How to Meet Compliance Without Breaking the Bank: Tips for Startups and SMBs
- ESKA ITeam
- Apr 30
- 7 min read
Many startups and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) view the process of certifying to security standards (ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR) as something complex, expensive, and daunting. As a result, businesses often delay this process, risking the loss of customers, facing legal challenges, or even experiencing data breaches.
This article will help you understand how to meet security standards without incurring significant costs, avoiding mistakes and unnecessary stress along the way.
Common Pain Points for Startups and SMBs
“It’s too expensive, we can’t afford it.” Certification does come with costs, but many expenses can be optimized. Often, costs seem higher due to a lack of a clear plan. Breaking down the implementation into stages and planning over the course of a year can help manage these costs.
“It will take too much time.” Many worry that the certification process will paralyze business operations. However, with the right approach, implementing a compliance standard can be smooth. For example, breaking the implementation into multiple stages might take longer but ensures business processes are not disrupted.
“We don’t know where to start.” Without a clear understanding of the standards, the first step can seem overwhelming, especially when resources are limited. The first step towards compliance is understanding your internal processes and organizational structure. Our experts can guide you through the necessary standards and explain the best way to prepare for implementation based on your capabilities and requirements.
“We don’t have experts in-house.” Small companies rarely have a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) or a security team. In such cases, outsourcing to experts is a cost-effective solution. This way, you can access a professional team for a specific task and time period.
Obtaining a security certificate, such as ISO 27001, SOC 2 Compliance, or GDPR compliance, is a significant step for business development but often raises serious concerns for business owners. ESKA Security has experience working with Startups and SMBs, so we understand your worries and are ready to provide clear answers that will help you make an informed decision about certification.
1. Will Certification Be Worth the Investment?
Will the investments in certification provide real benefits to the business? Clients increasingly require certifications to do business with you, but how can you evaluate how many new contracts will be gained through this?
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
Certification adds a competitive advantage, especially in the B2B sector, where clients often require compliance with specific standards. For example:
ISO 27001 increases your chances of securing contracts with large companies and assures clients that your security is solid.
SOC 2 enhances customer trust in the SaaS sector. After implementing SOC 2, you can provide clients with a security report that boosts their confidence.
GDPR compliance ensures clients that their personal data (PII) is handled with the highest security practices and helps avoid financial and reputational losses.
In the event of an incident, having a certification demonstrates that your company has taken all necessary precautions and implemented critical processes and security measures (such as Incident Response Plans, Disaster Recovery Plans, and Business Continuity Plans), which can mitigate the impact.
2. Will Core Business Operations Be Affected by the Time Required for Preparation?
Preparing for certification isn’t just about consultant fees—it also adds additional workload to employees.
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
A certification plan should be developed with your company’s resources in mind. For instance:
Engage external consultants: They can take on the bulk of the work (audits, documentation, training). This ensures your business operations are not interrupted, and our specialists can provide recommendations to improve business processes.
Automate processes: Using GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) systems significantly reduces team workload. Your team can focus on what’s most important without being bogged down by secondary tasks.
3. Will Certification Just Be a “Tick-the-Box” Process That Doesn’t Actually Improve Security?
Is certification truly going to enhance security?
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
We implement more than just “paper security.” We take practical steps to enhance your company’s protection. For example, when preparing for ISO 27001, we conduct risk analysis and recommend real changes, such as multi-factor authentication and encryption. Documentation, improving employee awareness, technological controls, and physical controls are all part of the process. Certification also involves regular audits, helping to identify weaknesses and update security practices.
4. Complexity of Standards
Standards often seem complicated. How can we be sure our business meets the requirements and understands the risks?
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
Our team understands that standards can be overwhelming, so we provide clear explanations and support at every stage. We:
Provide technical requirements in plain language.
Conduct training for all stakeholders (C-level executives and key employees) to ensure they understand how information security integrates into daily operations.
Create a roadmap tailored to your business. For example, we can explain how best cybersecurity practices (like NIST) align with your current processes and what needs to be added. We also clarify which requirements are not applicable and which are applicable to your industry.
5. Can We Handle the Financial Costs?
The company’s budget isn’t limitless, and certification expenses can put a strain on finances. What’s the total cost of certification, and can it be optimized?
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
We approach the certification process with your budget in mind:
Prioritization: We implement only the measures that are critical to your business. Starting with risk management and gap analysis is essential.
Use of accessible solutions: For example, instead of expensive systems, we recommend open-source tools like Wazuh for security monitoring. Our experts can help you create a plan and explain how to set it up.
Flexible payment schedule: You can spread the costs over several stages to avoid a financial burden. For instance, with our vCISO (Fractional CISO) or CISO as a Service, clients can pay for audit preparation by our GRC team based on the actual time spent.
6. How to Maintain Compliance After Certification?
Certification is not a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process. Compliance must be regularly verified.
ESKA GRC Team’s Response:
We provide a support plan:
Create internal documentation for self-checks.
Conduct periodic audits (e.g., annual audits for ISO 27001).
Use automated monitoring tools. To maintain compliance, we recommend implementing a GRC system that automates compliance verification processes.
Realistic Plan for Achieving Compliance Without Huge Expenses
Start with Minimum Coverage
Don’t try to implement all standards at once. Begin with the ones that best suit your business model:
ISO 27001 — if you want to build a comprehensive information security management system.
SOC 2 — for SaaS businesses dealing with customer data.
GDPR — mandatory if you handle data of EU citizens.
2. Assess Your Current State
The first practical step is evaluating what already works in your business. Create a checklist of standard requirements, check if you have key policies (e.g., privacy policy for GDPR), and identify weak points (e.g., lack of monitoring or password protection).
Use Open-Source Tools
You don’t need expensive software. Many tasks can be handled using free tools like Wazuh for security monitoring.
Develop Key Policies Yourself
Documentation may seem challenging, but most policies have templates that are easy to adapt. Look for ready-made templates to save costs on hiring consultants.
Break the Process into Phases
Don’t try to do everything at once. Break the process into manageable steps:
Phase 1: Set up basic security measures (passwords, backups).
Phase 2: Develop documentation.
Phase 3: Conduct internal audits.
Automate Tasks
Automation tools can significantly reduce costs and time.
GRC systems (Governance, Risk, and Compliance): They consolidate all processes in one place.
Automated backups and monitoring.
Integration of SOC 2 requirements with your cloud services (AWS, Google Cloud).
Engage a GRC Team at Key Stages
When on a tight budget, it’s worth engaging external experts for critical stages like internal audits. Instead of hiring a full-time CISO, consider using a vCISO or Fractional CISO.
Invest in Employee Training
Even the best systems won’t work without knowledgeable employees. Conduct basic cybersecurity training to reduce risks like phishing attack simulation.
Meeting Compliance as a Competitive Advantage
Small businesses that certify to standards gain real benefits:
Edge over competitors: Most SMBs delay certification, giving you the opportunity to stand out.
Customer trust: Demonstrating compliance with security standards establishes professionalism and reliability.
Access to new markets: For example, SOC 2 Compliance opens doors to clients in the U.S., while GDPR compliance enables entry into the European market.
Security Is a Strategic Tool for Growth
For SMBs, security often seems secondary, but it is the foundation for scaling. Meeting standards allows you to automate processes, implement clear policies, and reduce risks that could block your company’s growth. Investors are more likely to invest in startups that meet security standards as it reduces the risks of losing their investment.
Non-compliance Can Have Serious Consequences
A company that treats certification as a one-time process risks losing clients or facing legal issues:
Fines: GDPR imposes significant fines for non-compliance (up to €20 million or 4% of annual revenue).
Loss of Certification: ISO 27001 can be revoked if significant violations are found during an audit.
Costs of Recovery after a Cyberattack: These often exceed the budgets available to SMBs.
Reputation Damage from Data Breaches: It is difficult to recover from reputation losses, especially for small businesses.
Regular security efforts are the key to avoiding such issues.Investing in security standards in advance helps prevent much larger losses. Certification or compliance with security standards should not "deplete" your company's budget. Focus on priority tasks, use available resources, and engage experts. Even small companies can meet security standards if they act consistently and optimize costs. This is not only an investment in security but also a strategic step that helps your business grow, protect data, and attract new clients without large expenditures.
The ESKA Security GRC Team has extensive experience and deep expertise in audit preparation for compliance, tailored specifically for startups and SMBs. We understand the unique needs of small and growing businesses, which is why we approach each project not just as technical experts but also with a strong business perspective.
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