Doing both SOC 2 and ISO 27001? Strac Comply maps every piece of live evidence to both frameworks simultaneously. One audit cycle, one platform, one bill. Plus the native DLP / DSPM / MCP DLP coverage other compliance platforms don't ship. Start at comply.strac.io →
The single biggest difference: ISO 27001 requires you to operate a formal Information Security Management System (ISMS) — a continuous risk-management program with documented context, scope, leadership commitment, planning, and improvement cycles. SOC 2 evaluates controls; ISO 27001 evaluates the system that manages those controls.
SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm under the AICPA's SSAE-18 standard. It evaluates whether a service organization's controls meet the Trust Services Criteria across one or more of: Security (mandatory), Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, Privacy.
Two flavors:
For the full guide see SOC 2 compliance, SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 2 controls.
ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard for managing information security. The current version (ISO/IEC 27001:2022) requires you to:
The output is a certificate stating the organization conforms to ISO/IEC 27001:2022, valid for 3 years with annual surveillance audits.
Most security controls map cleanly between the two frameworks:
Where the two frameworks diverge:
A practical decision matrix:
Practical pattern at most B2B SaaS companies above $5M ARR: SOC 2 Type 2 first (faster path to a report enterprise procurement accepts), then ISO 27001 once international customer demand exceeds 20-30% of pipeline.
When you do both: total first-cycle cost is NOT 2x because the control evidence overlaps. Realistic combined first-cycle cost: $100K-$250K. With Strac Comply\'s shared-evidence mapping the cost trends to the lower end of that range.
Strac Comply maps every piece of live evidence to both frameworks simultaneously. The architectural consequence: one continuous evidence stream feeds two audit cycles.
Per-evidence cross-mapping:
ISO 27001-specific automation:
The unique angle: Strac Comply ships with Strac DLP and Strac DSPM as part of the same platform. For the data-protection controls that show up in both frameworks (SOC 2 CC6.6 / CC6.7 + ISO 27001 A.5.12 / A.5.13 / A.8.10-12), the evidence comes from the same product enforcing the control. No separate DLP integration. No two-vendor reconciliation.
Strac Comply maps every piece of live evidence to both frameworks simultaneously. The same DLP product securing your data generates the audit evidence. One platform, one bill, two clean reports.
Start at comply.strac.io →ISO 27001 is structurally heavier because of the formal ISMS, internal audit, and management-review requirements. SOC 2 is more flexible — you design controls to meet criteria. ISO 27001 demands you operate a documented management system. For first-time programs, ISO 27001 typically takes 2-4 weeks longer.
Neither is "better." They serve different buyer profiles and geographies. ISO 27001 is more rigorous on system management; SOC 2 is more US-customary. Enterprise buyers in mixed geographies expect both above $5-10M ARR.
Yes, increasingly. Many auditors now offer SOC 2 + ISO 27001 combined engagements. The internal team submits one evidence package; the firm produces both reports. Strac Comply\'s evidence portal exports both formats from a single platform.
Most US-headquartered SaaS companies do SOC 2 first because: (1) US enterprise procurement teams ask for it more often, (2) Type 2 reports issue in 4-6 weeks of fieldwork vs months for ISO 27001 first certification, (3) the audit process is more transactional and faster to learn. ISO 27001 comes next when international customer demand justifies it.
ISO 27001 A.5.12 (Classification of Information) and A.5.13 (Labelling of Information) are explicit control points. SOC 2 covers this implicitly under CC6.6 / CC6.7. The practical evidence is the same: a documented data classification scheme + labels applied to sensitive datasets + DLP enforcement of policies tied to labels. Strac DLP produces this evidence directly.
The Statement of Applicability (SoA) is an ISO 27001-required document listing every Annex A control and either (a) why it applies to your ISMS, or (b) why it's excluded. SOC 2 has no equivalent. Strac Comply auto-generates the SoA from your scope and integration data.
No. SOC 2 doesn't require a formal ISMS. You need policies, controls, and risk assessment, but not the structured management-system framework ISO 27001 mandates.
In SOC 2, AI-system controls map to CC6.1 (access by agents), CC6.6 (data classification at the tool-call boundary), CC7.2 (anomaly monitoring on agent behavior). In ISO 27001, the same controls map to A.8.2 / A.8.3 (access controls), A.5.12 / A.5.13 (classification), A.8.15 / A.8.16 (logging and monitoring). Plus the new ISO 42001 standard covers AI-specific operations. Strac Comply maps MCP DLP audit logs to all of these.
Yes. Strac Comply maps every evidence event across all four frameworks simultaneously. The same control evidence satisfies SOC 2 CC6.7 + HIPAA §164.312(a)(2)(iv) + ISO 27001 A.8.24 + PCI DSS Req. 3.4 from a single capture.
The unique angle: Strac Comply ships with Strac DLP and Strac DSPM as part of the same platform. For controls under both frameworks that cover data protection (a substantial overlap), Strac produces evidence directly. Other platforms send you to integrate a separate DLP. The combined-platform architecture compresses audit cycles meaningfully.
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are the two dominant B2B security frameworks. They overlap ~80% on controls. SOC 2 for US-focused buyers, ISO 27001 for international, both for global enterprise SaaS. Strac Comply is the only compliance automation platform that maps every piece of evidence to both frameworks simultaneously — with the native DLP / DSPM / MCP DLP product the others don't ship.
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