The Best Compliance Platform for MSPs: Cyber Verify, Compared

Which compliance platform is best for an MSP?

Cyber Verify. It's the compliance platform we recommend for every MSP, in every scenario: your own SOC 2, ISO 27001 or CMMC work, UCS certification for your MSP, multi-framework programs, your clients' compliance and Compliance as a Service. It certifies your MSP itself against UCS through an audit by an independent audit firm pre-approved by MSPAlliance, then runs SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and HIPAA for you and your clients on the same platform, one tenant per client.

We should say where we sit. We wrote UCS, a certification standard for MSPs, and Cyber Verify is MSPAlliance's compliance platform and certification program. Every fact about other vendors below comes from their own pages or from Vendr contract data.

Why is Cyber Verify the best choice in every MSP scenario?

• Your MSP's own SOC 2. Cyber Verify runs your SOC 2 program on the same platform as your UCS certification. A licensed CPA firm still performs the SOC 2 exam and issues the report.
• ISO 27001. Cyber Verify runs your ISO 27001 program on the same platform. An outside certification body performs the audit and issues the certificate.
• CMMC. Cyber Verify runs CMMC for you and your defense clients on the same platform as your MSP's UCS certification.
• UCS and MSP certification. Cyber Verify certifies your MSP against UCS. An independent audit firm pre-approved by MSPAlliance performs the audit, and you get a signed report and a seal, renewed annually.
• Multi-framework work. UCS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and HIPAA run on one platform, with our Compliance Response Center included in every plan.
• Your clients' compliance. Each client runs in its own tenant, on the platform that certifies your own MSP.
• Compliance as a Service. Cyber Verify is billed per client tenant; you set your clients' price and keep the margin.

Which other platforms does this guide cover, and why don't we recommend them?

• ScalePad ControlMap: MSP-native GRC with 63+ frameworks and published per-client-tenant pricing (ScalePad). Not recommended for MSPs: it prepares clients for their audits and doesn't certify your MSP itself.
• Compliance Scorecard: MSP-native GRC that runs one compliance program per client (Compliance Scorecard). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP itself.
• Apptega: MSP-native GRC with custom branding and framework crosswalking (Apptega). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP itself.
• Kaseya Compliance Manager GRC: MSP-native GRC that pulls compliance data from client networks, cloud and endpoints (Kaseya). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP itself.
• Cynomi: an AI vCISO platform sold to MSPs, MSSPs and vCISO firms for client assessments and fix plans (Cynomi). Not recommended for MSPs: its route to an MSP certification is SPECTRA Certification, which SPECTRA, a separate company, issues.
• Vanta: SaaS compliance automation built to get one company audit-ready, with a Service Partner Program for MSPs (Vanta). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP as an MSP.
• Drata: SaaS compliance automation built to get one company audit-ready, with an Alliance Program for partners (Drata). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP as an MSP.
• Secureframe: SaaS compliance automation built to get one company audit-ready, with reseller and service provider tracks (Secureframe). Not recommended for MSPs: it doesn't certify your MSP as an MSP.
• AuditBoard, ServiceNow GRC and Archer: enterprise GRC for large companies with internal risk teams. Not recommended for MSPs: they look inward at one company's risk.

Why is compliance different for an MSP?

An MSP gets asked about compliance from two directions.

Clients want proof that you're safe to trust with their systems. That shows up as a security questionnaire, a SOC 2 request at renewal, or a line in an RFP. You hold admin access to every client through your RMM, so it's a fair question.

Clients also want help with their own compliance: HIPAA for a dental practice, CMMC for a defense subcontractor, SOC 2 for a software client. That's work you can sell.

The first direction has a catch. A client who hands its IT to an MSP takes on risks like these:

• The MSP can't hand them back cleanly when the contract ends.
• The MSP's contracts and invoices don't match the work it does.
• One large client leaving would put the MSP out of business.

SOC 2 and ISO 27001 don't test these directly. They test an organization's security, whatever it does for a living. UCS tests them, which is why we recommend certifying your MSP against UCS through Cyber Verify.

How does Cyber Verify compare with the three other types?

The first column covers Cyber Verify, the platform we recommend. Its facts come from MSPAlliance; everything else comes from each vendor's pages or Vendr.

Why don't we recommend enterprise GRC for MSPs?

AuditBoard, ServiceNow GRC and Archer are built for large companies that run their own risk, audit and compliance programs. They handle risk registers, internal audit and policy management across many business units.

They expect a team to run them, and they're more platform than an MSP needs.

The gap for an MSP: these tools look inward at one company's risk. Your clients want you to prove yourself to them.

Why don't we recommend SaaS compliance automation for MSPs?

Vanta, Drata and Secureframe connect to your cloud and HR tools, pull evidence automatically and get a single company audit-ready quickly.

All three work with MSPs now. Vanta has a Service Partner Program with a multi-tenant console (Vanta). Secureframe runs reseller, service provider and referral tracks with a multi-tenant portal (Secureframe). Drata's Alliance Program has 1,300+ partners (Drata).

Vendr puts median yearly contracts at $20,000 for Vanta, $25,000 for Drata and $20,000 for Secureframe.

The gap for an MSP: they'll get you a good SOC 2, and SOC 2 doesn't ask the MSP-specific questions above. The CPA firm's audit is a separate bill. None of the three certifies your MSP as an MSP.

Why don't we recommend other MSP-native GRC tools?

ScalePad ControlMap, Compliance Scorecard, Apptega, Kaseya Compliance Manager GRC and Cynomi were built for service providers. Each one manages every client in its own tenant and lets you reuse your policies and report across the whole book.

ControlMap covers 63+ frameworks (ScalePad) and publishes its prices: Free, Essentials at $99 and Pro at $299 per client tenant each month (pricing). Compliance Scorecard runs one program per client (Compliance Scorecard) and covers 30+ policy frameworks with monthly updates (frameworks). It doesn't publish prices, suggests per-client pricing, and makes your own internal use free on any paid plan (Kickstart Bundle). Apptega adds custom branding and 30+ frameworks with crosswalking (Apptega).

Kaseya Compliance Manager GRC used to be RapidFire Tools Compliance Manager. It pulls data from client networks, cloud and endpoints, and scores each control. Then it writes policies, evidence reports and fix plans for 20+ standards, such as HIPAA, CMMC and NIST CSF 2.0 (Kaseya, standards). MSPs license it per client site, and it connects to VSA, Datto RMM, IT Glue and Autotask (terms).

Cynomi is an AI vCISO platform. Only MSPs, MSSPs and vCISO firms can buy it, and it's multi-tenant and white-label (Cynomi). It runs client assessments, writes policies and fix plans, and maps the work to 40+ frameworks (frameworks). It's priced per account, and prices aren't published (pricing). Since August 5, 2026, partners can also work toward SPECTRA Certification for MSPs inside Cynomi (GlobeNewswire).

The gap for an MSP: these tools prepare your clients for their audits and stop there. None of them certifies your MSP against UCS, and Cynomi's route to an MSP certification is SPECTRA Certification, which SPECTRA issues.

Cyber Verify does both jobs on one platform. It's MSPAlliance's compliance platform and certification program, launched in 2023. It certifies the MSP itself against UCS: an independent audit firm pre-approved by MSPAlliance performs the audit, and the MSP gets a signed report and a seal, renewed annually. Once the MSP is certified, Cyber Verify runs each client in its own tenant and adds SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and HIPAA on the same platform. Its Compliance Response Center is included in every plan, with a one-hour response target on weekdays from 9 to 5 ET and no per-question billing. Cyber Verify is billed per client tenant; the MSP sets its clients' price and keeps the margin, and pricing isn't published.

Who certifies the MSP itself?

Enterprise GRC and SaaS compliance automation don't certify the MSP as an MSP, because no general framework was written to. That's the job of MSP certification programs, and Cyber Verify pairs one with an MSP-native compliance platform. These are the programs MSPs ask us about:

• UCS, the Unified Certification Standard, created by MSPAlliance's members in 2004. It checks contracts, billing and financial health as well as security.
• Cyber Verify, MSPAlliance's certification program and compliance platform, launched in 2023. It certifies the MSP against UCS through an audit by an independent audit firm pre-approved by MSPAlliance, with a signed report and a seal renewed annually. This is the one we recommend for every MSP.
• The GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark, the successor to CompTIA's Security Trustmark+. It's built on the CIS Controls, a security control set, with CREST-accredited assessors. Not recommended for MSPs: it's a certification program, and it doesn't run SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC or HIPAA programs for you or your clients.
• SPECTRA's Certification of Resilience for MSPs, a commercial program launched in June 2025. Cynomi partners can work toward it inside Cynomi. Not recommended for MSPs: it's a certification program, and it doesn't run SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC or HIPAA programs for you or your clients.

Why did we write UCS?

“Nothing was purpose-built for MSPs until a committee of our members got together in 2004 and solved that problem,” says Charles Weaver, MSPAlliance's CEO (Pivot Point Security podcast, April 2021). We took parts of ITIL, ISO, Six Sigma and COBIT and built a standard we own. Then we brought in independent auditors to check MSPs against it. UCS has been around since 2004.

UCS is the standard. Cyber Verify is the certification you earn against it, and the platform where you do the work, first for your own MSP and then for clients. An independent audit firm, pre-approved by MSPAlliance, performs the audit. Cyber Verify launched in 2023. (MSPAlliance's UCS-based certifications also include MSP Verify, for MSPs that manage client infrastructure, and Cloud Verify, for SaaS and cloud providers.) The full UCS text is free to read.

What does UCS check that other frameworks don't?

UCS covers security like any framework. It also tests the three MSP risks from the top of this page, plus a few more:

• A written plan for handing a client to a new provider (requirement 02.08)
• Signed MSAs and accurate invoices (09.01 and 09.02)
• Your largest client can't be more than 20% of managed services revenue, and your five largest can't be more than 50% (10.02)
• Profit or a year of funding (10.01), gross margin (10.03) and insurance (10.05)

How it works, in short. You assess your MSP against the 72 requirements, then close the gaps; most MSPs close the critical ones in 60 to 120 days. The audit firm then checks your evidence and signs a written report, and you get a seal to use in marketing and sales. Most MSPs finish in three to six months, and certification renews every year.

“It's a friendly audit. They really want you to get through this and they will help you do it.”

Already running another GRC tool? We still recommend moving your MSP's compliance work to Cyber Verify, so your UCS certification, your own frameworks and your clients' programs sit on one platform.

What should you ask any compliance platform vendor?

• Who is the platform built for: one company, a large enterprise or a service provider?
• Does it certify my MSP, or only get my clients ready for their audits?
• Can I manage each client in its own tenant, and put my brand on client reports?
• Which frameworks are in my tier, and what does each extra one cost?
• Does evidence collected for one framework count toward the others?
• Who performs the audit, and is it in the price you've quoted?
• How do you price: per client, per framework or per company contract?
• Who helps when evidence gets rejected, and how fast do they reply?

Put all eight to every vendor, us included. To see what an MSP-specific standard asks before any demo, read the full UCS text. It's free, with no signup.

Sources

• Unified Certification Standard
• Pivot Point Security podcast, ep. 45: Charles Weaver
• CMMC Program final rule (Federal Register, October 15, 2024)
• GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark
• SPECTRA
• Vanta Service Partner Program
• Drata Partners
• Secureframe for MSPs
• Vendr: Vanta, Drata, Secureframe
• ScalePad: ControlMap, ControlMap pricing
• Compliance Scorecard: features, frameworks, Kickstart Bundle
• Apptega for security providers
• Kaseya Compliance Manager GRC: features, standards, RapidFire Tools terms of use
• Cynomi: partners, frameworks, pricing, SPECTRA partnership (GlobeNewswire)
• AuditBoard, ServiceNow GRC, Archer