When is Secureframe the better pick?
Secureframe's automation is deep. It lists 300+ native integrations on its pricing page. For MSPs, its Datto RMM integration pulls configuration evidence automatically, such as antivirus status and asset inventory (Secureframe).
The partner program is flexible. 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 (Secureframe).
There's expert help too. 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).
If your clients are software companies chasing SOC 2 or ISO 27001, and you run Datto RMM, Secureframe's a strong fit.
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.
When is Cyber Verify the better pick?
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.”