What is SOC 2 & Why is it important?
SOC 2 or Service Organization Controls 2 is a framework that is governed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). With a SOC 2 audit, an independent service auditor will review an organization’s policies, procedures, and evidence to determine if their controls are designed and operating effectively. A SOC 2 report communicates a company’s commitment to data security and protection of customer information.
Improving your security posture
SOC 2 compliance exemplifies an organization’s commitment to their customer’s trust and is a major milestone towards improving their overall security posture. With increasing cybersecurity threats and data breaches, it is paramount that organizations prioritize information security and the protection of their systems and data. By undergoing a SOC 2 audit, our controls and processes were validated by a third-party who attests to the functioning of the controls relevant to our application.
Why we pursued SOC 2 now
SOC 2 compliance is an integral step in proving to customers, stakeholders, and interested parties that our organization values their trust and has effectively implemented security controls. At our company’s stage, we realized that it was an ideal time to pursue this as it is important to protect data and mitigate potential security risks early and on an ongoing basis.
This was a significant investment and will now allow Grapefruit Health to move much faster in its sales efforts while providing its clients with the confidence they need. Becoming SOC2 this fast in a company's life is rare, but it shows Grapefruit Health's commitment to security.
Grapefruit Health’s journey to SOC 2 compliance
Process
While SOC 2 can be a big undertaking, our compliance partners streamlined the process. We leveraged Vanta to integrate our key systems and guide us in implementing policies and procedures to quickly become audit ready. Vanta gave us the direction we needed to pursue our compliance journey.
Advantage Partners then confirmed our audit readiness and we kicked off our audit. For the audit, Advantage evaluated the controls we have in place and opined on their state. Shortly after our audit window ended, Advantage Partners drafted and issued our report.
Timeline
One key takeaway is understanding that improving our security posture and achieving compliance is a monumental task. This can be made easier with the right compliance partners but it will take dedicated focus and time from your organization. The readiness period can take the most time but we were able to make compliance a priority to get audit-ready in a matter of weeks versus months.
We also found it important to review the audit timeline with Advantage Partners, set an ideal audit date, and then work backward to be ready in time. However, now that controls are implemented and security is a priority for our team, subsequent SOC 2 audits will be even more seamless.
Lessons we learned
Focus on improving security posture, not checking boxes
Key points:
Compliance is not one size fits all.
Security is a continuous project that should be prioritized in an organization.
Start the process early
Key points:
It is easier to implement policies earlier rather than later.
Building secure procedures and infrastructure are key components of a successful security program.
Improving security and achieving compliance can help scale your business
Key points:
Vendor security reviews are highly requested in sales cycles and SOC 2 can help unblock that business.
Mitigating risk early will protect your business and earn the trust of prospects and customers.
Knowing your stakeholders in the compliance process
Key points:
Deciding which internal stakeholders are needed for policies, procedures, and engineering tasks.
Your entire organization will be involved in improving security and adhering to procedures.