ISO27001, SOC2, and Compliance Demystified

When I first approached compliance—ISO27001, SOC2, and similar certifications—it felt overwhelming. Pages upon pages of cryptic requirements, vague terms, and lengthy documentation made it seem like climbing Everest without a map. But once I zoomed in, it started making sense. Turns out, these guidelines are actually pretty straightforward, much like washing your hands—common-sense practices that improve your organization's overall hygiene.

Let's face it though: in the startup and midsize world, compliance rarely gets prioritized. We're all busy chasing product-market fit, users, or next-round funding. But here's the deal: Compliance is a powerful way to show potential customers you genuinely care about their data and security—helping you build trust from day one.

So here’s a simplified breakdown (mostly relevant for SaaS and mid-sized teams), with a few bonus hacks at the end:

1. Policies—The Foundation:

Everything starts here: Information Security Management System (ISMS), disaster recovery, software practices, data handling, backups—you name it. These aren’t just buzzwords; they're basically formalizing things you’re probably already doing. You don't have to reinvent the wheel: grab policy templates online or generate them using AI and adapt them to fit your organization. After creating them, just make sure everyone on your team actually knows they exist and understands their responsibilities.

Tools to simplify this:

• Easiest but pricier: GRC platforms like Drata, Vanta, or SecureFrame.

• Budget-friendly: Templates and AI-generated documents (e.g., ChatGPT), DIY style.

• Balanced approach: Hire an expert short-term to get it right initially.

2. Miscellaneous Security Activities:

Think of this as preventative care—employee training, background checks, encryption checks, and managing allowed software. This step protects your startup from one of the biggest attack vectors: social engineering and human error. The key here isn't complexity but consistency. You set the policies, communicate them, and use some tools to track everything easily.

Managing these activities:

• GRC tools (like Drata, Vanta) help centralize tracking, but you’ll still typically need individual tools for specific tasks (e.g., training videos, background checks, password managers).

• Alternatively, you can manually track and organize evidence yourself if you're diligent enough.

3. Cloud Infrastructure Compliance—The Big One:

This part eats up about a third of your total effort. It's about configuring cloud services—your databases, web apps, networks—to meet security standards. Most cloud providers (AWS Security Hub, Microsoft Defender) can point out issues but won't help you fix them. That’s exactly why we built Cloudgeni—to not just find compliance gaps but actively remediate them through infrastructure-as-code. Tasks that used to take weeks can now happen in hours or days, drastically reducing effort and complexity.

4. Gathering Evidence and the Audit:

After you’ve implemented policies and set up compliance measures, you’ll need evidence to prove it—think screenshots, logs, and reports. You'll then undergo an audit by accredited companies (roughly $5000 for smaller startups). GRC tools simplify evidence collection, but manual collection works too if you have more time than money.

Costs Breakdown (for small startups):

• Audit fee (~$5,000).

• GRC tools ($5,000–$15,000 per year, per certification).

• Cloud compliance tools (Cloudgeni ~$2,000 annually).

Bonus Hack:

If you don't immediately need full certification but still want to prove your security posture to customers, ask them for a security checklist/questionnaire. Fill it out thoroughly, provide policies you've created, and attach reports from tools like Cloudgeni. You’ll essentially demonstrate compliance for about $2,000 a year instead of up to $20,000, significantly cutting down costs and complexity.

Hope this clears things up a bit! How’s your compliance journey going? If you’ve been through this or are about to start, I'd love to hear your insights or struggles. Let's start a conversation and help each other navigate this compliance maze.