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title: MSP & MSSP Glossary
canonical_url: https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/
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description: Managed services procurement has a vocabulary problem: the same terms mean different things to different providers, and the differences are exactly where the commercial risk sits. This glossary defines the terms an evaluator encounters
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# MSP & MSSP Glossary

Managed services procurement has a vocabulary problem: the same terms mean different things to different providers, and the differences are exactly where the commercial risk sits.

This glossary defines the terms an evaluator encounters when comparing providers — MSP and MSSP and why the distinction matters, co-managed IT, SOC and SIEM, EDR and MDR and XDR, SLA versus SLO, RPO and RTO, transition-in and disengagement, Essential Eight maturity levels, and the difference between certification, alignment and compliance-aligned.

The last of those is worth flagging before you read further. **Certified** means an accredited body has audited and issued a certificate against a defined scope. **Aligned** means controls have been mapped to a framework without third-party certification. **Compliance-aligned** is weaker still. Providers use all three interchangeably in marketing; only the first is independently verifiable, and asking which one applies is usually the fastest way to test how carefully a provider chooses its words.

Definitions here are written to the industry standard meaning, not to flatter our own positioning.


## Directory Entries

### [MSP and MSSP Glossary — Managed Services Terms Explained](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/msp-and-mssp-glossary-managed-services-terms-explained.html)

### [NOC vs SOC — What Each Does and Why the Distinction Matters](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/noc-vs-soc-what-each-does-and-why-the-distinction-matters.html)

### [What Is an MSP? Managed Services Provider Explained for Australian Buyers](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/what-is-an-msp-managed-services-provider-explained-for-australian-buyers.html)

### [What Is an MSSP? Managed Security Services Provider Explained](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/what-is-an-mssp-managed-security-services-provider-explained.html)

### [What Is Co-Managed IT? The Middle Ground Between In-House and Outsourced](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/what-is-co-managed-it-the-middle-ground-between-in-house-and-outsourced.html)

### [What Is Mid-Market IT? Complexity, Capability and Service Fit](https://blueapache.agentic.norg.ai/resources-faqs/msp-mssp-glossary/what-is-mid-market-it-defining-the-100-to-1-000-seat-band.html)