Overview
Conformite Assist gets Indian SaaS and technology companies ready for SOC 2 Type I and Type II. We scope the right Trust Services Criteria, run a readiness assessment, help you put in controls your team can sustain, and organise the evidence your auditor will test, so your report arrives on time and your enterprise deals keep moving.
SOC 2 is an attestation framework from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). A licensed CPA firm examines your controls against the Trust Services Criteria and issues a report with its professional opinion. It is not a certificate. It is a detailed report your customers' security teams read during vendor due diligence.
For companies selling to US and global enterprises, SOC 2 has become a condition of doing business. A current report answers most security questionnaires in one document, shortens procurement reviews and removes one of the most common reasons deals stall.
What our SOC 2 readiness service covers
- Scoping: systems, boundaries, Trust Services Criteria and a Type I or Type II plan.
- Readiness assessment: a gap assessment against the Trust Services Criteria with a prioritised remediation plan.
- Control design and implementation: access management, change management, logging and monitoring, vendor management, incident response, business continuity, HR security and risk assessment.
- Policies and procedures: a complete, practical SOC 2 policy set written for how your team actually works.
- System description: support drafting the description of your system that forms part of the report.
- Evidence planning: what to collect, how often and who owns it, working with your existing tools or compliance platform.
- Penetration testing: annual penetration testing and retesting through our VAPT service.
- Pre-audit review: a mock walkthrough that catches gaps before the auditor does.
- Auditor coordination: help selecting a licensed CPA firm and support through fieldwork.
- Ongoing support: check-ins during the observation period and readiness for each annual renewal.
Type I or Type II
- SOC 2 Type I confirms your controls are suitably designed at a single point in time. It is faster to achieve and useful when a customer needs to see progress quickly.
- SOC 2 Type II confirms your controls operated effectively over an observation period, usually three to twelve months. This is the report most enterprise buyers expect.
There is one point worth understanding early. A Type II reports on a period that has already passed. If your controls were weak in April, nothing done in September repairs April. Controls have to be in place and operating before the observation window opens, which is why readiness work comes first and why the sequencing matters more than the speed.
A common path is to complete a Type I to unblock an active deal, then start the Type II observation period straight away.
The Trust Services Criteria, Scoped to Your Customers
- Security: mandatory for every SOC 2 report.
- Availability: for customers who depend on your uptime.
- Confidentiality: for companies handling sensitive client information.
- Processing Integrity: for platforms where accurate processing is the product, such as payments or billing.
- Privacy: for companies handling personal information in ways that call for it.
We help you include what your customers require and leave out what they do not. Because the criteria share underlying controls, adding a second or third costs far less than the first, but adding criteria nobody asked for simply raises effort and audit cost for no commercial return.
Who We Work With
- B2B SaaS companies selling to US and global enterprises.
- Cloud, data and platform companies that host customer data.
- IT services, BPO and global capability centres serving international clients.
- Fintech, health-tech and HR-tech platforms.
- Startups preparing for enterprise sales or investor due diligence.
How We Work
- Scope. Agree systems, criteria and report type against your customer commitments.
- Assess. Run a readiness assessment and share a clear, ranked gap list.
- Remediate. Implement the controls, policies and tooling changes with your team.
- Operate and evidence. Run controls consistently and collect evidence through the observation period.
- Audit support. Coordinate with your CPA firm, answer auditor requests and close any findings.
Type I readiness usually takes a few weeks to a few months depending on where you start. A first Type II adds an observation period of three to twelve months.
What It Costs, in Plain Terms
Your spend has several parts, and knowing them upfront avoids surprises.
The readiness work is what we do: scoping, gap assessment, controls, policies, evidence and pre-audit review. The CPA firm's examination fee is separate and always quoted separately. On top of that, budget for annual penetration testing, since most CPA firms expect an independent test report, and for any new tooling you need for logging, monitoring or evidence capture. The largest hidden cost is usually your own engineering time during remediation, so plan for real involvement from senior people.
Readiness delivered from India costs a fraction of US-based consulting for the same AICPA-standard outcome. We give you a clear estimate once the scope is agreed, rather than a number before anyone understands what is being assessed.
What You Receive
- SOC 2 scope document and criteria selection.
- Readiness assessment report and remediation plan.
- SOC 2 policy and procedure set.
- Control matrix mapped to the Trust Services Criteria.
- Evidence calendar with named owners.
- System description draft support.
- Pre-audit readiness review.
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 Together
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 share a large part of their control requirements. US buyers usually ask for SOC 2, while European, Middle Eastern and many enterprise buyers prefer ISO 27001. We map both to one control set, so you can meet either or both without building twice. See our ISO 27001 consulting for how that foundation works.
Independent by Design
AICPA rules require the CPA firm that issues your SOC 2 report to be independent from whoever helped design your controls. We handle readiness: scope, assessment, controls, evidence and pre-audit review. A licensed CPA firm performs the examination and issues the report. That separation is what gives your report credibility with buyers, and we never blur it.
Why Conformite Assist
- Human-led, not platform-led. We design controls around your product and team, and work with any compliance tool you use, or none.
- India-based expertise. Enterprise-grade readiness at a fraction of US consulting cost.
- 25+ years of compliance expertise, independent since 2011.
- One partner for the full picture. SOC 2 mapped with ISO 27001, DPDP, PCI DSS and HIPAA, with VAPT and virtual CISO support under one roof.
Key benefits
- A report that answers most security questionnaires in one document.
- Criteria scoped to what your customers actually require.
- Controls your team can sustain through the observation period.
- Evidence organised before the auditor asks for it.
- One control set that serves SOC 2 and ISO 27001 together.
Frequently asked questions
Is SOC 2 mandatory in India?
No. SOC 2 is not a legal requirement. It is a commercial requirement driven by customers, and for companies selling to US and global enterprises it is often a condition of the contract.
How long does SOC 2 take?
Type I readiness usually takes a few weeks to a few months, depending on your starting point. A first Type II typically takes six to twelve months end to end, because it includes an observation period during which controls must operate.
How much does SOC 2 cost for an Indian company?
Cost depends on scope and splits into readiness support, the CPA firm's audit fee, annual penetration testing, any new tooling and your team's time. Readiness support from India is far more cost-effective than US-only providers for the same AICPA-standard outcome.
Should we start with Type I or Type II?
If a deal is waiting, a Type I can unblock it quickly. If you have time, going straight to Type II saves a separate engagement. Most enterprise buyers ultimately expect Type II.
Which Trust Services Criteria should we include?
Security is mandatory. Most SaaS companies add Availability and Confidentiality. Processing Integrity and Privacy are added only when your product or customers require them.
Do we need a compliance automation platform?
Not necessarily. Platforms help collect evidence, but they do not design controls or explain your decisions to an auditor. We work with your platform if you have one, and without one if you do not.
Who issues the SOC 2 report?
A licensed CPA firm performs the examination and issues the report. A readiness adviser prepares you for it, and the two must be separate parties.
Can ISO 27001 help us get SOC 2 faster?
Yes. An existing ISO 27001 system covers a large share of the SOC 2 Security criteria, so mapping the two avoids duplicated work.