Imagine a platform for compliance costs you $12,000 per year. Does that sound expensive?
It depends on what you’re replacing.
If $12,000 can be used to reduce the time spent of repetitive evidence gathering in an extremely complex technology environment this could be money well invested. If a seven person startup could manually gather the same information in only a few hours each month, the calculation will be different.
That’s a useful way to approach the search for a Vanta alternative. Don’t begin by asking what platform has the most features. Ask your business how these features can help you save time and money.
Automation Has an Economic Break-Even Point
Compliance automation isn’t inherently good or bad. Scale changes its value. Imagine an expanding technology company with multiple cloud environments as well as multiple applications. The strain of manually gathering evidence on a regular basis could be very difficult. Integrations that monitor systems automatically and collect evidence easily justify their expense.
Imagine a company of 10 people preparing for its first SOC 2. It might have a smaller infrastructure, and the gathering of evidence can be handled without a lot of automation.
That difference matters when evaluating Vanta pricing. A high-end platform can offer large capabilities, but those capabilities will only be of value when the organization actually needs these capabilities.
Compare Architecture not just Brands
Looking for Vanta or Drata quickly becomes a feature-by practice. It is crucial to evaluate the services, features as well as the quotes and contracts of both platforms. Both are established platform for compliance, which focuses on automation and integrations.
Another decision needs to be made first, however. Do you need a Compliance platform that integrates? Certain companies want automated evidence collection and continuous monitoring. Some businesses prefer to collect evidence themselves, especially when the work load is not too heavy.
Vanta Competitors Don’t All Use the Same Model
A number of well-known Vanta competitors compete in a category with the same focus on automation. There are also lighter platforms that focus on organization over large system connectivity.
CertAssist is a part of the latter category. CertAssist was created by internal auditors as well as compliance consultants. It organizes the framework controls into a single workspace that allows for editing of guidelines for policy and evidence. Auditors have the ability to examine evidence through a restricted interface.
It is deliberately not connected to operational systems, or create infrastructure agents. Customers can upload their own proof.
The System Access consideration in the Decision
It is evident that the removal of integrations can be a disadvantage. One must gather evidence by hand.
The compliance application does not require any integration and can be utilized without ongoing connections to the operational 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 a solution for teams with between five and 200 members. The price is disclosed rather than needing the salesperson to obtain the initial figure. The stated launch price for CertAssist is $225 per monthly in comparison to the standard $375.
Let Complexity Have Its Place
The requirements of a 10 person start-up today might not necessarily match its needs at 100 or 500 employees.
While compliance is simple but a lighter platform might be a good idea. When systems, employees frameworks, and evidence requirements increase, the financials could eventually favor greater automation. It’s a more efficient way to buy compliance software and let complexity take its place.
Do not pay for 50 integrations simply because they look attractive in a chart of comparison. They are worth paying for as the work they take over is more costly than manually performing them.