Having a SOC 2 Type 2 report can be the deciding factor in a prospective customer selecting your organization over another. Many companies obtain a SOC 2 for that obvious benefit however there are other advantages to obtaining a SOC 2 report.
1. Build Trust, Confidence & Reputation
Your organization is able to demonstrate that a mature control environment, compliance and risk posture are in place.
2. Improve Security Posture
Your organization obtains an independent assessment of risks and controls including identified gaps in policies, procedures, operational processes and opportunities for improvement.
3. Transparency
Your organization is able to increase transparency with internal and external stakeholders including customers, investors and the board of directors regarding the organization’s internal controls, risks and operations.
“Having a SOC 2 Type 2 report can be the deciding factor in a prospective customer selecting your organization over another.”
4. Customer Demands / Commitments
Your organization is able to address customer compliance requirements and concerns.
5. Competitive Advantage
Your organization is able to provide assurance to prospective and current clients about the organization’s security posture and differentiate itself from competitors who cannot show SOC 2 compliance.
6. Save Time & Reduce Compliance Requests
Having a SOC 2 will reduce individual customer compliance requests, reduce time spent on responding to such requests including evidence requests, onsite visits, and vendor and other security questionnaires.
7. User Auditor Requests
These are also compliance requests but we wanted to separate this to highlight the fact that many service organizations get individual compliance requests from their customers’ auditors. Having a SOC 2 report may greatly reduce these requests.
8. Leveraging with other frameworks, accreditation & reporting formats
SOC 2 shares comparable documentation, security, privacy and other compliance requirements with NIST SP800-53, ISO 27001, GDPR, COBIT5, PCI, HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) and other frameworks, accreditation or reporting formats. Having a SOC 2 helps satisfy such documentation, security, privacy and other compliance requirements for these frameworks, accreditation or reporting formats. This aids in fulfilling compliance requests, customer and vendor questionnaires, and faster compliance assessments, saving time and money.
9. Government Agency / National Security Enforcement
A SOC 2 isn’t required by law and this scenario is highly unusual however our team has experienced auditing at least one client who had to undergo a SOC 2 compliance review because a government agency requested their control environment be independently reviewed due to the type of services the organization provided.
Obtaining a SOC 2 report offers a multitude of benefits for organizations, including building trust, improving security posture, and increasing transparency. Furthermore, it enables organizations to address customer demands, gain a competitive advantage, and save time by reducing compliance requests. The SOC 2 report can also streamline user auditor requests and provide leverage with other frameworks, accreditations, and reporting formats. Although not a legal requirement, a SOC 2 report can prove beneficial in government agency or national security enforcement scenarios. Overall, securing a SOC 2 Type 2 report is a wise investment for organizations looking to enhance their reputation, security, and compliance efforts.
