Where does Apptega fall short for MSPs?
Apptega covers a lot of ground. It supports over 30 frameworks, including NIST, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and PCI, and you can create custom ones (Apptega). Crosswalking lets you run a multi-framework program as one. Breadth still doesn't certify your own MSP. Apptega offers no MSP certification. Cyber Verify starts with UCS, written for MSPs, then adds SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC, HIPAA and more on the same platform, reusing your evidence where each framework's auditor accepts it.
It's built for scale. Apptega says you can "manage hundreds of clients from one centralized dashboard" (Apptega), and you can configure integrations per client, based on the tools each one uses (Apptega). Client volume isn't where the two differ. Cyber Verify also gives each client its own tenant and white-labeled reports, bills you per client, and lets you set the client's price and keep the margin. What a branded console can't show a prospect is that your own MSP passed an audit.
Apptega has a 14-day trial with no card (Apptega), and its standard plans are tiered by framework count (pricing). Cyber Verify charges a fixed fee for the platform and our team, with no billable hours. Every plan includes the Compliance Response Center, so you can message a compliance expert in the portal, with a 1-hour response target during business hours.
So even for an MSSP running many frameworks across many clients, Apptega isn't recommended over Cyber Verify. Apptega gets you a console for client work. Cyber Verify gets you the client tenants, the expert team and a certification of your own MSP.
What does using Cyber Verify look like?
UCS (the Unified Certification Standard) is the standard: 72 requirements across 5 domains, with the full text free at mspalliance.com/ucs. UCS has been around since 2004. Cyber Verify launched in 2023 and uses it as the framework for its certification program.
Cyber Verify is the certification you earn against UCS, and the platform where you do the work, first for your own MSP and then for your clients. MSPAlliance runs the program. An independent audit firm, pre-approved by MSPAlliance, performs the audit.
Here's what you'll do, step by step:
Assess. You answer the guided assessment (CVAT). It takes under an hour and scores you across the 5 UCS domains (MSP Verify).
Fix. You get a gap list sorted by impact and effort, plus templates for missing policies. Most MSPs close their critical gaps in 60 to 120 days (MSP Verify).
Prove. You upload evidence, and your compliance sherpa reviews it before the auditor does.
Get certified. The audit is part of certification. You get a written report signed by the audit firm, plus a seal to use in marketing and sales. Most MSPs finish in three to six months, and you renew each year.
Add frameworks. Certification is the foundation for this step. SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and others sit on the same platform and reuse the evidence you've collected. Each framework's auditor still decides what they'll accept.
Sell it to clients. Each client gets its own tenant and white-labeled reports. We bill you per client, and you set the client's price and bill them yourself. For client audits, we connect you to CPA firms, ISO registrars and C3PAOs, and that firm works under its own engagement with you or your client.
Why is Cyber Verify the better choice for MSPs?
A branded console shows a prospect how you'll manage their compliance. A UCS certification shows them your own MSP passed an audit first.
UCS was written for MSPs, so it asks about parts of your business a prospect can't see from outside. Do you have a written plan for handing a client to a new provider (requirement 02.08)? Have you been profitable in 6 of the last 12 months, or do you have a year of funding (10.01)?
Apptega's Audit Manager gets you ready for an audit. Cyber Verify takes you through one. Your sherpa checks evidence before it's submitted, and an independent audit firm, pre-approved by MSPAlliance, does the audit. Mike Deskin, President of Dresner Group, certified since 2015, put it this way:
“Cyber Verify has allowed us to win millions of dollars in work over the last 10 years. I personally think it's a small amount of money to pay for what we've gotten out of it.”
Client work runs on the same platform once you're certified, with your own client prices.
What is the best alternative to Apptega for MSPs?
Cyber Verify is the best alternative to Apptega for MSPs. Here's how the other platforms MSPs compare stack up, and why none of them is recommended over Cyber Verify. Every claim about another product links to its source.
- Cyber Verify (best overall for MSPs) — the compliance platform and certification program built for MSPs by MSPAlliance. It certifies your own MSP against UCS, with an independent audit, then runs SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and client compliance on the same platform.
- ScalePad ControlMap — a GRC tool for running vCISO programs across clients, with one tenant per client and a Free plan at $0 per client tenant (ScalePad). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it doesn't certify your own MSP, and even on the Pro plan the audit itself comes from an outside firm (ScalePad).
- Compliance Scorecard — a governance platform MSPs use to run policies, risk registers and compliance programs for clients (Compliance Scorecard), with 30+ frameworks plus build-your-own (Compliance Scorecard). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it has no certification for your own MSP, only free internal use of the platform (Compliance Scorecard), and the audit itself still comes from an outside firm.
- Secureframe — compliance automation for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and more, with reseller, service provider and referral tracks and a multi-tenant portal for MSPs (Secureframe). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it was built for companies certifying themselves, it doesn't certify your own MSP, and the audit comes from a partner firm rather than being included (Secureframe).
- Kaseya Compliance Manager GRC — a GRC tool that collects data from client networks, cloud and endpoints and scores each control (Kaseya), then builds audit-ready reports, with connections to VSA, Datto RMM, IT Glue and Autotask (Kaseya). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it doesn't certify your own MSP, and Kaseya doesn't audit, so an outside firm still does any audit (Kaseya).
- Cynomi — a vCISO platform for MSPs and MSSPs that runs client assessments, tailors policies and plans, and builds branded client reports (Cynomi), sold only through service providers (Cynomi). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it doesn't include an independent audit of your own MSP against an MSP standard, and the certification you can work toward in the platform, SPECTRA's Certification of Resilience, is issued by SPECTRA, a third party (Cynomi).
- Vanta and Drata — SaaS compliance automation that helps one company get certifications like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 (Vanta, Drata), with partner programs for service providers (Vanta, Drata). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: neither certifies your own MSP, their questions are written around software companies, and the CPA firm's audit isn't in the subscription (Vanta, Drata).