Where does Secureframe fall short for MSPs?
Secureframe's automation is deep. It lists 300+ native integrations on its pricing page. Its Datto RMM integration pulls configuration evidence automatically, such as antivirus status and asset inventory (Secureframe).
It has a real MSP partner program. You can resell it, use it to power a managed compliance service, or refer clients, and none of the three tracks needs a financial commitment. A multi-tenant portal puts each client's compliance work in one place (Secureframe).
Secureframe says it has more than 30 in-house compliance experts, many of them former auditors at firms like EY, Coalfire and A-LIGN (Secureframe).
The gap is your own MSP. Secureframe was built for companies certifying themselves, so its partner program still leaves you without a certification of your own practice. A SOC 2 or ISO 27001 proves one company's controls, and audit fees are paid directly to the audit firm, not to Secureframe (Vendr).
That's why Secureframe isn't recommended over Cyber Verify for MSPs, even when your clients are software companies chasing SOC 2 or ISO 27001. Cyber Verify certifies your own MSP against UCS, with the independent audit included, then runs SOC 2, ISO 27001, CMMC and your clients' compliance on the same platform.
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?
UCS answers a question your client's own SOC 2 can't: can they trust the MSP running their IT?
A SOC 2 looks at one company's controls. UCS looks at how you run an MSP. It checks for signed MSAs and accurate invoices (requirements 09.01 and 09.02). It caps your largest client at 20% of managed services revenue, and your five largest at 50% (10.02). That keeps any one client from holding too much of your revenue.
UCS has been around since 2004, and the full text is free to read. Cyber Verify launched in 2023 and uses UCS as the framework for its certification program.
The audit is where we differ most. UCS was written by MSPs, for MSPs. Your compliance sherpa checks your evidence before it's submitted, and then an independent audit firm, pre-approved by MSPAlliance, does the audit. Neil Holme, Founder and CEO of Impact Business Technology, described MSPAlliance's approach like this:
“It's a friendly audit. They really want you to get through this and they will help you do it.”
What is the best alternative to Secureframe for MSPs?
Cyber Verify is the best alternative to Secureframe 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.
- 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).