How to run a third-party risk assessment with 6clicks

 

TL;DR

 

Third-party risk is one of the fastest-growing compliance obligations. 6clicks gives MSPs a structured, scalable way to run vendor risk assessments for clients — generating recurring revenue while protecting the clients they serve.

Why third-party risk management is a growing priority

Organisations no longer operate in isolation. They rely on cloud providers, software vendors, outsourced services, and supply chain partners — each of which represents a potential risk to data security, operational continuity, and regulatory compliance.

Regulators have taken notice. GDPR, DORA, NIS2, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 all include explicit requirements for managing third-party and supply chain risk. Clients that cannot demonstrate a vendor risk management programme face compliance gaps that auditors will flag.

For managed service providers (MSPs), this creates a clear service opportunity: most clients lack the expertise and tooling to run their own vendor risk programme. MSPs that offer third-party risk assessment (TPRA) as a managed service fill a genuine gap.

The core components of a third-party risk assessment

A structured TPRA typically includes:

1. Vendor inventory — identifying all third parties with access to client data or systems
2. Risk tiering — categorising vendors by criticality and data access level
3. Assessment questionnaire — sending a security questionnaire to each vendor (or completing a self-assessment)
4. Evidence review — reviewing vendor certifications (e.g. ISO 27001, SOC 2) and supporting documentation
5. Risk scoring — rating each vendor's security posture and identifying gaps
6. Remediation tracking — managing follow-up actions with vendors where gaps are identified
7. Ongoing monitoring — scheduling periodic re-assessments for high-risk vendors

How 6clicks enables TPRA delivery at scale

6clicks includes a purpose-built third-party risk management module. MSPs can:

• Build and maintain vendor inventories for each client
• Send assessment questionnaires directly from the platform
• Score and rate vendor responses against a consistent risk framework
• Track remediation actions and re-assessment schedules
• Generate vendor risk reports for client boards and auditors

The Hub & Spoke model means MSPs can manage vendor risk programmes for multiple clients from a single environment.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

Ready to add third-party risk management to your MSP services? Become a 6clicks partner today.