Task Description:
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Phase 3
Align technology to business outcomes.
Turn goals into roadmaps, budgets, and initiatives clients can approve.
Roadmaps and budgets lose impact when they are full of technical language. Connecting them to business goals helps clients understand why the work matters.
Translate goals from Discovery into clear initiatives.
Use roadmaps to show timing, sequencing, and business impact.
Present budgets in context so clients can plan instead of reacting to surprise costs.
6
Build a Goal-Driven Roadmap
What's a Roadmap, exactly?
Roadmaps help MSPs organize projects into step-by-step plans. They help keep internal teams on track and clients aware of what's happening and when. A good Roadmap connects each project to a customer's bigger goals.
It also acts as a guide in meetings, especially Quarterly Business Reviews, to show progress.
To create a strong Roadmap, take the goals uncovered during Discovery and turn them into clear initiatives.
Client Goal
Initiative Example
How It Aligns
Open a second office
Expand network and deploy cloud phone system
Supports growth and seamless communication
Get compliance certification
Implement MFA, endpoint protection, and backups
Meets certification requirements
Support hybrid work
Migrate files to SharePoint, secure remote access
Enables flexible, secure work
Create Clear Initiatives Tied to Customer Goals
Initiatives are projects or tasks you believe will help a client reach their goals. They are the building blocks of your Roadmap. A good Initiative should explain:
- ✓What you are doing ("Replace aging firewall")
- ✓Why it matters ("Reduce security risk and meet compliance")
- ✓When it should happen ("Q3 2025")
- ✓How much it will cost (estimates are okay at this point)
Keep Initiatives to 1-2 clear sentences that a non-technical stakeholder could understand. They should highlight the value of the work, not just describe the task.
Showcases Value:
Roll out MFA across all user accounts to protect sensitive data and support the company's cyber insurance compliance.
Here are some more helpful examples:
Example #1
Cloud File Migration
- What:
- Migrate shared files from the local NAS system to SharePoint Online with structured folder setup, user permissions, and sync testing across teams.
- Why:
- Enable remote access, improve collaboration, and support hybrid work
- When:
- Q1 2026
- Cost Estimate:
- $3,800 fixed
Example #2
IT Policy Rollout
- What:
- Draft, review, and publish Acceptable Use, Password, and Remote Work policies. Includes a staff training session and an internal portal page for easy access.
- Why:
- Improve compliance and reduce the risk of human error
- When:
- Q2 2025
- Cost Estimate:
- $1,500
7
Add Context to Your Budgets
If you do not connect costs to your client's goals, they will just see your proposal as another surprise expense. But when you tie spending to what matters to them, it shows you are thinking strategically.
When to Present Your Budget
Timing matters. Sharing a budget alongside your Roadmap shows you are planning ahead, not just asking for money, and helps avoid sticker shock.
The best time to present a budget is early on, like at the start of the fiscal year or early in your partnership. This sets clear expectations and helps your customer plan for the year.
Do not worry if your first budget is an estimate. Giving your clients a price range early on is better than surprising them with the full cost later.
Here are some other points in the client journey where it makes sense to review budgets:
Moment
Why It Works
Start of the calendar or fiscal year
Aligns budgeting with business planning and spending cycles.
After a Discovery, Assessment, or Roadmap
You have just uncovered what needs to happen. Now it is time to plan how to fund it.
Before a major QBR
A perfect time to present or refine the budget and gain approvals for upcoming quarters.
When proposing major projects
Helps frame costs in context and avoid sticker shock.
When renewing contracts
A good chance to bundle new projects or plan around upcoming costs.
Connect Budgets to Client Goals
Most budgets fall flat because they feel like an expense list with no context. Instead, tie each item to a business goal and show when it will happen, according to your Roadmap.
Goal
Initiative
Q1
Q2
Q3
Hire 10 remote employees
Migrate files to shared drive
$2,500
Roll out company-wide MFA
Endpoint protection and backup policy rollout
$1,800
Automate remote device setup
Standardized onboarding workflow
$3,200
How This Applies to Your Segments
High
Maturity
Low
Educate
Segment C - High Maturity, Low Appetite
Roadmaps should be year-long documents tied to productivity, automation, and collaboration strategies. Initiatives should support cross-departmental productivity and process change or CapEx projects. Proposals and budgets should center on ROI and mid-term outcomes.
Transform
Segment A - High Maturity, High Appetite
Roadmaps should be multi-year documents tied to OKRs across multiple departments. Initiatives should focus on innovation, strategic platforms, and other CapEx projects. Proposals and budgets should be polished presentations that require formal approval.
Sustain
Segment D - Low Maturity, Low Appetite
Roadmaps should focus on short-term priorities and improving the baseline tech stack. Initiatives should center on executional projects, lifecycle upgrades, or compliance actions. Proposals and budgets should be streamlined and simple.
Modernize
Segment B - Low Maturity, High Appetite
Roadmaps should be short-to-midterm documents highlighting key foundational projects that support business operations. Initiatives should focus on stack modernization, recurring services, tactical upgrades, and clear timelines.
Maturity: high to low. Appetite: low to high.
Lifecycle Manager
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