Blacksmith vs. Cynomi: Practical Comparison

Both Blacksmith and Cynomi are leading compliance management platforms designed to empower MSPs to deliver efficient, scalable, and profitable compliance-as-a-service.

Shared Strengths

  • Both platforms are purpose-built to enable efficient compliance management and extensive policy automation.

  • Each provides multi-tenant capability, central policy management, audit tracking, asset governance, and risk register functionality.

  • Compliance documentation is streamlined, with customizable templates and easy content deployment for diverse client needs.

cynomi compliance comparison

Where Blacksmith Adds Value

  • Built by Compliance Experts: Blacksmith’s foundation is deep compliance and vCISO expertise, not MSP legacy. This means the platform’s design is guided by professionals who live and breathe regulatory requirements and security programs, offering more than just superficial support.​

  • Developed In-House: The Blacksmith solution is developed by its founders, never outsourced. This results in a product that can rapidly evolve and adapt to MSP market feedback, giving users custom features and fixes that third-party built platforms struggle to deliver.​

  • Clear Compliance Roadmap: MSPs receive an actionable, prioritized compliance roadmap. Blacksmith eliminates the “blank canvas” problem, helping teams immediately start compliance work instead of struggling to figure out next steps.​

  • Automated, Expert-Written Policies: Blacksmith equips MSPs with custom, professional-grade policies authored by compliance specialists. These policies are easily tailored for each client, allowing fast onboarding and minimal ongoing management overhead.​

  • Holistic Approach: The platform focuses on genuine security improvement, fostering ongoing security and risk conversations with clients rather than just filling out forms and documents. Compliance activities translate directly into meaningful protections.​

  • Minimized Resource Investment: By streamlining core compliance workflows, Blacksmith helps MSPs operationalize compliance without extra peer group meetings, heavy training time, or disruptive change, allowing teams to focus more on client trust and less on bureaucracy.​

  • Scalable and Profitable: Engineered for service scalability, Blacksmith lets MSPs add more clients with little incremental effort. Its platform supports both profitability and market positioning as compliance experts, making compliance a growth driver instead of just a requirement.​

Feature Comparison

Where Cynomi Excels

  • Geared Toward vCISOs: While Blacksmith is used by both MSPs and vCISOs, Cynomi targets experienced vCISOs with compliance expertise more so than MSPs.

  • AI-Powered Compliance Assessment: Cynomi automates core compliance assessments for MSPs, rapidly pinpointing gaps against frameworks like NIST, SOC2, ISO 27001, and more. Its AI-driven capabilities streamline evidence collection, customized remediation roadmaps, and audit readiness, significantly reducing manual effort.

  • Virtual Academy & Enablement: MSPs have access to Cynomi’s Virtual Academy and comprehensive onboarding resources to quickly master the platform, supported by ongoing education and community guidance.

  • Vulnerability Scanning: Requires installation of additional Cynomi agents to endpoints.

Conclusion

Both platforms offer MSPs robust capabilities for compliance automation, multi-tenant oversight, and risk management. Blacksmith is ideal for MSPs seeking a compliance-first strategy with specialized training, transparent pricing, and streamlined management for SMB clients. Cynomi stands out for its deep AI-driven approach, broader regulatory coverage, and holistic risk remediation features. Either platform enables sophisticated, profitable compliance-as-a-service, but Blacksmith’s balance of efficiency, clarity, and SMB focus offers a decisive edge for many growing MSPs.

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