SOC 2 for SaaS & Cloud Services
Complete implementation guide for SaaS companies and cloud service providers. Focus on Security + Availability criteria with practical, cloud-native approaches.
SaaS SOC 2 Quick Reference
Security + Availability
6-9 months
Customer data security, uptime SLAs
SaaS companies have unique SOC 2 requirements driven by multi-tenant architectures, customer data handling, and uptime commitments. This guide focuses on the most common and practical approach for SaaS organizations.
Why Security + Availability Works for SaaS
Security Addresses:
- • Customer data protection
- • Access controls and authentication
- • Multi-tenant data isolation
- • API security and rate limiting
Availability Covers:
- • Uptime SLA commitments
- • Disaster recovery procedures
- • Performance monitoring
- • Capacity planning and scaling
Common SaaS Scope Definition
Most SaaS companies start with this focused scope to control costs and complexity:
- • Production application environment
- • Customer-facing APIs
- • Production databases
- • Customer support systems
- • Development/staging environments
- • Internal HR/finance systems
- • Marketing tools and analytics
- • Non-customer-facing systems
SaaS Implementation Roadmap
Follow this timeline to implement SOC 2 controls for your SaaS application:
Foundation
- • Define scope and criteria
- • Gap analysis
- • Policy development
- • Team training
Implementation
- • Deploy security tools
- • Configure monitoring
- • Implement access controls
- • Set up backup/DR
Testing & Tuning
- • Test all controls
- • DR exercises
- • Evidence collection
- • Process refinement
Pre-Audit
- • Evidence organization
- • Internal assessment
- • Auditor selection
- • Audit execution
Get Started with Templates
Don't build everything from scratch. Our templates are specifically designed for SaaS companies and include the policies, procedures, and evidence guidance you need.