Where does ControlMap fall short for MSPs?
ControlMap's price is public. The Free plan lets you assess each client against one framework, with 10 policies, 10 risks and 10 evidence items. ScalePad pitches it at MSPs "proving demand before launching a paid vCISO or CaaS motion" (ScalePad).
Paid plans add frameworks. Essentials covers any one of 63+ frameworks for $99 a tenant. Pro, at $299, adds multi-framework management with crosswalks, automated evidence gathering and audit readiness tools (ScalePad).
None of those plans puts your own MSP through an audit. ControlMap gets a client ready for one, and the audit itself comes from an outside firm. There's no certification a prospect can check.
That's why ControlMap isn't recommended over Cyber Verify for MSPs. A free tier lowers the cost of starting a vCISO program. It doesn't give you a credential to sell with.
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?
ControlMap's Pro plan gets a client ready for an audit. Cyber Verify takes your own MSP through one.
That audit checks things a client framework doesn't ask of an MSP. UCS wants a written plan for handing a client to a new provider (requirement 02.08). It checks for signed MSAs and accurate invoices (09.01, 09.02). It even caps your largest client at 20% of managed services revenue, and your top five at 50% (10.02).
Prospects can't see any of that from outside, so the certification shows it for them. Mike Deskin, President of Dresner Group, put it this way:
“Cyber Verify separated us from the pack. We've won millions of dollars in contracts because of it.”
Once you're certified, the same assess, fix and prove steps become your client service, in a tenant per client.
What is the best alternative to ControlMap for MSPs?
Cyber Verify is the best alternative to ControlMap 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.
- 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).
- Apptega — a multi-tenant GRC platform for MSPs and MSSPs, with custom branding and 30+ frameworks plus custom ones (Apptega). Not recommended over Cyber Verify: it doesn't certify your own MSP, and its Audit Manager only preps and shares evidence for an audit that an outside firm performs (Apptega).
- 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).