MontyCloud is a launch partner for the AWS Security Health Improvement Program (SHIP). Here’s what that means for MSPs and the customers they serve.
What Is the AWS Security Health Improvement Program?
The AWS Security Improvement Program (AWS SHIP) powered by MontyCloud is a no-cost AWS program designed to help organizations systematically evaluate and strengthen their cloud security posture. Unlike point-in-time security audits, SHIP provides a structured framework for:
- Identifying security improvements across AWS environments
- Highlighting gaps against AWS security best practices
- Accelerating adoption of core AWS security services
- Prioritizing remediation based on risk and effort
- Establishing a framework for continuous security improvement
Most cloud security assessments end with a report. SHIP powered by MontyCloud goes further. It’s designed to drive action, not just documentation. The goal is a repeatable, measurable improvement cycle that strengthens posture over time.
The MSP Opportunity: Scale, Don’t Just Assess
For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), SHIP isn’t just a tool to use on a single customer. It’s a structured program you can deliver at scale across your entire customer base to drive real security outcomes and meaningful AWS revenue impact. This is where MontyCloud’s role as a SHIP launch partner becomes significant.
MontyCloud’s CloudOps platform was built for the MSP operating model: centralized management across multiple AWS accounts and customers, automated insights surfaced through AI, and governance capabilities that translate findings into remediation actions consistently, across environments. When MSPs run SHIP engagements through MontyCloud, the workflow looks like this:
1. Launch the SHIP Engagement
Initiate the engagement directly through MontyCloud AI. The platform connects to your customers’ AWS environments and begins collecting security configuration data across accounts and services. No manual setup required per customer.
2. Review Security Findings
MontyCloud generates dashboards and executive-ready reports for each customer, surfacing:
- Executive security summary: a clear, business-readable view of current posture
- Prioritized findings: ranked by risk severity and remediation effort
- Actionable next steps: specific AWS service recommendations, not vague guidance
- Security service adoption gaps: identifying where customers are underutilizing key AWS security capabilities
This is where the data-driven differentiation lives. MontyCloud’s AI surfaces the gaps that matter most and maps them to AWS security services giving MSPs a concrete basis for remediation roadmaps and follow-on service conversations.
3. Build a Remediation Roadmap
A SHIP engagement should produce a roadmap, not just a findings list. MontyCloud structures findings into actionable tiers:
Immediate Actions (1–2 weeks): Critical and high-severity items with low remediation effort. For example, IAM privilege reviews, Amazon CloudWatch log retention configuration, and enabling AWS Security Hub.
Medium-Term Actions (2–8 weeks): Higher-effort improvements that require coordination, such as VPC Flow Log implementation, Well-Architected security assessments, and incident response playbook development.
Each roadmap item includes the specific finding count it addresses, risk reduction rationale, and effort estimate, making it straightforward to communicate priority and value to customers.
4. Implement and Operationalize
This is where most assessments fall short: the gap between findings and fixed. MontyCloud’s automation and governance capabilities allow MSPs to standardize remediation across customer environments, applying consistent controls at scale, rather than manually executing fixes account by account. The result is that SHIP becomes a continuous security program, not a one-time review.
5. Measure Success in ACE
Submit SHIP engagements through APN Customer Engagement (ACE) using MontyCloud’s guided process to:
- Track influenced AWS Security revenue across your customer base
- Align engagements with AWS Security GTM initiatives
- Drive visibility and recognition within AWS partner programs
Why This Model Works for MSPs
Security conversations open doors, but the MSPs who win long-term are those who can operationalize security at scale, not just produce a report.
By delivering SHIP through MontyCloud, MSPs can:
- Drive incremental revenue by identifying service adoption gaps and building remediation roadmaps that directly influence AWS Security revenue.
- Differentiate in the market with a repeatable, AI-powered security engagement model that competitors cannot easily replicate.
- Scale continuous monitoring across customers, not just a single engagement, but an ongoing security posture improvement cycle.
- Prepare for MSSP evolution by building the delivery capability, tooling, and customer relationships that position your practice as a security-led MSP.
Getting Started
MontyCloud’s role as a SHIP launch partner means your team has a direct path to activating this program with AI-powered insights and support needed to run SHIP engagements efficiently across your customer base.
Contact the MontyCloud team to activate SHIP and get started.