In the AI era, Solidroad uses Vanta to calm security concerns

The company

Solidroad enters the fast lane with a trailblazing AI platform

Solidroad is an AI-first training and assessment platform for customer-facing teams. With it, sales and support reps can have realistic conversations with AI prospects and customers via voice, chat, or email. Scenarios are tailored to each company’s needs, and users receive real-time, personalised performance feedback from an AI coach. 

Based in Dublin, Ireland, Solidroad’s mission is to harness AI to make training personal, scalable, and effective. New reps get up to speed faster, while existing reps show a 30% increase in performance. They are prepared before they reach out to important prospects, boosting both customer satisfaction and business success. 

The challenge 

An AI focus sharpens clients’ security concerns

Founded in 2023, Solidroad is already gaining traction in the corporate training industry. Their AI-powered platform helps employees to practise their customer-facing skills, reducing ramp times and increasing training effectiveness. However, when Solidroad started speaking seriously to potential clients, they found they were hitting a speed bump.

“The biggest challenge we faced as an early-stage startup, especially in the AI space, is that security and compliance are big concerns for all of our prospects,” says Mark Hughes, co-founder and CEO of Solidroad. “They were always asking for our ISO 27001 or SOC2 Type 2, which we didn't have.”

For Solidroad to scale as an AI company, they would need to put customer concerns to rest. They decided to first get ISO 27001, as at the time the majority of their customers were based in Europe, where it is a highly recognised certification. The next step was to figure out the quickest and most effective way to do it. 

“We were approaching larger companies with high conversation volumes, large sales and support teams, and a desire for privacy. We realised early on that security certifications would be essential.”

Mark Hughes
Co-founder and CEO, Solidroad

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The solution

A direct route to compliance

According to Alex Mooney, founding engineer with Solidroad, the company never considered getting ISO 27001 manually. 

“I have seen it done manually before, and the amount of effort and time that goes into it is incredible. There was no way I was doing that in a five-person startup.”

An automated solution was the obvious choice. The team had heard good things about Vanta, but they also investigated other platforms to ensure they made the best decision. One of the determining factors was how quickly they could achieve compliance, as their potential customers weren’t willing to wait.

Vanta matched Solidroad with Cognisys, a Vanta partner that helps companies meet their compliance objectives. 

“We knew that we were coming into a few deals where security was paramount. We told Cognisys that we had to move fast to get ISO 27001; we needed to be serious about it. Their response was that they could move as quickly as we wanted. That was a huge factor in our decision to choose Vanta,” explains Alex. 

In less than three months, Solidroad had their ISO 27001 certification. By then, their business was surging in the U.S., where SOC 2 Type 2 is the de facto standard. 

“With our ISO 27001, we had already done 80% of work required for a SOC 2 attestation. It made sense to start working on that directly after, and it made getting it a lot easier,” says Mark.

“Time considerations were a real deal breaker for us. With Vanta, we could get compliant really quickly; other solutions would have taken a lot longer.” 

Alex Mooney
Founding Engineer, Solidroad

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The impact

Unlocking customer confidence as an AI company

Since Solidroad has secured their ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 attestations, they have found that prospective customers are keen to keep talking. 

“It has been critical to a few of our deals already. We could show that we're taking security seriously, which is important to the approvers in the chain, the people who are doing the privacy and compliance reviews,” says Alex. “A lot of AI tools get disqualified early on, because they don’t pass the sniff test. Having security standards in place has transformed how people talk to us.”

“Vanta helps us to prove our commitment to security. Without ISO 27001 and SOC 2, I imagine we would be tossed out of a lot of rooms very quickly.”

Alex Mooney
Founding Engineer, Solidroad

Solidroad has recently set up its Trust Center so potential and existing clients can view their compliance posture on demand. This showcases their dedication to security and also reduces the need for them to complete time-consuming security questionnaires.  

“When I'm working on new deals, I can just send off a link and they’ll loop in their security compliance and procurement teams. In the two months since we’ve launched it, we’ve had 520 unique views. There's rarely ever any pushback after they see everything in the one place,” says Mark.

Looking ahead, both Mark and Alex believe that there will be opportunities to do even more with Vanta. According to Alex, “As we grow, Vanta’s Access Reviews solution has the potential to make my life a lot easier!”

“With Vanta, we are showcasing that we take security seriously. We’re telling customers that despite our newness, this is a top priority for us.”

Mark Hughes
Co-founder and CEO, Solidroad

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