Global Network Provider — SOC 2 Type 2 Achieved with Clean Opinions

At a Glance

• Client — Global network solutions provider with carrier-scale infrastructure
• Challenge — Major enterprise clients required SOC 2 Type 2 as a contractual condition to proceed with deals
• Starting point — Strong engineering foundation, but inconsistent operational proof across access, change, vendor, and incident processes
• Goal — Achieve SOC 2 Type 2 with clean opinions over a 12-month observation period — without disrupting core operations
• Result — Clean Type 2 report delivered, significantly shorter security review cycles, and unlocked multi-year enterprise contracts

The Challenge

As the organisation scaled to serve large enterprise customers, several high-value contracts included a hard requirement: SOC 2 Type 2 certification.

The team had excellent engineering practices, but operational proof was inconsistent:

• Access reviews, change approvals, and vendor attestations were manual and scattered
• Incident response and logging lacked repeatable evidence trails
• Security questionnaires and client audits caused weeks of distraction and last-minute evidence hunts

The biggest fears were:

• Losing multi-year enterprise deals due to compliance gaps
• Prolonged security reviews stalling revenue
• Reputational risk if controls couldn’t be proven in operation

Our Approach

We took a practical, outcome-first approach — focusing on the Trust Services Criteria (TSC) that mattered most to their clients (primarily Security, with elements of Availability and Confidentiality).

1. Readiness Assessment
   Mapped all five Trust Services Criteria to existing practices — identified gaps in design and operation across access, change, vendor, logging, and incident processes.

2. Control Hardening
   Strengthened key controls: role-based access with recertification, formal change approvals with rollback, vendor due diligence and attestations, and repeatable incident playbooks.

3. Evidence Readiness
   Built a repeatable evidence register — automated exports and documentation for 40+ control categories, ensuring auditors could verify operating effectiveness over time.

4. Audit Support
   Coordinated with the chosen audit firm, shaped the system description, responded to PBC requests, and prepared the team for walkthroughs and sampling — resulting in a calm, efficient audit.

Results

• Clean SOC 2 Type 2 opinions across the full 12-month observation period
• 65% faster time-to-evidence — from weeks of manual chasing to repeatable, automated samples
• 18 prior findings fully closed — eliminating legacy gaps
• Unlocked multi-year enterprise contracts — SOC 2 Type 2 became a deal enabler instead of a blocker
• Significantly shorter security questionnaire cycles — sales team could move faster

Key Deliverables

• Comprehensive readiness assessment against all Trust Services Criteria
• Hardened operational controls (access, change, vendor, incident, logging)
• Repeatable evidence register covering 40+ categories
• Full audit support — system description, PBC responses, walkthroughs, and sampling prep

The Bottom Line

This global network provider transformed inconsistent operational proof into a clean SOC 2 Type 2 report — meeting strict client requirements, reducing security review friction, and unlocking significant enterprise revenue — all without disrupting core engineering or operations.

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