SOC 2 is an independent reporting standard, developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), that demonstrates an organization is serious about protecting its users’ data. Companies that comply with SOC 2 requirements, and successfully pass SOC 2 audits, are known to be reliable, dependable and secure. However, not all SOC 2 certifications are equal. Organizations that are committed to implementing world class processes should consider SOC 2 Type 2, especially as new compliance technology makes meeting the exacting requirements of SOC 2 Type 2 surprisingly easy to achieve.
A gold medal in information security
SOC 2 Type 2 is the data security gold standard for SaaS companies. If you truly want to prove to clients and potential customers that their data is secure, you want to be SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Why? Because in order to meet the exacting standards of SOC 2 Type 2, you need to show that your organization is secure over a sustained period of time. That’s crucial, because data security isn’t a one-off thing. Information security is an ongoing process that responds effectively to evolving threats.
Of course, meeting the rigorous standards of SOC 2 Type 2 is a challenge for any organization. It’s not merely a snapshot of the organization’s information security, it’s a certificate of a sustained track record of data excellence.
Monitoring change over time: a job for automation
So here’s the real challenge of SOC 2 Type 2. As with many compliance requirements, SOC 2 involves preparing masses of data, from multiple components, into a consolidated audit report.
So far so complicated. However, the challenge becomes exponentially more complex when you consider the SOC 2 Type 2 timescale.
After all, you don’t simply need to demonstrate what kind of system architecture is in place, and which employees have responsibility for what devices right now. You need to show how the system responded to threats and errors at each moment over the audit period.
Attempting that manually, over a sustained period of time, is hardly feasible. Keeping track of all the inputs and logs over a period of six months will be massively time-consuming and highly prone to error.
Given that SOC 2 Type II certification reflects an ongoing process, you need sustained monitoring and compliance technology that keeps track of the system’s integrity over time and automatically compiles that data into a SOC 2 Type 2 audit report.
New technology for fast moving startups
Given the complex, time-consuming, error-prone processes involved in manually preparing for SOC 2 audit, automating your compliance offers obvious benefits.
However, as more discerning clients and service providers come to see SOC 2 Type 2 as the standard to which SaaS companies are expected to adhere, automation becomes much more than a useful compliance tool. Automated SOC 2 technology is crucial for meeting the sustained, real time monitoring, evaluation and auditing demands of meeting the SOC 2 Type 2 benchmark.
A goal-driven digital toolkit powered by experts
Best of all, the most advanced SOC 2 compliance tools don’t just make SOC 2 compliance simpler to achieve. By automating the whole monitoring and auditing process, SOC 2 compliance becomes positively easy. Even preparing for the dreaded SOC 2 audit is no longer a hassle.
Scytale’s automated compliance platform collects and validates all required data and generates an automated audit report, making SOC 2 easy. If your company is serious about data security, moves fast and has limited resources, we’ve designed the digital toolkit you need to easily meet the most ambitious compliance goals. And what’s more? Beyond our SOC 2 compliance acceleration platform, Scytale’s experienced team of ex-auditors and compliance officers provide expert-advisory services, support, and audit management to our customers on their compliance journey.
