By Girija Togarati, ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor (CISA, CCSK). Reviewed by Murty Nisthala, Director, Audit and Assessment Services (CISA, CISSP, CCSP).
ISO 27001 and SOC 2 both prove you protect data, but they are not the same. ISO 27001 is a certifiable international standard with a formal certificate. SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm under the AICPA Trust Services Criteria.
Key differences
ISO 27001 certifies an Information Security Management System against a global standard and issues a certificate valid for three years. SOC 2 produces a report, either Type 1 at a point in time or Type 2 over a period, that you share with clients under non disclosure. ISO 27001 is recognised worldwide; SOC 2 is most often requested by United States clients.
Which should an Indian company choose
If your buyers are global or in Europe, ISO 27001 is usually the right first step. If your clients are mainly in the United States and ask for a SOC 2 report, start there. Many Indian SaaS firms pursue both, because the underlying controls overlap heavily.
Do them together
Because ISO 27001 and SOC 2 share most controls, building one makes the other faster. Univate advises the right fit during a free gap assessment and can run both with a single control set.
Univate Solutions delivers ISO 27001 Certification in India end to end, led by an in-house ISO 27001 Lead Auditor. Book a free consultation and get a fixed quote. See all cybersecurity services.
