SOC 2 Readiness for SaaS Using Microsoft 365 (Australia)

SOC 2 certification demonstrates to customers and partners that your organisation’s controls are secure, available, and confidential—and that they operate effectively over time.

For Australian SaaS providers, the hardest part is not writing policies but proving compliance repeatedly and consistently.

This guide outlines how to achieve SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 readiness faster by automating evidence directly within Microsoft 365, Azure, GitHub, and Azure DevOps—the systems your teams already use every day.

1️⃣ Define a Practical SOC 2 Scope

Start small and realistic.

System Boundary: Identify the product or service in scope, data flows, hosting platforms, and key third-party providers.
Trust Services Criteria (TSC): Always include Security. Add Availability and Confidentiality when customer contracts or market expectations require them.
System Description: Keep it factual and concise—a living narrative of how your platform actually works.

💡 Tip: The clearer your system description, the easier the audit and future updates.

2️⃣ Align Controls With How You Work

Area	Evidence Source	Typical Controls
Access Management	Entra ID / Azure AD	Role-based access, MFA enforcement, SSO inventory
Change Management	GitHub / Azure DevOps	PR reviews, build scans, pipeline approvals
Vendor Governance	SharePoint / Contracts	SOC reports, DPAs, SLAs, renewal tracking
Logging & Monitoring	Microsoft Defender / Sentinel	Alert rules, incident tickets, SLA evidence

When controls mirror daily operations, compliance stops feeling like an add-on and becomes part of your normal workflow.

3️⃣ Automate Evidence Collection

Automation removes friction and ensures consistency.

Scheduled Exports → SharePoint (with versioning & retention)
- Privileged-role membership
- MFA / Conditional Access settings
- Build and PR status reports
- Sentinel incidents and response SLAs
Timed Screenshots: For artefacts without APIs—capture who, when, and why.

✅ Outcome: a repeatable, timestamped evidence trail aligned to auditor sampling periods.

4️⃣ Type 1 vs Type 2 — Choose Your Path

Type	Purpose	Duration	Best For
Type 1	Point-in-time design validation	4–8 weeks	Start-ups or early sales assurance
Type 2	Ongoing operating effectiveness	3–12 months	Established SaaS scaling to enterprise

Recommended approach: Begin with Type 1 to confirm your control design, then move seamlessly into a Type 2 evidence cadence (monthly or quarterly).

5️⃣ Typical SOC 2 Readiness Timeline

Phase	Weeks	Key Deliverables
Plan & Scope	1–2	Boundary definition, TSC mapping, system description
Build & Integrate	3–6	Control implementation, automated evidence flows
Readiness Review / Type 1 Audit	7–8	Formal readiness report or Type 2 period kick-off

Most SaaS teams leveraging Microsoft 365 and Azure can reach SOC 2 Type 1 readiness within eight weeks.

6️⃣ Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Evidence scattered across local drives or emails
Controls written differently from how engineering actually works
No single repository for auditors to sample from
Manual screenshots without version history or ownership

7️⃣ Next Steps

SOC 2 Readiness Services SOC 2 Checklist Book a Roadmap Call

SEO Highlights

Primary: SOC 2 readiness Australia, SOC 2 Type 1 Type 2, Microsoft 365 compliance, SaaS audit automation
Supporting: Azure compliance, Entra ID, Sentinel, evidence automation, ISO 27001 alignment
Intent: “How to prepare for SOC 2 in Australia” / “SOC 2 for SaaS using Microsoft 365”