Culminate Achieves SOC 2 Type II Certification
Culminate’s SOC 2 Compliance Journey
Our Compliance Partners
Vanta
We partnered with Vanta, the leader in Trust Management, to automate evidence collection and monitor control effectiveness. Vanta helped us build a security-first culture by integrating with our systems and streamlining the path to audit readiness.
Advantage Partners
Our audit firm, Advantage Partners, provided expert guidance and a frictionless audit experience. Their collaborative approach helped us prepare confidently and pass our audit with clarity and efficiency.
The Process
While SOC 2 can be daunting, our partners helped streamline every step:
- Vanta connected with our tools, guiding us in implementing policies and technical controls.
- Once audit-ready, Advantage Partners assessed our systems over the audit window, reviewing control performance and issuing our SOC 2 Type II report shortly after conclusion.
This rigorous process confirmed that Culminate’s security controls are not only well-designed but consistently followed.
Timeline & Planning
We quickly learned that compliance requires both strategic focus and cross-team collaboration. The longest part of the process was audit readiness, but with commitment and alignment across teams, we went from kickoff to certification in a matter of weeks—not months.
Planning early, defining ownership, and reverse-engineering our timeline from the audit date were critical to success.
Lessons We Learned
1. Security Posture Over Checkbox Compliance
SOC 2 isn’t a one-size-fits-all exercise. For us, it was about aligning our platform’s controls with long-term security goals, not just short-term audit results. Building for sustainability ensures we can scale securely.
2. Start Early—Security Is Easier to Build In Than Bolt On
Embedding security into processes early helped us move faster. Implementing policies, onboarding systems, and formalizing secure development workflows upfront made a huge difference.
3. Compliance Accelerates Growth
SOC 2 helps us earn trust faster in procurement and security reviews—especially in enterprise sales. Proving we meet industry standards removes friction and supports scaling into regulated industries.
4. Involve the Right Stakeholders
From engineering to operations, legal to leadership, security is everyone’s responsibility. Defining roles early made policy implementation and evidence collection seamless.
5. The Right Partners Matter
Working with Vanta and Advantage Partners gave us confidence and clarity. Their guidance let us focus on improving security while they handled audit logistics.
Looking Ahead
SOC 2 Type II is just one milestone. We're actively working toward PCI-DSS and ISO 27001 to support customer needs in high-trust environments.
We're building Culminate to be the most secure, intelligent, and human-centered SOC platform in the world—and SOC 2 is another step toward that mission.
For access to our SOC 2 report or to learn more, visit our Trust Center or reach out to us at support@culminatesecurity.com
