SOC 2 Readiness Services
Your first SOC 2 report, reached by a path someone has walked before. We run the gap analysis, build the controls, collect the evidence, and get you to the auditor prepared, so the examination confirms what is already true.
The Problem
An enterprise prospect asked for your SOC 2 report and the deal is now waiting on it. Internally, controls live in people's heads, policies are half-written or missing, and nobody owns evidence collection. Every week of delay is pipeline sitting still.
The Solution
We turn SOC 2 from a research project into a plan: scope the right Trust Services Criteria, implement controls that fit a company your size instead of Fortune 500 bureaucracy, automate evidence collection, and coordinate the CPA firm's examination. You keep building product; we build the program.
Core Responsibilities
Scope & Gap Analysis
Build the Program
Pass the Examination
Engagement Process
Gap Analysis
Assess current controls against the Common Criteria. Know exactly what exists, what is missing, and what the audit will test.
Implement
Close the gaps in priority order with controls sized for your team, not a bureaucracy transplant.
Observe
Run the controls through the observation window while evidence collects automatically.
Examine
An independent CPA firm performs the audit on prepared ground. We manage the requests.
Common Questions
What is SOC 2, in plain terms?
SOC 2 is an independent auditor’s report on whether your company’s controls actually protect customer data, organized around five Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. It is not a certification you buy; it is an examination you pass by running real controls and proving it.
Which Trust Services Criteria do we actually need?
Security is the only mandatory criterion and the right starting scope for most first-time reports. Availability and confidentiality get added when customer contracts demand them. Starting narrow keeps the first audit achievable; scope can grow in later report cycles.
Type I or Type II, and can we skip straight to Type II?
Type I examines whether controls are designed properly at a point in time; Type II examines whether they operated effectively over an observation window, typically three to twelve months. Many companies do a Type I first as a milestone their sales team can use, then roll into the Type II window. Skipping straight to Type II is possible when your controls are already mature; we help you make that call honestly.
How long does SOC 2 readiness actually take?
It depends on where your controls stand today, which is exactly what the gap analysis establishes in the first weeks. The realistic path for a company starting from informal controls spans several months of implementation before the observation window even begins. Anyone promising a fixed short timeline before assessing you is guessing.
What does Sentinel do versus what does the auditor do?
Auditors examine; they are not allowed to build your program and then grade their own work. We do the building: gap analysis, control design, policy drafting, tooling, evidence collection, and preparing your team for auditor interviews. Then an independent CPA firm performs the examination. We coordinate with them so their requests land on prepared ground.
Why are enterprise customers suddenly asking us for SOC 2?
Because their own vendor-risk programs require it, and a missing report now stalls deals in procurement. A SOC 2 report answers most security questionnaires in one document, which is why companies pursue it when enterprise deals start appearing in the pipeline.