platforms are top attack vectors.

• Enforce MFA across all platforms. It’s one of the most effective security measures against social engineering and credential-based attacks.
• Identify clients with inconsistent MFA configurations.
• Explain the risks and potential impacts to their businesses by not using MFA.

Have you automated SaaS misconfiguration detection across tenants?

Misconfigured systems and default settings create easy entry points for cybercriminals to infiltrate critical systems and steal sensitive data.

• Establish standardized, secure configurations across operating systems, software apps and network devices to minimize vulnerabilities from the start.
• Evaluate the security settings of third-party vendors and suppliers to ensure they align with your clients’ protection standards.
• Use automation tools to efficiently deploy secure configurations across a wide range of systems, applications and devices.

Are guest user accounts actively monitored for suspicious behavior?

External collaborators or unmonitored guest users may have access to sensitive files and can introduce major risk across shared environments.

• When provisioning a new guest user account, apply the principle of least privilege. Grant only the access necessary for the user to perform their role.
• Set expiration dates for guest user accounts.
• Monitor guest user activity for anomalies, such as unusual upload or download patterns, that could indicate unauthorized access or data exfiltration.

Secure your SaaS — Deliver confidence as a service

For MSPs, security isn’t just a service — it’s a promise. This section covers key MSP security best practices to deliver real-time response, automated remediation and measurable value to your clients.

Have you implemented automated SaaS threat response across client environments?

For MSPs managing multiple clients and SaaS environments, speed is critical when tackling cyberthreats.

• Don’t rely on manual threat response mechanisms. They’re too slow for today’s rapidly evolving SaaS attacks.
• Use automation tools like SaaS Alerts to instantly take actions like disabling compromised accounts and blocking new login attempts without any manual intervention required.
• Use standardized playbooks that trigger auto-remediation workflows to ensure fast, scalable protection across all clients.

Can you isolate and contain SaaS threats without disrupting client operations?

The ability to respond to threats quickly and efficiently helps prevent unnecessary downtime and ensure business continuity.

• Develop a cybersecurity playbook that maps out potential breach scenarios and defines clear, step-by-step response actions for each situation.
• Conduct regular tabletop exercises with your clients to simulate real-world threats, test response strategies and strengthen your team’s readiness.
• Implement advanced SaaS security solutions with automated threat response capabilities to stop breaches as soon as they happen and minimize the damage.

Can you generate easy-to-understand SaaS risk reports for your clients?

Your clients don’t see the behind-the-scenes work you do to manage, support and secure their SaaS environments. That’s where reporting comes in. Powerful reporting not only demonstrates the value your MSP provides but also builds client trust.

• Use your SaaS security platform to run and share reports on threats, response actions and trends.
• Ensure the reports align with client priorities, such as security requirements, compliance needs and IT maturity.
• Include KPIs in your reports, such as time to respond and resolve threats, threats detected and mitigated, and SaaS app usage and risk exposure.

Are you continuously monitoring tenant health using automated tools?

In cybersecurity, continuously monitoring tenant health (e.g., Microsoft Secure Score) is critical to reducing vulnerabilities, minimizing risk and strengthening your clients’ security posture.

• Continuously monitor login activity across your clients’ environments to detect suspicious behavior early.
• Actively track data-sharing activity within your clients’ environments to prevent unauthorized exposure of sensitive information.
• Leverage advanced security solutions with an automated security policy system that enables you to apply security recommendations across all your tenants in just minutes.

Bonus tip sheet

SaaS platforms, such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, boost productivity and enhance collaboration. However, they also open the doors to a wide range of cybersecurity risks. As an MSP, spotting the early warning signs is critical to keeping your clients one step ahead of hidden risks. Here are five red flags that indicate your clients’ SaaS apps might be at risk.

Discover how SaaS Alerts helps you protect your clients’ SaaS environments effortlessly. Learn more.

Source:

1 https://www.bettercloud.com/resources/state-of-saas/