SOC 2

SOC 2 is an audit framework defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that evaluates a service organization controls across five Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. The audit comes in two flavors. Type I is a point-in-time assessment confirming the controls exist on a specific date. Type II covers a window of six to twelve months and confirms the controls operated effectively over that period. Type II is what enterprise buyers ask for. Type I is useful as an interim signal during the year-long path to Type II.

For funded SaaS selling into mid-market or enterprise, SOC 2 Type II is the gate. Most B2B buyers above 200 employees require a current SOC 2 report before signing, and many will not start a procurement process without one. Without it, deal cycles stall at security review for months while internal IT teams attempt to substitute questionnaires for an audit. The cost of getting compliant (typically $25K to $75K for the first audit cycle, plus internal time) is small relative to the deal cycle compression. A funded team without SOC 2 trying to close enterprise deals is paying the cost in lost quarters instead of audit fees.

The path to SOC 2 involves selecting a compliance platform (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe), defining the scope of systems in audit, implementing the required controls (access management, vendor reviews, security training, incident response), and engaging an independent auditor for the Type II observation window. Many funded teams pair SOC 2 with GDPR compliance because the underlying controls overlap heavily. The AI Ops Department handles the operational layer of evidence collection and control monitoring, freeing the security lead to focus on actual risk reduction rather than audit logistics.