The purpose of compliance software is to make an audit easier. Small businesses are usually in an awkward position. Before they can put in their SOC 2 controls they must first install, set up and understand a complex compliance platform. This brings up a fascinating question. When does the tool that was designed to ease compliance become a separate project on its own?
CertAssist was born out of the frustration. Its developers had worked on compliance-related implementations and audits for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and various frameworks. The program’s creators faced numerous challenges with platforms that had many functions and integrations. However, the organizations they worked for used spreadsheets to write important audit pieces. Simpler SOC 2 compliance software is often the ideal solution for smaller companies.
Start with the Tasks That Are Required to be Completed
Take out the jargon in software and it is more understandable. The company should work through Trust Services Criteria and establish adequate controls. They must also write down policies, gather evidence, keep track of their progress, as well as provide this information to independent auditors. Platforms can be used to organize these tasks without having to connect them with every cloud service or identity system that the company uses.
Automated integrations can bring many benefits. Automated integrations can save an organization a lot of time when collecting evidence in a constantly changing environment. This doesn’t mean that the same architecture is required to be used for SOC 2 in startups. A startup with a relatively compact technology environment may prefer to make evidence by hand and not maintain a multitude of integrations.
The Audit and the Software Are Different Expenses
It is difficult to budget when companies take each compliance expense as separate numbers. The SOC 2 cost includes more than just software. Internal staff are busy preparing policies, addressing weaknesses in control, organizing evidence and collaborating together with the auditor. The independent audit also comes with its own cost.
Companies researching SOC 2 certification cost should also understand a terminology distinction: SOC 2 produces an independent attestation report rather than a certification in the same sense as ISO 27001. When companies seek prices, they typically use the term “certification costs”. Software is not a substitute for the independent auditor regardless of the terms used in the budget.
Middle Ground isn’t required to be a Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are cheap and easy to use However, they can be a bit awkward when policies, controls, ownership evidence, and auditing communications start to be spread across several files.
The alternative doesn’t need be an enterprise platform. CertAssist centralizes the SOC2 control and lets you edit policies and templates for proving. It also gives progress management and auditors with access to read-only. Multi-factor authentication is necessary for security purposes to ensure the system is secure. The advertised launch price of $225 is and will be followed by a regular price of $375 per month, or $3,999 annually.
A lack of integration could also mean less exposure
CertAssist does not intentionally connect with a company’s operating systems. The compliance platform isn’t provided access to the cloud or to the identity environment.
The trade-off is that this strategy requires the use of compromise. Evidence that could have been taken automatically should instead be provided by the business. But for smaller teams, the added work might be justified for a less complicated setup as well as lower software costs and fewer external connections.
Purchase Complexity when it solves the issue
In a growing organization, manual evidence collection may turn into inefficient. Continuous monitoring and extensive integrations will be beneficial when you get to that point.
It’s not necessary to buy the most complex compliance platform at this point. It’s to get the compliance task organised, keep reliable evidence, and make the independent audit manageable. Good software should remove the friction out of the process. If the process of implementing the compliance platform is a feeling that it is taking longer than the preparation for SOC 2 in itself, the software may not be enough.