Services SOC 2 Compliance & Certification
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SOC 2 Compliance & Certification

SOC 2 is the dominant trust attestation framework for SaaS, technology, and service organisations selling into enterprise. A current Type II report shortens enterprise sales cycles by months, satisfies the most common vendor security questionnaire requirements, and provides credible third-party validation of your security programme.

RedSecLabs delivers SOC 2 Type I and Type II audits engineered for modern technology environments, multi-tenant SaaS, AI/ML platforms, healthcare and fintech variants, MSP and cloud provider operations. We map controls to ISO 27001, GDPR, and sector-specific frameworks so one audit produces compliance use across multiple regimes.

Our audit teams combine senior SOC 2 specialists with security engineering depth, translating Trust Service Criteria into the operational controls your engineering teams will actually maintain.

CREST Member Company CREST Penetration Testing Provider PCI SSC Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) Company ISO 27001 Certified UKAS Accredited Certification AICPA SOC 2

Get Your Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what needs testing. You’ll get a scoped, fixed-fee quote back the same business day, from a senior assessor, not a sales rep. No obligation, no spam.

✓ Same-day response✓ Fixed-fee, no surprises✓ Senior testers only✓ Retest included

We reply within one business day with next steps. Your details are used only to scope your enquiry, never shared or sold.

✓ UK-based CREST member · ✓ QSA-led methodology · ✓ Same-day scoping response · ✓ Executive + technical reports · ✓ Retest included
Who this is for

This service is a fit if you’re..

1
SaaS scaling to enterprise
B2B SaaS companies where enterprise prospects start asking for SOC 2 Type II reports in procurement.
2
First-time SOC 2
Companies preparing for their first SOC 2 audit who need readiness and gap remediation.
3
AI and fintech
AI platforms and fintech infrastructure where customer trust evidence is the difference between deals.

SOC 2 Compliance, Quick Facts

Last reviewed: 2026-05-21
Audit framework
AICPA Trust Services Criteria (Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, Privacy)
Report types
SOC 2 Type I (point-in-time) and SOC 2 Type II (operating effectiveness over 6-12 months)
Typical timeline
4-6 months for Type I, 12-18 months for first Type II with operating period
Who needs it
SaaS providers, fintech, healthtech, and any vendor handling enterprise customer data
Delivery model
Fixed-fee, scope-bound. Senior consultants from kickoff through audit support
Bundles with
ISO 27001 (controls overlap), GDPR (privacy criteria), HIPAA (where applicable)
Common SOC 2 questions answered

Picking the right SOC 2 path for your business

SOC 2 Type I vs Type II , what AICPA actually requires The technical and audit-period differences between the two report types, and which your buyers expect. What does SOC 2 actually cost? Cost breakdown across firm size, scope, audit-period length, and ongoing maintenance.
Type I & II
Both attestation tiers
SSAE-18
AICPA-aligned
5 TSCs
Full Trust Criteria scope
6-12 months
Type II observation

What is SOC 2?

SOC 2 (Service Organisation Control 2) is an attestation report issued under the AICPA SSAE-18 standard. It evaluates an organisation's controls relevant to one or more of the five Trust Service Criteria: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

Reports come in two types: Type I attests that controls are suitably designed at a point in time, while Type II attests that they operated effectively across an observation period (typically 6 or 12 months). Type II is the gold-standard for enterprise procurement; Type I is mostly useful as an interim credential.

What SOC 2 delivers:

Enterprise procurement acceleration of 60-90 days on average

Reduced bespoke vendor security questionnaire burden

Independent attestation of security control operation

Evidence reusable for ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA mappings

M&A and investor due diligence asset

Insurer-grade evidence for cyber liability cover

SOC 2 has become the de-facto baseline for B2B SaaS selling into enterprise, its absence increasingly disqualifies vendors from serious procurement processes.

Why SOC 2 matters

Enterprise buyers cannot rely on vendor assertions alone, their own auditors, regulators, and cyber insurers expect third-party evidence of vendor controls. SOC 2 Type II provides that evidence in a standardised format that procurement and security teams can evaluate efficiently.

Without SOC 2, every enterprise deal involves a multi-week security review, a bespoke vendor questionnaire, and often months of back-and-forth before contract signature. Certified vendors clear the same gate in days. The economic difference compounds across pipeline.

Without SOC 2, technology organisations face:

Lost enterprise deals to SOC 2 certified competitors

Multi-month vendor security reviews on every new contract

Inability to enter regulated verticals (finance, healthcare)

Higher cyber insurance premiums than certified peers

Failed M&A diligence at growth-stage exits

Inability to win procurement programmes requiring annual attestation

For any B2B SaaS over £2M revenue selling into enterprise, SOC 2 has become a sales-enablement asset, not a compliance overhead.

Who needs SOC 2 compliance?

SOC 2 applies to any service organisation handling customer data. RedSecLabs delivers across the full breadth of technology and service business models:

SaaS and B2B technology

AI and machine learning platforms

Cloud hosting and IaaS providers

Fintech and financial services

HealthTech and clinical platforms

MSPs and managed services

HR, payroll, and benefits platforms

MSSPs and security service providers

If your customers ask for vendor security evidence, SOC 2 is the answer that closes deals fastest, and reduces ongoing security questionnaire burden by 80% or more.

Our SOC 2 Audit Methodology

An eight-stage methodology aligned to AICPA SSAE-18, refined across hundreds of SOC 2 engagements across multiple sectors.

01

Trust Service Criteria Selection

Security is mandatory; we scope additional TSCs (Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, Privacy) based on customer expectations and product characteristics.

02

Readiness Assessment

Comprehensive gap analysis against the selected TSCs with control-by-control evidence review and remediation prioritisation.

03

Control Design & Implementation

Hands-on support designing and implementing controls, policies, processes, and technical configurations, that satisfy the TSCs while remaining operationally sustainable.

04

Evidence Collection Tooling

Where appropriate, we deploy continuous evidence collection automation (Drata, Vanta, Secureframe) to reduce manual audit burden.

05

Type I Audit (Optional)

Point-in-time attestation that controls are designed appropriately, useful interim evidence for rapid enterprise sales cycles.

06

Type II Observation Period

Operating effectiveness evidence collected across 6 or 12 months, with continuous monitoring to flag drift before audit.

07

Type II Audit & Report

Independent testing of controls across the observation period, producing the SOC 2 Type II attestation report your customers will request.

08

Annual Re-Audit Cycle

Type II reports cover a defined observation period, most organisations move to a rolling annual cycle with continuous control monitoring throughout.

Most clients reach Type I in 3-4 months and Type II in 9-12 months total elapsed time from kick-off, depending on starting maturity and observation period chosen.

What you receive

Every SOC 2 engagement with RedSecLabs includes:

  • Trust Service Criteria scoping recommendation
  • Readiness assessment with prioritised remediation roadmap
  • Control library tailored to your environment
  • Evidence collection tooling deployment (optional)
  • SOC 2 Type I attestation report (where scoped)
  • SOC 2 Type II attestation report covering observation period
  • Enterprise procurement evidence pack with customer FAQs
  • Annual re-audit cycle and continuous control monitoring

Industries We Serve

We deliver this service across these industries:

SaaS & Technology
AI & Machine Learning
Cloud Hosting
Fintech
HealthTech
MSPs
HR & Payroll
Security Services

Why RedSecLabs for SOC 2

SOC 2 is most often badly delivered by accountants who don't understand security engineering, or security firms who don't understand attestation rigour. We do both, senior auditors who came up through engineering, who write controls operational teams actually maintain, and whose reports enterprise procurement teams genuinely respect.

AICPA SSAE-18 attestation methodology
Mapped to ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA on day one
Continuous evidence collection automation
Annual re-audit and surveillance support
Reports enterprise buyers actually accept
Senior auditors throughout, no junior handoffs

Start Your SOC 2 Programme

Book a free 30-minute scoping call. TSC recommendation, readiness baseline, fixed-fee proposal within a week.

Book a Scoping Call Contact Us

Where to next

Related services and industry packages worth exploring.

Type I vs Type II Guide

SOC 2 for MSPs & Cloud Providers

SOC 2 for HR & Payroll Providers

SOC 2 for Financial Services

SOC 2 for Small & Mid-Size Businesses

SOC 2 for Healthcare

SOC 2 for AI Companies

ISO 27001 Certification

Run both with evidence reuse

SaaS & Technology package

SOC 2 Penetration Testing

Auditor-ready testing for CC4.1 and CC7.1
Related reading

From the RedSecLabs research blog

From the blog

SOC 2 Audit Cost: 2025 Breakdown

What SOC 2 Type I and Type II actually cost across firm size, scope, and audit duration.

Read on the RedSecLabs blog
From the blog

SOC Type 1 vs SOC Type 2: Key Differences

Which report your prospects want, and how to choose between point-in-time and operating effectiveness.

Read on the RedSecLabs blog

Three routes to a SOC 2 report

Compliance platforms automate evidence collection; they don’t design controls, fix gaps or answer your buyer’s security team. We do the part the software can’t, and we work alongside whichever platform you already pay for.

Type I, deal on the line
A design-focused sprint when procurement is waiting: readiness, remediation, Type I report in the data room in roughly two months.
  • ✓Readiness assessment and gap fixes
  • ✓Type I report enterprise buyers accept as interim
  • ✓Type II window starts the day Type I closes
  • ✓Fixed fee, quoted this week
Unblock the deal
MOST CHOSEN
Readiness → Type II
Skip the interim report: design controls properly, run a six-month observation window, one audit, and hold the report buyers actually ask for.
  • ✓Control design matched to your real operations
  • ✓Six-month window managed, evidence tracked
  • ✓Independent pentest evidence included in scope
  • ✓One audit fee instead of two
Plan the Type II path
Annual assurance
Type II on a rolling twelve-month window, year after year: evidence stays warm, exceptions get managed, renewals stop being projects.
  • ✓Rolling observation windows
  • ✓Quarterly evidence health-checks
  • ✓Exception management with credible responses
  • ✓Questionnaire support between audits
Set up annual SOC 2

How your SOC 2 engagement runs

Whether you need a fast Type I or a full Type II, the path is the same shape: design, observe, report.

1
Readiness and control design
We map the Trust Services Criteria to how your business actually operates, fix the gaps, and get your controls genuinely working, not just documented.
2
Observation and evidence
We manage the observation window, track evidence as it accrues, and fold independent penetration test evidence into scope so nothing stalls the audit.
3
Audit and report
One audit, one report your enterprise buyers and their security teams accept, with exception management handled credibly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Type I attests that controls are designed appropriately at a point in time, a snapshot. Type II attests they operate effectively across an observation period (6 or 12 months). Enterprise buyers strongly prefer Type II; Type I is mostly useful as an interim credential while observation period evidence accumulates.

Security is mandatory. Availability is essential for any service organisation where uptime matters to customers. Confidentiality is common where customer data is sensitive. Processing Integrity applies to systems that calculate financial or other critical outputs. Privacy is added where PII is processed. We recommend the right scope during initial scoping.

Minimum is 3 months; typical is 6 or 12 months. Enterprise buyers strongly prefer 12-month Type II reports as they cover full annual cycles. We typically recommend 6 months for first audit, transitioning to 12-month cycles thereafter, but the right choice depends on your sales context.

Yes, we work with the major continuous compliance platforms (Drata, Vanta, Secureframe, Tugboat) and can deploy them as part of your SOC 2 programme. These tools reduce audit evidence burden by 60-80% but require careful configuration to produce audit-grade evidence.

SOC 2 is a US-originating attestation framework strongest in North American markets; ISO 27001 is the international ISMS standard with broader global recognition. Many organisations need both. The good news: controls overlap 70%+, so a well-designed compliance programme produces evidence usable for either.

Type I audits typically £25,000-£50,000; Type II £40,000-£90,000 depending on TSC scope and environment complexity. Sectoral variants (healthcare, AI, MSP) run higher reflecting additional control work. We provide a fixed-fee quote after scoping.
What you receive

Every engagement includes

  • ✓ Scoping call. A 30-minute call to define scope, timeline, and authorisation boundaries.
  • ✓ Assessment plan. Written plan covering scope, evidence requirements, and assessment schedule.
  • ✓ Findings report. Control-by-control findings with evidence references and remediation guidance.
  • ✓ Executive summary. Board-ready 1-2 page summary with risk ratings and business impact.
  • ✓ Audit-ready evidence. Findings letter formatted for auditors, customers, and supervisory authorities.
  • ✓ Re-verification letter. Remediated gaps re-verified within an agreed window. Confirmation letter included.
  • ✓ Remediation call. A call with our lead assessor to walk through findings and remediation strategy.
How we deliver

Our process, end to end

  1. 1
    Scoping call & fixed-scope quote
    A 30-minute call. We define scope, targets, timeline. You get a fixed-scope quote within one working day. No surprise invoices.
  2. 2
    Assessment plan & authorisation
    Written assessment plan covering scope, evidence requirements and schedule. Authorisation and NDA in place before any work begins.
  3. 3
    Assessor-led execution
    A senior assessor runs the engagement. Material gaps flagged as they are found, not saved for the report. Daily updates if you want them.
  4. 4
    Technical + executive report
    Detailed technical findings with reproduction steps. Board-ready executive summary. Delivered within agreed working days.
  5. 5
    Remediation call & re-verification
    Walkthrough with our lead assessor. Re-verification of remediated gaps within the agreed window. Confirmation letter for your auditors.
Engagement scope

What shapes the quote

Small scope
Single environment, one framework, limited system count. 5-7 working days.
Medium scope
Multiple systems or sites, several control owners, integrations. 8-12 working days.
Enterprise scope
Complex estate, multiple entities or locations, full audit-grade evidence. 12-25 working days.
Fixed-scope quote within 1 working day
No surprise invoices, no scope-creep. We commit to a number before you commit to us.
Sample report
See exactly what we deliver
Download a redacted RedSecLabs report. Same structure, depth and clarity as the deliverables your team will receive.
Download sample report
Why RedSecLabs

Grounded reasons clients choose us

⚑
UK-based team
Testers based in the UK. Data stays within UK/EU jurisdiction for sensitive engagements.
❄
CREST member company
CREST-accredited methodology. Senior testers hold CREST CRT or CCT certifications.
⚙
Practitioners, not checklists
Assessments run by practitioners who also test systems hands-on, findings reflect how controls actually operate.
✎
Clear executive reporting
Reports your board can read and your developers can act on. No jargon padding.
♚
Compliance-aware delivery
PCI, SOC 2, ISO 27001, DORA, GDPR. We map findings to your compliance framework.
↺
Retest support included
Free retest of remediated findings within agreed window. Confirmation letter for auditors.
Related services

Often paired with this engagement

SOC 2 for SaaS →
SaaS-specific readiness path.
SOC 2 for AI Companies →
AI-specific scoping considerations.
ISO 27001 Certification →
Often pursued in parallel.
Web App Pentesting →
Required for most SOC 2 audits.
Virtual CISO →
For ongoing programme leadership.
📞 Call us Book a call