Let’s say the cost of a compliance program is $12,000 per annum. Does that sound pricey?
It’s dependent on the part you’re replacing.
If $12,000 is spent to save hundreds of hours in repetitive evidence gathering across an extremely complex technology environment this could be money wisely invested. If a startup with seven employees could manually gather the same information in only a few hours each month, the result differs.
That’s a useful way to approach the search for a Vanta alternative. Don’t begin by asking which platform offers the most features. Ask how much time and effort these features will save your company.
Automated Manufacturing has an Break-Even Point
Automation of compliance isn’t intrinsically good or bad. The value it brings changes with. Imagine a technology company that is growing, with several cloud environments, a variety of applications and frequent changes in access. Manually collecting evidence could be a huge operational burden. Integrations that automate monitoring systems and gather evidence are able to justify their costs.
Imagine a startup with 10 employees who are preparing for their first SOC 2. Its infrastructure might be compact, and evidence collection could remain manageable without significant automation.
This is a crucial distinction when looking at Vanta pricing. While an advanced platform could offer many capabilities however, they’re only useful for organizations that are in need of them.
Compare Architecture, not Just Brands
Vanta vs Drata is a discussion which can be easily a feature-by feature exercise. It is crucial to evaluate the features, services, contracts and quotes of both platforms. Both are established systems for compliance that are focused on automation and integrations.
However, there’s another choice you have to make. Do you want to use an integration-driven compliance platform in any way? Certain businesses want continuous monitoring and automated evidence collection. Others prefer to present evidence on their own, especially if the amount of work remains minimal.
Vanta Competitors do not follow the same format.
Many Vanta competitors are also in the same class that focuses on automation. There are also lighter platforms which focus on organization and large system connectivity.
CertAssist is part of the latter group. It was developed by compliance consultants and internal auditors, CertAssist organizes framework controls within a single workspace. It provides editable policy and evidence guidelines, and allows auditors to examine evidence submitted by gaining read-only access.
It deliberately does not connect to operational systems or install infrastructure agents. Customers choose and upload their evidence that they want to share.
Consideration should be given to the access to the system.
The removal of integrations has its drawbacks. One must be able to manually collect evidence.
The compliance software does not require integration, and it can be utilized without connection to the operating environment.
The designs of either are not superior to the other. The key question is what option is most appropriate for your business.
CertAssist is targeted towards teams with five to 200 employees and gives pricing information, rather than having to have an actual sales call. Its official launch price is $225 per month which is compared to a standard price of $375 per month.
Let Complexity earn its place
What is required of a startup with 10 employees are not necessarily exactly the same as a company with 100 or 500 employees.
While compliance is simple an easy platform can be a good idea. The economics of automation can increase as systems, employees and frameworks increase. That’s a healthier way to invest in compliance technology and let complexity take its place.
Don’t buy fifty integrations just because they look impressive on a comparison chart. They’re well worth the money to perform the tasks they replace is more expensive as compared to manually performing them.
