MSP Terminology

Overview

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) use a specialized vocabulary that can be confusing for newcomers. This skill covers common terminology, acronyms, and concepts used across the MSP industry and its tooling ecosystem.

Anti-triggers

This skill is a glossary. It shares its entire vocabulary — ticket, agent, asset, seat, contract, SLA — with every vendor skill in this marketplace, which is exactly why it gets loaded by mistake. It defines those words; it cannot look any of them up.

• Any question about a real record — "how many seats does Acme have", "what is the SLA on this ticket", "which agent is on that server" are data questions. Load the vendor's skill: pax8-subscriptions, autotask-contracts, ninjaone-devices, and so on.
• What a term means inside one platform — vendor status values, priority enums, and entity names are that vendor's own vocabulary and frequently contradict the generic definition here. Use that vendor's skill.
• How to act on the concept — triage practice is shared-skills-ticket-triage; cross-tool investigation is shared-skills-incident-correlation.

Core Platforms

PSA - Professional Services Automation

The central business management platform for MSPs. Handles:

• Ticketing and service desk
• CRM (companies, contacts)
• Contracts and billing
• Project management
• Time tracking
• Reporting

Examples: Autotask, ConnectWise Manage, HaloPSA, Syncro

RMM - Remote Monitoring and Management

Platform for monitoring and managing client IT infrastructure:

• Device monitoring
• Alerting and notifications
• Remote access
• Patch management
• Scripting and automation

Examples: Datto RMM, NinjaOne, ConnectWise Automate, Kaseya VSA

Documentation Platform

Centralized IT documentation:

• Passwords and credentials
• Network diagrams
• Configuration records
• SOPs and runbooks

Examples: IT Glue, Hudu, ConnectWise IT Boost

Service Terminology

Ticket Types

Term	Definition
Incident	Unplanned interruption to service
Service Request	Standard request from user
Problem	Root cause of multiple incidents
Change	Planned modification to infrastructure
Alert	Automated notification from monitoring

Service Levels

Term	Definition
SLA	Service Level Agreement - contractual service guarantees
Response Time	Time to first technician acknowledgment
Resolution Time	Time to fully resolve the issue
MTTR	Mean Time To Repair/Resolve
MTTD	Mean Time To Detect

Ticket Workflow

Term	Definition
Triage	Initial assessment and categorization
Escalation	Moving to higher-skill resource
Dispatch	Scheduling on-site visit
Resolution	Issue fixed, pending verification
Closure	Ticket completed and archived

Contract Types

Term	Definition
MSA	Managed Services Agreement - ongoing monthly services
Block Hours	Prepaid hour bank for ad-hoc support
T&M	Time & Materials - pay-as-you-go billing
AYCE	All You Can Eat - unlimited support for fixed fee
Per-Device	Billing based on device count
Per-User	Billing based on user count

Technical Terms

Infrastructure

Term	Definition
AD	Active Directory - Windows identity management
DC	Domain Controller - AD server
DNS	Domain Name System
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
VPN	Virtual Private Network
VLAN	Virtual Local Area Network
NAS	Network Attached Storage
SAN	Storage Area Network
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply

Cloud Services

Term	Definition
M365	Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
Azure AD	Azure Active Directory (now Entra ID)
AWS	Amazon Web Services
GCP	Google Cloud Platform
SaaS	Software as a Service
IaaS	Infrastructure as a Service
PaaS	Platform as a Service

Security

Term	Definition
MFA	Multi-Factor Authentication
2FA	Two-Factor Authentication
SSO	Single Sign-On
EDR	Endpoint Detection and Response
XDR	Extended Detection and Response
SIEM	Security Information and Event Management
SOC	Security Operations Center
MDR	Managed Detection and Response
PAM	Privileged Access Management

Backup & Recovery

Term	Definition
BDR	Backup and Disaster Recovery
BCDR	Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
RPO	Recovery Point Objective - acceptable data loss
RTO	Recovery Time Objective - acceptable downtime
DR	Disaster Recovery
HA	High Availability

MSP Business Terms

Financial

Term	Definition
MRR	Monthly Recurring Revenue
ARR	Annual Recurring Revenue
ARPU	Average Revenue Per User
Gross Margin	Revenue minus direct costs
Utilization	Billable hours / available hours
Effective Rate	Revenue / hours worked

Operations

Term	Definition
NOC	Network Operations Center
SOC	Security Operations Center
L1/L2/L3	Support tier levels
POD	Team of technicians assigned to accounts
vCIO	Virtual Chief Information Officer
TAM	Technical Account Manager
QBR	Quarterly Business Review

Service Desk

Term	Definition
FCR	First Call Resolution
AHT	Average Handle Time
CSAT	Customer Satisfaction Score
NPS	Net Promoter Score
Ticket Aging	Time ticket has been open
Backlog	Unresolved ticket count

Vendor-Specific Terms

Autotask/Kaseya

Term	Definition
Queue	Ticket routing bucket
Resource	Technician/user
Account	Company/client
Contract	Service agreement
Opportunity	Sales prospect

ConnectWise

Term	Definition
Board	Ticket routing area
Member	Technician/user
Company	Client organization
Agreement	Service contract
Opportunity	Sales prospect

Common Acronyms Quick Reference

Acronym	Full Term
AD	Active Directory
API	Application Programming Interface
BCDR	Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery
BDR	Backup Disaster Recovery
CI	Configuration Item
CMDB	Configuration Management Database
CRM	Customer Relationship Management
EDR	Endpoint Detection and Response
ERP	Enterprise Resource Planning
FCR	First Call Resolution
ITIL	IT Infrastructure Library
ITSM	IT Service Management
KPI	Key Performance Indicator
MFA	Multi-Factor Authentication
MRR	Monthly Recurring Revenue
MSA	Managed Services Agreement
MSP	Managed Service Provider
NOC	Network Operations Center
PSA	Professional Services Automation
QBR	Quarterly Business Review
RMM	Remote Monitoring and Management
RTO	Recovery Time Objective
RPO	Recovery Point Objective
SaaS	Software as a Service
SLA	Service Level Agreement
SMB	Small and Medium Business
SOC	Security Operations Center
T&M	Time and Materials
vCIO	Virtual CIO
VPN	Virtual Private Network

Related Skills

• Vendor-specific terminology in respective plugin skills