Shippo enables world-leading companies to meet their global shipping needs. “With the kind of customers we serve, SOC 2 compliance provides independent assurance to customers and prospects that processes and controls are sound” explained Shippo’s Kiran Kocher. “It simply makes doing business easier by demonstrating proven compliance. And, to ensure continuous compliance, we knew we needed automation to keep the necessary processes repeatable and easily sustainable.”
With the Akitra platform, compliance evidence is automatically collected and mapped to the correct controls required to implement SOC 2. Commented Kiran,
“The automatic mapping of evidence to controls made my life much easier. This was one of my favorite features.”
Given the company’s objective of completing SOC 2 compliance by year-end, it worked on an accelerated schedule with Akitra to ensure it met the deadline. “We were really impressed with the responsiveness and expertise of Akitra’s customer success team,” according to Kiran. “When it was crunch time, they worked with us every day, including right through the Thanksgiving long weekend.”
In addition to the huge time savings surrounding evidence collection and organization, the external audit brought still further efficiencies. “Because the auditors were also using the Akitra platform, the audit process was very speedy,” said Kiran. “Very little back and forth was required with the auditors, since all the compliance evidence was there and they knew where to find it. Any question they asked could be answered right away. Compared to my past experience elsewhere, Akitra made this audit painless.”
After completing its SOC 2 compliance and receiving the necessary attestation from auditors, Shippo found immediate benefit in dealing with its customers and prospects. “A good security posture helps companies do business with each other,” said Mike Machado, Shippo’s Chief Data and Security Officer. “It makes partnerships easier and speeds negotiations. Customers can do their due diligence for vendor risk management much faster. This is why SOC 2 cuts deal friction – and our objective is zero deal friction. Akitra has been a big help in moving us towards that objective.”
