Configure Customer Business Impact Dashboards

Customer Business Impact Dashboards answer the question every customer asks: “What am I paying for?” Give customers a live, data-driven view of the compliance, security, and operational value you deliver.

Time to Complete: 5 minutes per customer

What Is the Business Impact Dashboard?

A customer-facing portal that shows:

Compliance Status

• Controls satisfied by your services
• Frameworks you’re helping them achieve (CIS, NIST, SOC 2, etc.)
• Audit readiness percentage
• Evidence collected automatically

Security Value

• Threats blocked
• Vulnerabilities remediated
• Malware prevented
• Ransomware protection status

Operational Value

• Uptime delivered
• Issues resolved proactively
• Hardware failures prevented
• Downtime avoided

Business Metrics

• ROI calculation (value delivered vs. cost)
• Time saved on compliance work
• Risk reduction in dollar terms
• Current vs. potential value (revenue opportunities)

All of this updates automatically from your integrations—no manual data entry.

Prerequisites

Before configuring dashboards:

• Customer assigned to at least one service
• One or more integrations connected and syncing
• At least 7 days of data collected (for meaningful metrics)
• Compliance framework(s) enabled

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Navigate to Customer Dashboard Settings

1. Log in to LanternOps
2. Click Customers in the main navigation
3. Select the customer you want to create a dashboard for
4. Click Business Impact Dashboard tab
5. Click Configure Dashboard

Step 2: Choose What to Display

You can customize what customers see. Recommended starting configuration:

Compliance Section (Recommended: ON)

Enable:

• Overall compliance percentage
• Controls satisfied (by framework)
• Services delivering compliance
• Audit readiness status

Why: This is the most powerful value demonstration. Customers see exactly which industry standards you’re helping them satisfy.

Example Display:

COMPLIANCE STATUS

CIS Controls v8.1: 78% (42 of 54 controls)
├─ Asset Management (CIS 1.x): 100% ✅
├─ Email Security (CIS 9.x): 100% ✅
├─ Endpoint Protection (CIS 10.x): 0% ❌ → Opportunity
└─ Backup & Recovery (CIS 11.x): 100% ✅

Audit Readiness: GOOD
Last Evidence Update: 2 hours ago

Security Metrics Section (Recommended: ON)

Enable:

• Threats blocked (email, DNS, endpoint)
• Malware attempts prevented
• Vulnerabilities patched
• Security posture score

Why: Quantifies protection you’re providing. Very effective for renewals.

Example Display:

SECURITY PROTECTION - LAST 30 DAYS

🛡️ Threats Blocked: 450
   ├─ Email phishing attempts: 387
   ├─ Malicious DNS requests: 58
   └─ Malware downloads: 5

📊 Security Posture: 8.2/10 (Excellent)
⚠️ Critical Vulnerabilities: 0
✅ Endpoints Protected: 147/147 (100%)

Operational Metrics Section (Recommended: ON)

Enable:

• Uptime percentage
• Tickets resolved
• Issues prevented (proactive)
• Downtime avoided

Why: Shows operational excellence and proactive management.

Example Display:

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE - LAST 30 DAYS

⏱️ Uptime Delivered: 99.8%
🎫 Tickets Resolved: 23 (avg 4.2 hours)
🔮 Issues Prevented: 7 proactive alerts
💰 Downtime Avoided: 18 hours ($9,000 saved)

Business Value Section (Recommended: ON)

Enable:

• ROI calculation
• Time saved (compliance work)
• Risk reduced (dollar value)
• Value delivered vs. cost

Why: Translates technical work into business language executives understand.

Example Display:

BUSINESS VALUE DELIVERED - THIS QUARTER

💼 Total Value: $218,000
   ├─ Compliance: $6,000 (40 hours saved)
   ├─ Security: $200,000 (breach risk avoided)
   └─ Operations: $12,000 (downtime prevented)

💰 Your Investment: $10,998
📈 ROI: 1,983%

Value Delivered per Dollar Spent: $19.83

Revenue Opportunities Section (Optional)

Enable:

• Show revenue opportunities (gaps)
• Compliance controls not satisfied
• Recommended services

Why: Use this to educate customers about gaps. Turn it OFF if you want opportunities to be MSP-only internal data.

Recommendation: Leave OFF initially. Turn ON for sophisticated customers who want to see full picture.

Step 3: Customize Branding

Make the dashboard match your MSP brand:

Logo: Upload your company logo (appears in header)

Color Scheme: Choose primary color (use your brand color)

Tagline: Add custom text Example: “Your Security & Compliance Partner Since 2015”

Contact Info: Shows on dashboard footer

• Support email
• Support phone
• Emergency contact (24/7 number if applicable)

Step 4: Set Refresh Frequency

How often should dashboard update?

Options:

• Real-time (updates every 15 minutes) - Recommended for customers with active monitoring
• Daily (updates overnight) - Good for most customers
• Weekly (updates Monday mornings) - Sufficient for basic reporting

Recommendation: Daily for most customers, real-time for high-touch/high-value accounts.

Step 5: Configure Access

Who can view this dashboard?

Option A: Unique Customer Portal Link (Recommended)

• Customer gets custom URL: portal.lanternops.com/acme-corp
• No login required (security through obscurity)
• Can be embedded in iframe on customer’s intranet

Option B: Email-Protected Access

• Customer enters email to receive access link
• Link valid for 7 days
• More secure, slightly less convenient

Option C: Customer Account Login

• Customer creates LanternOps account
• Username/password protected
• Most secure, most friction

Recommendation: Start with Option A for ease of use. Upgrade to Option C if customer handles sensitive data (HIPAA, etc.)

Step 6: Generate and Preview

1. Click Generate Dashboard

2. System takes 15-30 seconds to:

   • Query RAG for all compliance and value data
   • Aggregate metrics from integrations
   • Calculate ROI and business value
   • Build customer-friendly visualizations

3. Click Preview to see customer view

Review:

• Is compliance percentage accurate?
• Are security metrics impressive?
• Does ROI calculation make sense?
• Any errors or missing data?

Step 7: Share with Customer

Once you’re happy with the dashboard:

Option A: Send Email Invitation (Recommended)

1. Click Send Dashboard Link
2. Review auto-generated email:

Subject: Your IT Business Impact Dashboard is Ready

Hi [Contact],

We've created a personalized dashboard showing the value our
partnership delivers. You now have real-time visibility into:

✅ Compliance status across industry frameworks
✅ Security threats we're blocking for you
✅ Operational uptime and issue resolution
✅ ROI and business value delivered

View your dashboard: [LINK]

This dashboard updates automatically as we monitor and protect
your environment. Feel free to share with your leadership team.

Questions? Let's discuss at our next QBR.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

3. Customize if needed
4. Click Send

Option B: Include in QBR

1. Click Export to PDF
2. Use PDF in quarterly business review presentation
3. Then give customer portal access for ongoing self-service

Option C: Embed on Customer Site

1. Click Get Embed Code
2. Copy iframe code
3. Customer IT team adds to their intranet
4. Dashboard visible to all employees

Recommendation: Send email first, then show during next QBR, then offer embed if they want it.

Understanding the Dashboard Components

Compliance Status Panel

What It Shows:

• Overall compliance percentage per framework
• Control-by-control breakdown
• Services satisfying each control
• Evidence timestamps

How It’s Calculated:

1. RAG identifies all controls in enabled frameworks
2. Maps customer’s services to controls
3. Checks for evidence from integrations
4. Calculates: (Implemented Controls / Total Controls) × 100

Customer Takeaway: “We’re 78% compliant with CIS Controls thanks to your services.”

Security Metrics Panel

What It Shows:

• Threats blocked (by source: email, DNS, endpoint)
• Malware attempts prevented
• Vulnerabilities patched
• Security posture score (1-10)

How It’s Calculated:

• Email threats: From Avanan/Microsoft Graph (phishing, malware emails)
• DNS threats: From NextDNS/Cisco Umbrella (malicious domains blocked)
• Endpoint threats: From Huntress/CrowdStrike (malware removed)
• Vulnerabilities: From NinjaOne/Action1 (patches deployed)
• Posture score: Composite of coverage + patch compliance + threat density

Customer Takeaway: “You blocked 450 threats that could have compromised our business.”

Operational Metrics Panel

What It Shows:

• Uptime percentage
• Tickets resolved (count + average resolution time)
• Proactive issues prevented
• Downtime avoided (hours + dollar value)

How It’s Calculated:

• Uptime: From network monitoring tools (Auvik, PRTG)
• Tickets: From PSA integration (ConnectWise, HaloPSA)
• Proactive prevention: Alerts acted on before user impact
• Downtime avoided: Calculated from issue severity × employee count × hourly cost

Customer Takeaway: “You prevented 18 hours of downtime worth $9,000.”

Business Value Panel

What It Shows:

• Total value delivered (dollar amount)
• Breakdown by category (compliance, security, operations)
• ROI calculation (value / cost)
• Value per dollar spent

How It’s Calculated:

Compliance Value:

Hours saved on audit prep × hourly rate
Example: 40 hours × $150/hour = $6,000

Security Value:

Threats blocked × average breach cost × probability
Example: 450 threats × $200K × 0.01 probability = $900K potential
(Dashboard shows conservative estimate)

Operational Value:

Downtime hours avoided × (employees × avg hourly cost)
Example: 18 hours × (50 employees × $50/hr) = $45,000

ROI:

Total Value / Customer's Investment
Example: $218,000 / $10,998 = 19.8x = 1,983% ROI

Customer Takeaway: “For every dollar you invest, you get $19.83 in value.”

Customization Options

Metric Selection

You can enable/disable individual metrics based on what you deliver:

If you don’t offer email security: Turn off “Email threats blocked”

If you don’t monitor uptime: Turn off “Uptime percentage”

If you don’t do compliance work: Turn off “Compliance status” (though you probably should offer this!)

To customize:

1. Dashboard Settings → Metrics Configuration
2. Toggle individual metrics on/off
3. Save changes
4. Dashboard updates immediately

Custom Metrics

You can add custom metrics specific to your MSP:

Example: SLA Performance

Name: SLA Compliance
Description: Percentage of tickets resolved within SLA
Data Source: ConnectWise PSA
Calculation: (On-time tickets / Total tickets) × 100
Target: 95%

To add:

1. Dashboard Settings → Custom Metrics
2. Click Add Metric
3. Define name, source, calculation
4. Save

Metric appears in customer dashboard under “Operational Metrics”

Time Ranges

Customers can toggle between time ranges:

• Last 7 Days (real-time feel)
• Last 30 Days (default, most useful)
• Last Quarter (for QBRs)
• Last Year (annual reviews)

All metrics recalculate for selected range.

Best Practices

When to Share Dashboards

Good Times:

• After customer onboarded (7-14 days of data collected)
• Before QBR (let them review in advance)
• After major security event (show threats blocked)
• During renewal discussions (prove value)
• When customer asks “what am I paying for?”

Avoid:

• First day of service (no data yet)
• During active incident (looks like you’re deflecting)
• If metrics are weak (fix delivery first)

How to Position

Frame as Transparency:

“We believe you should have full visibility into the value we deliver. This dashboard updates automatically with real-time data from your environment.”

Frame as Partnership:

“This is your dashboard—we want you to track our performance and hold us accountable to delivering value.”

Frame as Proof:

“You asked what you’re paying for. This shows exactly what we do, backed by data, updated automatically.”

Increasing Engagement

1. Send Monthly Summary Emails

LanternOps can auto-send monthly emails highlighting:

• New threats blocked
• Compliance improvements
• Value delivered this month

To enable: Dashboard Settings → Email Notifications → [x] Send monthly summary

2. Use in Executive Presentations

Export dashboard as PowerPoint slides for customer board meetings:

1. Click Export → PowerPoint
2. Customer can present IT value to their stakeholders
3. Makes you look great, strengthens relationship

3. Gamification (Advanced)

For sophisticated customers:

• Set compliance targets (“Let’s get to 90% CIS by Q4”)
• Track month-over-month improvement
• Celebrate milestones (“You hit 80% compliance!”)

Handling Questions

Customer: “Is this ROI calculation real?”

Response: “Great question. Here’s how we calculate it: [explain methodology]. We use conservative estimates—actual value is likely higher. Happy to walk through the math.”

Customer: “Why is my compliance only 65%?”

Response: “You’re currently subscribed to 3 of our 8 security services. The missing 35% represents opportunities to strengthen your security posture. Want to discuss?”

(This turns a concern into a revenue opportunity conversation)

Customer: “Can I share this with my board?”

Response: “Absolutely! We built it for that purpose. You can export as PDF or PowerPoint, and we’re happy to join your board meeting to present if helpful.”

Troubleshooting

Dashboard Shows “No Data Available”

Cause: Integrations not syncing or customer too new

Solution:

1. Check Integrations page → Verify last sync time
2. Ensure customer has services assigned
3. Wait 7 days if just onboarded
4. Manually trigger integration sync

Metrics Seem Inaccurate

Cause: Integration data incomplete or calculation error

Solution:

1. Review source data (e.g., check PSA ticket count manually)
2. Verify integration permissions (may not have access to all data)
3. Check customer profile (employee count, industry affects calculations)
4. Contact support if systematic error

Customer Can’t Access Portal

Cause: Link expired, email blocked, or URL typo

Solution:

1. Resend access link
2. Check customer’s spam folder
3. Try different email address
4. Switch to email-protected access (Option B) if security blocking

ROI Calculation Shows Negative or Unrealistic

Cause: Not enough data collected or pricing misconfigured

Solution:

1. Ensure at least 30 days of data exists
2. Verify customer pricing (what they pay you)
3. Check metric sources (are all integrations working?)
4. Manually adjust value calculations if needed

Advanced: White-Label Dashboards

For MSPs who want complete branding control:

Custom Domain:

• Instead of portal.lanternops.com/customer
• Use insights.yourmsp.com/customer

Full Branding:

• Your logo throughout
• Your color scheme
• Your terminology (“Managed Security Score” instead of “Security Posture”)
• No LanternOps branding visible

To enable: Contact support to set up custom domain and white-label configuration

Measuring Success

Track These Metrics

Customer Engagement:

• Dashboard views per customer per month
• Time spent viewing dashboard
• Which panels get most attention

Business Impact:

• Renewal rates (customers with dashboards vs. without)
• Upsell success (dashboards that show opportunities)
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Referrals from dashboard-enabled customers

Typical Results:

• Customers with dashboards: 15-20% higher retention
• Upsell close rate: 2x higher when opportunity visible on dashboard
• QBR preparation time: 60% reduction (they’ve already seen the data)

Next Steps

After configuring your first dashboard:

• Enable for 5-10 customers initially
• Send introduction email with dashboard link
• Track engagement (who’s viewing it?)
• Use in next round of QBRs
• Gather customer feedback
• Refine metrics and presentation
• Roll out to all customers

Related Guides

• Generate Audit Package - Dive deeper into compliance
• Review Revenue Opportunities - Turn gaps into upsells
• Set Up Service Catalog - Services power the dashboard
• Add Integration - More data = better dashboards

Need Help?

Common Questions:

• Q: Can customers download/export the dashboard?

• A: Yes, PDF and PowerPoint export available

• Q: How often does data refresh?

• A: Configurable: real-time (15 min), daily, or weekly

• Q: Can we customize the ROI calculation?

• A: Yes, you can adjust assumptions and methodology in settings

Support Resources:

• View Video Tutorial
• Dashboard Customization Guide
• Contact Support

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