For managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service providers, a customer risk report should do more than present a large amount of security data. The most effective Risk Registry reports help customers understand their current security posture, identify areas requiring attention, and prioritize remediation.
When building a final customer report, one of the most important questions is: Which reports and tabs provide meaningful value, and which simply create unnecessary complexity?
A well-designed reporting structure should separate executive-level insights from technical details, while removing redundant or unclear information.
Focus on Actionable Security Information
Not every available security report needs to appear in the final customer deliverable. Including too many overlapping reports can make it difficult for customers to identify the issues that require immediate attention.
The final report should prioritize information that can lead to a specific action.
Key reports may include:
• Vulnerability Report – Identifies known security weaknesses requiring remediation.
• CVE Report – Provides visibility into Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures affecting systems and software.
• Ninja Compliance Report – Highlights compliance-related gaps and areas where endpoints or systems may not meet required standards.
• Patching Report – Shows missing, outdated, or failed patches that could increase security risk.
• Risk Summary – Provides an overall view of identified risks and their potential business impact.
• Remediation Status – Shows whether previously identified issues have been resolved, remain open, or require additional attention.
The objective is not to maximize the number of tabs. It is to provide the right information in a format that supports decision-making.
Separate Executive and Detailed Reports
Different stakeholders need different levels of information.
An executive or management report should provide a concise overview of the customer's security posture. It can summarize the most significant risks, overall compliance status, critical vulnerabilities, patching health, and recommended priorities.
Technical teams, on the other hand, may need detailed information such as affected devices, CVE identifiers, severity levels, remediation status, and specific recommendations.
A practical reporting structure can therefore include two levels:
Executive Report
• Overall risk posture
• Critical and high-priority issues
• Compliance status
• Major vulnerability trends
• Patching status
• Recommended next steps
Detailed Technical Report
• Individual vulnerabilities
• CVE details
• Affected assets
• Patch information
• Compliance findings
• Remediation tracking
This approach prevents executives from being overwhelmed by technical information while still giving IT teams the details they need to take action.
Remove Redundant or Unclear Reports
A common reporting problem is including multiple reports that communicate essentially the same information. Redundant tabs increase the length of the report without necessarily increasing its value.
Before a report is included, MSPs should ask:
Does this report provide unique information? Can the customer take action based on it? Is the information easy to understand?
If the answer is no, the report may be better removed, consolidated, or moved into a technical appendix.
Clear naming is equally important. Customers should immediately understand what each report represents and why it matters.
How Storage Guardian Can Help
Storage Guardian helps organizations and MSPs bring security and risk information together through its Risk Registry offering.
Storage Guardian's approach can help customers organize security findings into actionable categories, making it easier to identify vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, patching requirements, and remediation priorities.
For MSPs, this can also support a more consistent customer reporting process. Instead of delivering large amounts of disconnected technical data, providers can structure reports around the questions customers actually need answered:
What are our biggest risks? What needs to be fixed? What has already been addressed? And what should we prioritize next?
Build Reports Around Decisions, Not Data
A successful Risk Registry report is not necessarily the longest report. It is the one that makes security information easier to understand and act upon.
By retaining actionable reports such as vulnerability, CVE, Ninja compliance, and patching, while removing redundant or unclear tabs, MSPs can create customer reports that are more concise, useful, and easier to review.
The final goal should be simple: turn security data into clear priorities and measurable actions.
