Where does Cynomi fall short for MSPs?
Cynomi now calls itself "the Security Growth Platform for Service Providers" (Cynomi), and it's built to make vCISO work repeatable. Cynomi says its assessments can start proving value in under an hour. It tailors policies and plans for each client, and clients get custom-branded, board-ready reports (Cynomi). All of that is work you do for clients. It doesn't audit the MSP doing the work.
It plugs into the security tools you already run. It pulls findings from Microsoft Secure Score, AWS Security Hub, Tenable, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Qualys and others. Tasks sync to HaloPSA, and to other PSAs through its public API (Cynomi). Those findings describe your clients' security, not how your own MSP is run.
Cynomi sells only through service providers (Cynomi), and its vCISO Academy is free for your team (Cynomi). Cyber Verify is sold to MSPs too, and you set the client's price and keep the margin. Beyond training, every Cyber Verify plan includes the Compliance Response Center: compliance experts you can message in the portal, with a 1-hour response target during business hours.
Cynomi raised a $37 million Series B in April 2025, co-led by Insight Partners and Entrée Capital (Cynomi). Funding pays for product. It doesn't change what the product does: vCISO and readiness work for clients, with any audit done by an outside firm.
Since August 2026, Cynomi partners can work toward SPECTRA's Certification of Resilience for MSPs inside the platform (Cynomi, Cynomi). SPECTRA launched that certification in June 2025 (SPECTRA), and SPECTRA issues it, so the certification comes from a third party. With Cyber Verify, the independent audit of your MSP against UCS is part of certification, and the full UCS text is free to read before you talk to anyone.
So even when your service is a vCISO program for many SMB clients, Cynomi isn't recommended over Cyber Verify. Cyber Verify certifies the MSP behind the program, then runs your clients' compliance on the same platform, with a tenant per client and white-labeled reports.
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 vCISO program looks at your client's security. UCS looks at your MSP as a business, because that's what a prospect is betting on when they hand you their IT.
So it asks things a security assessment won't. Do you have a written plan for handing a client to a new provider (requirement 02.08)? Has your MSP made a profit in 6 of the last 12 months, or does it have a year of funding (10.01)? Does your largest client stay under 20% of managed services revenue, and your top five under 50% (10.02)?
Those answers tell a client whether you'll still be around, and whether you'll let them go cleanly if they leave. Neil Holme, Founder and CEO of Impact Business Technology, put it this way:
“MSPAlliance helps you prove you're well-run, making your company stronger, more efficient, and profitable.”
UCS was written for MSPs and has been around since 2004, and Cyber Verify includes the independent audit against it. Once you're certified, SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and your clients' compliance run on the same platform.
What is the best alternative to Cynomi for MSPs?
Cyber Verify is the best alternative to Cynomi 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).
- 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).
- 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).