We must stop thinking of investing in compliance as a response to incident breaches, at least for startups. In our recent survey, none of the respondents reported experiencing a damaging security incident and less than half said risk management was even a factor in their decision to get compliant. Rather, the #1 motivating factor for investing in compliance was to meet the demands and expectations of prospects and customers.
As I’ve written before, virtually every large enterprise has suffered a breach, either directly or via a vendor. For established brands, breaches of any significance can be devastating. That trauma is directly driving buying behaviors, with infosec and procurement processes designed to treat every prospective vendor by default as unnecessary additional surface area until proven otherwise.
Startups that fail to invest in compliance will ultimately fail to sell to enterprise buyers.
Catalysts for Compliance
Drilling down into our research, 4 out of 5 respondents cited customer demands as a key motivator for getting compliant. Both risk management and regulatory requirements are certainly factors, but not at all the driving force often associated with compliance. The results are a reflection of a new market paradigm: even if your solution is the most innovative in the market, you’ll lose out on enterprise deals to inferior solutions with better security postures.
The Business Impact of Compliance
Given customer demands as a primary motivating factor, it’s not surprising that many companies reported increased and accelerated sales as the most common outcomes after achieving compliance. This is because being compliant builds trust with potential customers and enterprise buyers, who are more inclined to work with vendors that meet high security and regulatory standards.
Respondents rated compliance a 4.2 out of 5 for effectiveness in achieving their business goals. This high rating reflects the growing recognition that compliance and security postures can significantly enhance go-to-market initiatives.
Changing perspectives from risk to trust
Now that it’s clear that for startups compliance is more about posture than risk management, the entire strategy for achieving compliance shifts. Instead of reactively getting compliant after a critical mass of prospective customers demand it, we’re increasingly seeing founders invest in compliance as an initial activity after incorporating.
Further, companies must recognize that compliance should be promoted widely and not just discreetly communicated once prospects ask. Unfortunately, less than half of respondents have established Trust Centers.
Trust Centers serve as a centralized hub where businesses can showcase their commitment to compliance, security, and privacy. By prominently displaying certifications, audit reports, and other attestations, organizations can build trust with website visitors who aren’t yet in their pipeline.
Of respondents with Trust Centers, nearly three-quarters said that they found their Trust Center effectively reduces the time spent on security questionnaires.
The absence of a Trust Center or visible compliance attestations on a website are a missed opportunity, and something we stress to our clients upon achieving compliance.
Want to Learn More?
We surveyed high-growth organizations to assess the business impact of investing in SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and other compliance frameworks. Check out all the insights by downloading our report on ROI of Compliance.
