Let’s say a compliance platform is worth $12,000 per year. How much is it?
The answer is dependent on what it is replacing.
If technology can eliminate hundreds of hours tedious evidence collection across a complicated technology environment, $12,000 could be money well spent. The calculations would be different in the event that a small group of individuals could gather similar evidence in only a few minutes each month.
It’s a good way to start your search for Vanta. The question of which platform offers the most advanced features isn’t the only thing to consider. Ask how much time and effort those tools can help save your company.
Automated Manufacturing Has a Break-Even Level
It’s not inherently good or evil. The benefits of compliance automation is dependent on the size of the business. Imagine a growing technology company that has hundreds of employees many cloud environments, numerous applications, and regular access modifications. The task of collecting evidence over time could become extremely heavy. Integrations that monitor systems automatically and take evidence are able to justify the cost.
Consider a startup with 10 employees preparing for its first SOC 2. It could have a tiny infrastructure, and gathering of evidence can be managed without extensive automation.
Vanta pricing is based on this distinction. A sophisticated platform can provide substantial capabilities, but those capabilities can only provide financial value when the company actually needs these capabilities.
Compare Architecture and Not Just Brands
Vanta vs Drata is a discussion which can be easily a feature-by feature exercise. The two platforms are built on automation and integration with each other, which means that companies looking for this method can benefit from comparing the frameworks supported by their integrations, as well as the service and individual quotations and contracts.
There’s a second decision you need to make. Do you have a company that is interested in an integration-driven system for compliance? Certain businesses would prefer automated evidence collection, as well as constant monitoring. Certain businesses prefer collecting evidence on their own.
Vanta Competitors Do Not All Use the Same Model
Many well-known Vanta competitors compete within a similar automation-focused category. There are also platforms with a simpler design that focus more on organization rather instead of connectivity.
CertAssist is a member of the second group. CertAssist is a product developed by compliance consultants, internal auditors, and other professionals, organizes control frameworks into a single workspace. It allows for the editing of policies and guidance for auditing, and permits auditors to review evidence via read-only access.
It does not, in fact, connect to operational systems, or create infrastructure agents. Customers are able to upload the evidence they choose.
The consideration of access to the System in the Making
The removal of integrations comes with a clear disadvantage: one must collect evidence manually.
This eliminates the need to integrate, and the process of compliance does not require an interface to the operational environment.
The designs of either are not superior to each other. The important question is which tradeoff makes sense for your business.
CertAssist aims at teams with five to 200 employees and offers pricing information instead of having a sales conversation. The starting price is $225 a month, which is comparable to the usual cost of $375 per month.
Let Complexity Have Its Proper Place
Needs for startups today with 10 employees are not necessarily the same as those of an organization with 100 or 500 employees.
Although compliance is easy but a lighter platform might make sense. The costs of automation will be increased as systems, employees and frameworks grow. Better to let the complexity of compliance technology take its rightful place.
Do not purchase fifty different integrations just because they look attractive in the comparison chart. You should purchase them only if the cost of doing the work manually is more expensive.