What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus tests the same controls with a hands-on technical audit by a licensed assessor. You must hold Cyber Essentials before doing Plus.

Do you do the work, or just assess us?

We do the work. Foresight runs the gap analysis, carries out hands-on remediation, prepares the evidence and liaises with the assessor, so you pass first time rather than paying to re-sit a failed audit.

How much does Cyber Essentials cost?

The IASME assessment fee is tiered by size from around £320 + VAT and includes £25,000 cyber liability insurance for eligible UK businesses. Cyber Essentials Plus is scoped to your estate, typically from around £1,380 + VAT.

IT Explained

What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

If you’ve been told you need an “MSP” but aren’t sure what that means, here’s the plain-English version — what they do, what they cost, and how to pick a good one.

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Why Foresight

Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Supporting 130+ organisations since 2006
We reply within one working hour
Plain-English, no jargon

Quick answer

A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that looks after another organisation’s IT and cyber security for a fixed monthly fee — proactively managing, monitoring and supporting your technology so you don’t have to. A good MSP acts as your outsourced (or co-managed) IT department: handling support, security, backups, Microsoft 365, updates and strategy, and keeping everything running so you can focus on your business.

In short

What an MSP actually does

An MSP (Managed Service Provider) takes day-to-day responsibility for your technology. Instead of calling someone only when things break, you pay a predictable monthly fee and they keep everything working — proactively. A typical MSP covers:

What they handle	What it means for you
Helpdesk & support	Someone to fix problems quickly, so your team isn’t stuck
Monitoring & patching	Issues spotted and updates applied before they cause downtime
Cyber security	Protection, monitoring and Cyber Essentials to keep you safe
Backup & recovery	Tested backups so a disaster is an inconvenience, not a catastrophe
Microsoft 365 & cloud	Licensing, email, security and migrations handled for you
Strategy (vCIO)	A plan for where your technology goes next

Fully managed vs co-managed

Two ways to work with an MSP

Fully managed means the MSP runs everything as your complete outsourced IT department. Co-managed means you keep some IT in-house (often first-line support) while the MSP handles the specialist layer — security, monitoring, backup and escalation. We explain the difference in detail in co-managed vs fully managed IT.

Choosing one

What to look for in a UK MSP

Look for an MSP that is Cyber Essentials (ideally Plus) certified, UK-based, proactive rather than reactive, and transparent on pricing. Foresight is a Cyber Essentials Plus certified MSP in Greater Manchester, supporting 130+ organisations since 2006 — you can build a quote in two minutes or see our managed IT support.

FAQs

Common questions

What does an MSP do?

An MSP proactively manages and supports your IT and cyber security for a fixed monthly fee — helpdesk, monitoring, patching, security, backups, Microsoft 365 and strategy — so your technology just works.

How much does an MSP cost?

In the UK, MSPs usually charge per device or per user per month. Co-managed/monitoring can start around GBP 15 per device; fully managed is typically GBP 25–GBP 50 per device, often plus a small baseline fee. See our guide to IT support costs.

What’s the difference between an MSP and an IT support company?

They’re largely the same thing. “MSP” emphasises the proactive, managed, fixed-fee model — keeping things working — rather than only fixing things when they break.

Do I need an MSP?

If you rely on technology and don’t have the in-house expertise (or time) to manage and secure it properly, an MSP gives you that capability predictably and affordably — including the security that insurers and regulators increasingly expect.

What is co-managed IT?

Co-managed IT is where you keep some IT in-house and the MSP handles the specialist layer — security, monitoring, patching, backup and escalation — without taking over your whole helpdesk.

Thinking about an MSP?

Have a no-obligation chat, or build a quote in two minutes and see exactly what it would cost.

See our IT support Call 0161 738 1399