Driving Compliance Excellence: How FirstShift Achieved SOC 2 Type I Attestation with Akitra
Empowering FirstShift with streamlined compliance, personalized support, and enhanced security practices for a competitive edge.
FirstShift, a company specializing in supply chain analytics and demand planning software, provides executives with cloud-based SaaS solutions. When the company sought SOC 2 Type I attestation to fulfill customer requirements, it chose Akitra’s compliance automation platform. Although it had prior experience with similar tools, FirstShift AI found that Akitra’s platform delivered a hands-on approach and expert support that were essential throughout its compliance process.
The Challenge
Before teaming up with Akitra, FirstShift faced considerable obstacles in enhancing its compliance efforts. These issues included:
Customer-Driven Compliance Needs: Potential Customers demanded SOC 2 Type I attestation or, at the very least, a clear plan to achieve it. Without this attestation, FirstShift risked missing out on vital business opportunities.
Fragmented Data Management: Monitoring crucial compliance activities such as user training and software installation was fragmented. Information was dispersed across various locations, resulting in inefficiencies and the need for manual follow-ups to ensure tasks were completed.
Template and Documentation Constraints: FirstShift’s past experiences with other compliance tools revealed their shortcomings. Although those tools were more established, the document templates did not offer the customization and user-friendliness that FirstShift needed. Even simple tasks like reformatting or modifying templates to align with their processes became unnecessarily labor-intensive.
Technical Support Gaps: During compliance-related installations, FirstShift engineers encountered technical challenges, and timely support was often unavailable with their previous solutions.
FirstShift selected Akitra’s next-generation compliance automation platform to tackle its challenges and simplify the process of achieving SOC 2 Type I attestation. The platform’s strong features, combined with personalized support, offered a well-rounded solution to their requirements.
The support from Akitra was very good. While working with the Akitra team, they were very supportive and helped us with our training and technical issues. That level of support made a real difference.
Sudhakaran Nair
SVP of Engineering, FirstShift
Akitra's Solution
FirstShift chose Akitra’s compliance automation platform to address its challenges and streamline the path to SOC 2 Type I attestation. The platform’s robust features, paired with hands-on guidance, provided a comprehensive solution to their needs:
Dedicated Compliance Expert Support: Akitra provided a compliance expert to collaborate closely with FirstShift, delivering continuous help with documentation, technical issues, and user training. This tailored approach ensured that even the most complex requirements were managed smoothly, reducing delays.
Hands-On Technical Support: FirstShift benefited from quick resolutions to technical problems, including difficulties with Shield software installation. Akitra’s expert assistance allowed their engineering team to overcome these obstacles swiftly.
Efficient Training Management: Akitra helped track user training progress and compliance activities. Although FirstShift identified areas for improvement in centralizing this information, Akitra’s team offered clear guidance to enhance visibility.
Enhanced Security Awareness: The platform and processes increased FirstShift’s awareness of security’s role in their software development lifecycle. They strengthened their security through thorough documentation, testing, and procedural alignment.
Streamlined Documentation Preparation: While there were suggestions for better templates, Akitra’s support in documentation allowed the FirstShift team to prepare the necessary materials for their SOC 2 Type I audit with relative ease, minimizing manual effort.
Proactive Customer Support: With quick responses and customized guidance from Akitra’s team, the FirstShift team experienced a more seamless compliance journey than self-service platforms. This human-centered approach was a notable advantage.
Roadmap to Future Compliance: With the SOC 2 Type I attestation complete, Akitra actively supports the FirstShift team as it works toward SOC 2 Type II attestation, ensuring continuity in its compliance efforts.
FirstShift team’s decision to adopt Akitra’s compliance automation platform has simplified their journey to SOC 2 compliance and laid the foundation for long-term security and trust-building with their customers.
The Result
In just a few months, FirstShift achieved SOC 2 Type I attestation, instilling confidence in its customers and paving the way for future growth.
Streamlined Compliance: Akitra’s centralized dashboard brought together all compliance-related tasks, removing the hassle of switching between multiple tools. This improvement minimized errors and saved the FirstShift team a significant amount of time. Sudhakaran Nair, SVP of Engineering, Firstshift, appreciated the change and highlighted, “It wasn’t natural to toggle between different places to get user information with our old processes. Akitra simplified that workflow.”
Enhanced Customer Confidence: Securing SOC 2 Type I attestation provided FirstShift’s customers with reassurance regarding the security and reliability of their platform. This attestation became a crucial talking point in customer discussions and bolstered trust.
Hands-On Guidance: Akitra’s personalized support was a significant advantage. “The hands-on help we received was exceptional. We simply emailed if we faced an issue, and Akitra responded promptly. That level of support made a real difference,” Sudhakaran Nair, SVP of Engineering, Firstshift, noted.
Improved Security Awareness: Using Akitra’s structured methodology, FirstShift implemented better security practices, ensuring thorough documentation and robust test runs that helped reduce potential risks.
Efficient Documentation: In contrast to the generic templates provided by other tools, Akitra offered customizable document templates that closely matched FirstShift’s requirements. This made compliance workflows more seamless and effective.
Consolidated User Insights: Akitra’s support revealed gaps in compliance monitoring, such as tracking users who completed training or installed necessary tools. This feedback drives improvements to the platform, which aims to provide all user information, training completion, MFA status, and logins in one centralized location.
Akitra’s platform and support helped us navigate the compliance process effectively. It’s reassuring to have someone available to help at every step.
