Top 8 compliance automation software in 2024

In today’s fast-paced regulatory landscape, compliance management software plays a crucial role for businesses. With increasing regulations across industries, staying compliant is not just a legal requirement but also a way to maintain trust with customers and stakeholders.

Compliance management software helps businesses stay on top of rules and regulations. It automates tasks, reduces errors, and improves efficiency by ensuring compliance with minimal effort. The software also helps mitigate risks, preventing costly mistakes and keeping operations running smoothly.

Ultimately, this leads to smoother operations, better risk management, and improved overall efficiency for the organization.

However, with scores of compliance software available on the market, many people might feel lost and overwhelmed when choosing the right one. Therefore, we have handpicked a few and listed their features so you can compare them.

Criteria for selecting the best compliance management software

When selecting compliance software solutions, businesses need to consider several key criteria to ensure they meet their regulatory and operational needs.

• Scalability and flexibility: The software must be able to grow and adapt as regulations evolve, ensuring long-term compliance.
• Ease of integration: It should seamlessly integrate with existing systems to avoid disruptions in current workflows.
• Customizable reporting and dashboards: The ability to tailor reports and dashboards helps track compliance efforts more effectively.
• Support for industry-specific compliance: The software should support regulatory frameworks like SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR to ensure industry-specific compliance needs are met.
• Security and data protection: Robust security features are crucial to safeguard sensitive data and meet compliance requirements.
• User-friendliness: A user-friendly interface ensures that teams can effectively manage compliance without extensive training.
• Cost-effectiveness: The software should offer good value for money, balancing features with affordability.

Read also: Understanding the costs of compliance: Beyond the price tag

Top 8 compliance management software

Now you know what you should keep in mind when selecting the right compliance management software. So, let’s deep dive into some of the leading compliance software available in the market today.

1. Scrut Automation

Scrut is a platform designed to help companies manage their information security programs and risk posture effectively. It provides a consolidated solution for 50+ compliance frameworks, reducing tool fatigue and promoting faster compliance while enhancing data security. Scrut automates tests across various industries, such as health tech, fintech, and SaaS, to streamline their information security processes.

Scrut is recognized by Tekpon as one of the top compliance software solutions. In G2’s summer 2024 report, it received 6 momentum leader awards and 179 badges. Additionally, Scrut was also featured in the HITRUST Products and Service Directory. 

Pros:

The benefits of using Scrut for compliance automation include:

• User-friendly & tailored for growth-stage companies: Scrut is designed for organizations requiring a security-first approach with ease of use and fast deployment, making it suitable for companies scaling quickly.
• Actionable dashboard insights: Scrut provides a comprehensive view of compliance, with actionable insights at the forefront. Unlike others, it allows you to drill down on metrics for policies, evidence, and risks, making it easier to manage tasks and make informed decisions.
• Accurate cloud compliance view: Scrut’s platform runs daily checks on cloud and third-party applications against 230+ CIS benchmarks, presenting a clearer and more realistic picture of cloud posture compared to other solutions that categorize many items under broad checks.
• Enhanced collaboration tools: Scrut enables communication within its modules through comment and tagging features, fostering better teamwork and ensuring users are always informed about task dependencies.
• Customized workflows for different artifacts: Scrut allows tailored workflows for various compliance elements (like policies and tests), ensuring that the workflows align with each organization’s specific needs.
• Dedicated trackers for corrective actions: Scrut includes trackers to manage corrective actions, findings, and requests, which simplifies the process of rectifying audit deficiencies and shows continuous improvement.
• Efficient navigation & reduced double efforts: A single-tab access to all functionalities with an intuitive UI/UX makes it easy to find and manage tasks. Integration with other tools like GitHub and Azure DevOps for change management eliminates unnecessary modules and streamlines efforts.
• Integrated incident management: Scrut integrates with SIEM and EDR tools for incident management, enabling organizations to identify and mitigate risks seamlessly and update policies in response to incidents.
• Realistic automation claims: Scrut automates up to 70% of evidence collection, focusing on accuracy and realistic workflows. Manual evidence collection is minimized through workflows, and automated scans ensure evidence is up-to-date.
• Transparency & tracking: A dedicated evidence module in Scrut allows transparent tracking of pending tasks and approval statuses. The platform also provides consolidated views for requests and findings across all audits.
• Proactive customer support: Scrut offers 24×5 real-time support via a dedicated Slack channel and a Freshdesk-based ticketing system, ensuring users get quick responses to emergencies or detailed support requests.
• Credible audits & in-house VAPT services: Scrut partners with 25+ globally recognized auditors and offers in-house VAPT experts, providing reliable and authentic audit services, unlike others that may use non-accredited auditors.
• Stability & custom frameworks: The platform’s stability ensures accurate data representation, and feedback is taken seriously during POC stages. Scrut supports 50+ frameworks and allows the creation of custom frameworks to meet varied compliance needs.
• Positive customer testimonials: Scrut is well-received by users for its intuitive workflows, comprehensive dashboard, and smooth onboarding process, as highlighted by leaders in various organizations.
• Affordable pricing: Scrut charges nothing extra for up to 5000 users. The price includes the use of all of its modules.

What do our customers say?

Cons:

The current comprehensive version may not be the most suitable option for smaller companies that do not utilize all modules.

Spoiler alert: We’re on it! Rest assured that we are actively working on developing a ‘light’ version tailored specifically to the needs of smaller companies. 

This version will offer streamlined features and functionalities, ensuring a more suitable and cost-effective solution for businesses with limited requirements. With our commitment to continuous improvement, we aim to provide options that cater to the diverse needs of all organizations, regardless of size.

2. ISMS

ISMS.online is a platform that simplifies compliance with various standards and regulations like ISO 27001, GDPR, and ISO 27701. It offers a range of features, including a highly beneficial risk assessment tool and built-in capabilities to manage tasks and submit evidence for compliance audits. While it provides a structured approach to managing information security, some users have reported concerns regarding the company’s business practices.

Pros:

• Simplifies compliance: ISMS.online helps organizations easily manage compliance with standards like ISO 27001, GDPR, and ISO 27701. However, it only supports 6 frameworks.
• Risk assessment tools: The platform provides beneficial risk assessment tools that help organizations identify and manage risks. However, some users find the risk management tool offered by ISMS quite rigid. 

Cons:

• Pricing: ISMS charges on pay-per-user basis. They also charge their customers for every module they use.
• Business practice concerns: Some users have reported negative experiences with the company’s business practices, citing issues such as over-promising and lack of follow-up after signing proposals.
• Mailing list communications: Users have found the frequent communications from their mailing list to be overwhelming, although this can be managed by unsubscribing.
• Complex features: Certain features may lack clarity, requiring users to invest time in learning how to navigate them effectively.

Read also: Tekpon Names Scrut Automation a Top Compliance Software

Tekpon Names Scrut Automation a Top Compliance Software

3. Hyperproof

Hyperproof is an automated security and compliance management platform designed to help organizations streamline their compliance operations across frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, and PCI. The software aims to reduce the time spent preparing for audits by automating compliance workflows and risk management processes. However, customers often complain that Hyperproof lacks a built-in approval workflow, which can necessitate manual workarounds and limit customization options.

Pros:

• Ease of use: Hyperproof offers a user-friendly interface and intuitive design, making it easy for both new users and administrators to navigate and set up programs efficiently. However, the implementation takes longer to set up (about 6-8 weeks).
• Comprehensive risk management: Hyperproof enables teams to easily collect, prioritize, track, and mitigate risks in one place using its risk register, issues management, and clear reporting features. But, this platform’s risk-scoring mechanism is rigid and can’t be tailored to suit your organization’s needs.

Cons:

• Complex initial setup: Users have found the initial setup process to be time-consuming and complex, requiring significant investment in time and resources.
• Lack of built-in approval workflow: The absence of a built-in approval flow can necessitate manual workarounds, potentially complicating compliance processes.
• Limited customization: There are restrictions on editing certain built-in fields, such as assessed risks, which can limit customization to specific compliance needs.
• Steep learning curve: The detailed functionalities of Hyperproof might take some time to understand and adopt, as noted by users who experience challenges during the onboarding phase.

Read also: Streamline compliance with dashboards and reports

4. OneTrust

OneTrust is a comprehensive platform offering trust intelligence across privacy, governance, risk, compliance (GRC), ethics, and ESG (Ethics, Environmental, Social, and Governance). It helps organizations move beyond compliance to gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to assist companies in managing consent preferences and maintaining privacy compliance effectively. While OneTrust offers a broad suite of tools, it has been noted to have a steep learning curve and can be complex to operate, which might be a disadvantage for some users.

Pros:

• Comprehensive visibility and risk management: OneTrust provides greater visibility across privacy, security, ethics, and compliance, reducing blind spots and supporting effective risk management across various domains. However, the platform has no cloud-infrastructure monitoring or remediation capabilities which leaves a great hole.
• Ease of use and integration: The platform is designed with user-friendliness in mind and includes multiple integrations to automate tasks and reduce manual workload. But if you need expert guidance you will need to pay extra. 

Cons:

• Slow performance: Some users have reported slow data discovery and limited database integration, which can hinder the speed of accessing necessary information.
• Attachment limitations: There are restrictions on the size and types of attachments that can be uploaded, as well as slower upload speeds.
• Lack of customization in workflow automation: There are limitations to creating customized workflows, and the available automation options could be expanded.
• Potential technical issues on specific platforms: OneTrust has caused size issues in some mobile applications, such as on iOS and Flutter, which led to larger app sizes than expected.

Read also: Key data privacy and compliance trends in 2024

5. Vanta

Vanta is a compliance automation platform that helps companies streamline their security audits and manage their risk and compliance processes. Founded in 2017, Vanta has quickly become one of the leading platforms in cloud compliance. On G2, Vanta has garnered a high rating of 4.6 stars based on over 1,000 reviews, reflecting strong customer satisfaction. It provides a content library for 27 frameworks only. However, some users have noted disadvantages such as missing features, pricing issues, and integration limitations. 

Pros:

• Policy generation: The platform excels in policy generation, providing a structured and organized approach to compliance needs. In comparison to Scrut, which offers 45+ prebuilt policy templates, Vanta only provides 17 templates.
• Vendor management: Vanta’s vendor management module is designed to track and manage relationships with external suppliers, including assessing risks and ensuring compliance with contracts. The catch, however, is you can access the auto-discovery feature only if you upgrade your plan. 

Cons:

• Unexpected billing issues: There have been cases where users experienced unauthorized auto-renewals and unexpected charges without their explicit consent.
• Inconsistent user experience: Some users have pointed out that the software has an inconsistent interface across different modules, affecting the overall user experience.
• Lack of vulnerability management: The Vanta platform doesn’t have the ability to identify and suggest a treatment plan for the vulnerabilities. 
• Inconsistent user experience: Some users have pointed out that the software has an inconsistent interface across different modules, affecting the overall user experience.

Read also: Optimizing compliance through continuous automation and integration

6. Sprinto

Sprinto is a security compliance management software designed to help cloud companies automate their compliance processes effectively. It ensures airtight security and integrates seamlessly with various systems, making compliance easier to manage for businesses. The platform is known for its continuous security and robust compliance features, assisting companies in maintaining necessary standards. However, some users may find that its capabilities are limited to specific compliance requirements and may need more customization for diverse or complex needs.

Pros:

Audit-ready compliance evidence: It allows for quick access to compliance evidence and collaboration with auditors, making the audit process smoother. The problem is, there is no support for audit SLAs.

Automated workflows: Sprinto automates compliance processes, enhancing the audit process by supporting multiple frameworks and streamlining assessments. While the workflows are automated, they lack customization and flexibility. Also, they can have only one assignee and one reviewer making it difficult to include multiple people in the process.

Cons:

Steep learning curve: Some advanced features may require additional time and training for team members to fully understand and use them effectively.

Insufficient compliance management: Compared to other platforms like Scrut, Sprinto has fewer mapped controls for each artifact and provides just 82 checks for cloud monitoring. Combined with fewer collaboration options, overall compliance management suffers.

Frequent updates: Many users have complained they have to update while they are in the middle of important tasks. And sometimes, this leads to redownloading the app multiple times.

Issues during renewal: Pricing is also an issue at Sprinto. Although the first-year plans sound affordable, some users have reported that the price increases significantly on renewal. Users are often assigned junior CSMs upon renewal. 

Listen to: De*Romanticizing the Cybersecurity Complexity

7. Horangi

Horangi is a cybersecurity company focused on providing products and services for enhanced data protection and security. The company, based in Singapore, has grown its reputation in offering a variety of cybersecurity solutions and has even caught the attention of global leaders like Bitdefender for acquisition. They aim to provide robust data management and protection strategies to their clients. However, there have been concerns that their services may lack comprehensive features compared to some other established players in the cybersecurity market.

Pros:

Comprehensive Penetration Testing: Horangi offers penetration testing services to identify vulnerabilities in web or network systems and applications, helping to proactively safeguard against potential attacks. However, no cloud test findings remediation is available, just steps are provided.

Boosts cybersecurity posture: Horangi’s managed threat-hunting services help enhance an organization’s defense against ransomware and other cyber threats, allowing businesses to focus on growth.

Cons:

False positives: Users have reported that Horangi Warden flags issues that may not actually exist within their architecture, potentially causing unnecessary alerts.

Fewer features: Horangi only supports about 11 frameworks and provides no pre-built policies to their clients.

No vendor management support: Unlike platforms like Scrut, which provides dedicated vendor managment module with automated discovery, vendor assessments, scoring, and mitigation tasks tracking, Horangi doesn’t have any vendor management support.

8. Secureframe

Secureframe is an all-in-one regulatory compliance software designed to help organizations achieve and maintain continuous compliance with standards like SOC, ISO, and HIPAA. It offers seamless integration with platforms like Azure to help manage compliance requirements efficiently. Secureframe also provides automated tools to streamline the compliance process and help mitigate risks. However, some users have noted that Secureframe’s website lacks transparency about costs, making it difficult to assess the platform’s pricing easily.

Pros:

Automated compliance and security: The platform automates compliance for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, making it easy and fast for businesses to achieve these certifications. While Scrut doesn’t charge extra for more frameworks, Securefrae does. 

Ease of use: Secureframe is praised for its user-friendly interface, simplifying the process of managing compliance and security tasks.  

Cons:

Time-consuming uploads: Uploading questionnaires to Secureframe can take an excessive amount of time, and sometimes they may not upload properly, leading to frustration. 

Limited integration coverage: Secureframe might not have integrations for all products, which can lead to additional verification steps for users to ensure coverage. For products not integrated with Secureframe, users may have to provide manual screenshots, adding extra effort to the process.

Usability issues with questionnaires: Users have found some challenges with the usability of the platform, particularly related to questionnaire management and uploading, which can impact efficiency. The security questionnaires are not automated as they are in Scrut.

Listen to: The Art of Breaking Into the Security Space

Conclusion

Finding the right compliance management software is vital for businesses in today’s complex regulatory world. By evaluating key factors like scalability, integration, customization, and specific industry needs, you can find a tool that best fits your company’s goals. 

Each software option we’ve discussed has its unique advantages and challenges, so it’s important to weigh these against your own needs, growth plans, and budget. Whether you need robust automation, user-friendly interfaces, or comprehensive frameworks, there’s a tool to help streamline compliance and risk management. By choosing wisely, you’ll ensure your organization stays compliant, secure, and efficient.

Choose Scrut to simplify compliance. It’s your all-in-one solution for automation and risk management. Streamline your compliance process and elevate security effortlessly. Whether you need VAPT, audits, or automated workflows, Scrut has you covered. Stay compliant, secure, and efficient with Scrut—the trusted choice for CTOs and businesses seeking a comprehensive compliance solution.

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