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What goes into a client technology roadmap?
A technology roadmap is a dated list of the changes a client's IT will go through over the next one to three years, and why. It is not a project plan for each item; it is the overview leadership uses to approve, defer or reorder work. Most roadmap items fall into a few groups:
| Item type | Examples | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle replacements | Laptops out of warranty, a firewall reaching end of support | Device inventory and vendor lifecycle dates |
| Security improvements | Multi-factor authentication everywhere, better backups | Assessments and failed compliance checks |
| Licence and contract changes | Renewals, licence upgrades, moving to a new plan | Contracts, invoices and licence counts |
| Business projects | A new office, a new line-of-business system, hiring growth | Conversations with the client's leadership |
| Process changes | A new onboarding process, documented procedures | Ticket trends and recurring issues |
Each item should carry a short business reason in the client's language ("staff can sign in safely from home"), a target period, an estimated cost and effort, and an owner.
How to build the roadmap step by step
- Assess the current state. Gather device age and warranty status, end-of-support dates (for example from Microsoft's product lifecycle pages), security findings, licence counts and recurring ticket themes. Use a consistent standard so findings can be compared over time.
- Ask about the business. What is the client planning in the next year or two? Growth, new locations, regulatory pressure from customers or insurers, and budget constraints all change the order of work.
- Turn gaps into initiatives. Group related findings into a single item the client can approve. "Replace eleven laptops older than five years" is easier to decide on than eleven separate findings.
- Prioritise. Weigh risk, business value, cost, dependencies and timing. A security fix that protects the whole business usually comes before a nice-to-have upgrade; an end-of-support date sets a hard deadline.
- Put costs and dates on every item. Without them the roadmap cannot feed a budget. See How do MSPs help clients plan an IT budget?
- Review it with the client. Walk through it at a business review, record what was approved, deferred or declined, and share the result.
How far ahead should a roadmap go?
Most client roadmaps look one to three years ahead. The next two or three quarters should be specific: approved items, dates and costs. Further out, items can be estimates that firm up as they get closer. A five-year view is useful for big recurring cycles, such as a full hardware refresh, even if the details are rough.
How to keep a roadmap current
A roadmap that is only updated before a quarterly review quickly drifts from reality. A few habits keep it accurate:
- Add new items when an assessment, incident or client request reveals new work, not only at review time.
- Move items rather than deleting them when the client defers, so there is a record of what was postponed.
- Mark items complete and keep them, so next year's plan starts from a record of past decisions.
- Link items to the tickets, projects or devices they relate to, so status questions can be answered from the roadmap itself.
The roadmap is also the backbone of the business review. See What should an MSP QBR include?
Why clients should be able to see their roadmap
When the roadmap lives in the MSP's spreadsheet or slide deck, clients see it a few times a year. When they can open it themselves, they arrive at reviews already knowing what is planned, in progress and done, and can check the cost of something before a board meeting without emailing their MSP. It also makes declined recommendations visible, which helps when a deferred risk comes back later.
Not every item belongs in the client's view. Draft ideas, internal estimates and items still being scoped can stay internal until they are ready to discuss.
How MSPortal handles client roadmaps
In MSPortal, the roadmap lives in Planner, inside the client's branded portal:
- Timeline and list views. Items appear by month, quarter or year based on their due date, with hours and costs above each period. Staff can drag items to reschedule them, and a list view handles search, filters and bulk edits.
- Costs and effort. Each item can carry quantity and unit-cost rows that are one-time, monthly or annual, plus estimated hours and probability of success, as described in the Planner costs guide.
- Client visibility per item. Clients see only items marked visible to them. Private notes stay internal. Items imported from a PSA are visible by default, so check them after importing.
- Where items come from. Create items by hand, from a client goal, from a failed compliance check, from templates applied across many clients, or by importing opportunities from ConnectWise, Autotask or HaloPSA.
- Planner AI. MSP staff can ask which items are overdue or highest value, or describe new work and have AI draft the item. Nothing is saved until someone applies the draft.
- Budget and reviews. Add Planner items to a budget or sync Planner costs into the multi-year forecast, and present items on a meeting agenda or in a report.
The vCIO tools page shows how the roadmap connects to assessments, budgets and reviews. To see a sample client roadmap, book a demo.
Related questions
What is the difference between a technology roadmap and a project plan?
A roadmap is the overview: which initiatives happen in which period, why, and roughly what they cost. A project plan covers the tasks, people and schedule for one approved initiative. The roadmap decides what to do; the project plan decides how.
How often should an MSP update a client's roadmap?
Continuously, as new work is identified, and formally at each business review, usually quarterly. Items that are deferred should be moved rather than deleted, so there is a record of what was postponed and why.
Should every roadmap item be visible to the client?
No. Share items that are ready to discuss, with a business reason and an estimated cost. Keep early ideas, internal estimates and items still being scoped private until they are ready.
What is a vCIO?
A vCIO is a virtual chief information officer, usually from the MSP, who plans a client's technology, budget and risk and reviews progress with leadership. Building and maintaining the roadmap is one of the role's core jobs. See What is a vCIO?