Enterprise buyers require proof your startup protects their data. That usually means a SOC 2 report, ISO/IEC 27001 certification, and completed security questionnaires.
A vendor security review is that check before they sign. Reviews affect founders selling to large companies, especially in finance, health, and software supply chains. Expect deeper checks when you store customer data or connect to their systems.
Table of Contents
- Why SOC 2 comes first
- When ISO 27001 matters
- What questionnaires will ask
- How to reuse cloud answers
- What regulated buyers add
Why SOC 2 comes first
According to the American Institute of CPAs, SOC 2 is an examination by a licensed independent CPA that evaluates controls for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality or privacy AICPA update on SOC 2 trust criteria. Buyers ask for it first because it shows an outsider tested your controls.
Share your current report early and explain gaps plainly. If you lack one, state your timeline and show interim controls.
When ISO 27001 matters
The ISO Help Centre describes ISO/IEC 27001 as the international standard for establishing and continually improving an Information Security Management System ISO guidance on information security management. It protects confidentiality, integrity and availability. The Centre says Annex A lists 93 controls in four domains: organizational, people, physical and technological.
Choose it when you sell internationally or buyers ask for certified processes. It complements SOC 2 rather than replacing it. Keep your risk review and improvement records current.
What questionnaires will ask
Mitratech, describing Shared Assessments, says many enterprises send the Standardized Information Gathering questionnaire to measure third-party security, privacy and resilience controls Mitratech explainer on the SIG questionnaire. The company notes it comes in Lite, Core and Detail tiers and covers about 21 risk domains. Gather these answers before it arrives: Short, consistent answers speed review and reduce follow-ups.
- who owns security and incident response
- how you control access, encryption and backups
- how you vet subcontractors and handle privacy requests
How to reuse cloud answers
The Cloud Security Alliance says the Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire is a yes-or-no spreadsheet for cloud vendors Cloud Security Alliance explainer on CAIQ. The Alliance says its questions map to the Cloud Controls Matrix for IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
The Cloud Security Alliance STAR program lists thousands of entries and lets vendors publish a completed CAIQ once. Level 1 is a self-assessment rather than an independent audit. Use it to avoid filling the same form for every buyer.
What regulated buyers add
The National Institute of Standards and Technology published NIST SP 800-161 Rev. 1 on May 5, 2022 to define supply-chain risk practices for systems and organizations. If you sit in a federal supply chain, expect buyers to reference it.
Map your vendor controls to its practices. FedRAMP notes its proposed Minimum Assessment Scope of April 24, 2025 covers cloud resources in scope. It includes all resources that handle federal information or could affect its confidentiality, integrity or availability, excluding most unrelated metadata. Keep architecture diagrams ready to show the boundary.