SOC 2 is an American attestation framework developed by the AICPA. It is not a certification. What it produces is an attestation report, issued by a licensed CPA firm, confirming that a service organisation's controls meet the Trust Services Criteria.
For European companies, the natural question is: why would I need this?
The commercial driver
The answer is almost always the same: an American enterprise customer has asked for it. SOC 2 reports are a standard procurement requirement for US enterprise accounts, particularly in technology, financial services, and healthcare. If you are a European SaaS company selling into the US market, you will encounter this request.
SOC 2 does not compete with ISO 27001. Many organisations that need both run the programmes in parallel, mapping common controls to reduce duplication.
Type I vs Type II
A Type I report describes your controls at a point in time and attests that they are suitably designed. A Type II report covers a period, typically six to twelve months, and attests that the controls operated effectively throughout that period. Enterprise clients almost always require Type II.
How to approach it as a European company
The first step is scoping: selecting the Trust Services Criteria relevant to your service. Security is always included. Availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy are included based on your service commitments and customer expectations.
The second step is control design and evidence collection. The overlap with ISO 27001 is valuable here. Many of the controls required for SOC 2 are already present in a well-designed ISMS. The key is mapping them correctly and building the evidence infrastructure that a CPA attestation requires.
AuditVantage designs SOC 2 programmes for European companies, integrated with existing ISO 27001 or other framework implementations where applicable. Get in touch to discuss your requirements.