Your security and compliance glossary

All the terms you need to know when you’re trying to get compliance audit ready, fast.

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What is compliance software?

Compliance software describes the software tools an organization employs to monitor its internal systems and controls, in order to comply with required standards and regulations. Compliance software integrates with an organization’s compliance risk management strategy to provide continuous tracking, monitoring, and tools for review of the organization’s compliance with relevant rules and regulations, in addition to the standards and expectations of its customers.

Compliance software can streamline the process of becoming and staying compliant with required regulations — and its continuous monitoring can support the improvement of an organization’s overall security posture.

What features does compliance software include?

Every compliance management software tool is unique in its specialty and features, but there are certain features you can expect to see in most of these tools and apps. The most common features you can expect in compliance review software include:

  • Compliance tracking and alerts - Monitor business operations and protocols to ensure that they comply with your necessary standards and alert appropriate personnel of any action items.
  • Audit management - Plan, complete, and track audits to ensure you never miss a compliance-necessary system audit.
  • Risk management - Assess your risk level and security gaps to mitigate future risks.
  • Incident management - Identify potential breaches, system failures, and service disruptions and carry out a planned response to minimize risks and fortify your security.
  • Process automation - Design custom workflows for ongoing compliance tasks.
  • Compliance reporting - Preparing detailed reports verifying your compliance with the necessary security standards to use as documentation.
  • Version control - Track updates to security tools and documents to ensure proper updates are installed.

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Business benefits of using compliance software

Why should your business be using compliance maintenance software? This specialized type of tool offers a variety of benefits for your business and its bottom line:

  • Reduced legal risks - Complying with certain security protocols is a critical legal concern for businesses; most notably, healthcare businesses’s need to comply with HIPAA regulations. Compliance review software assists in ensuring you remain compliant and providing you with documentation of your compliance.
  • Heightened customer trust and buy-in - Security protocols and standards give customers confidence in your business’s safety and make you a low-risk choice, making you a more desirable option for potential and existing customers.
  • More efficient decision-making - Compliance software provides comprehensive information about security protocols and a compliance checklist of necessary action items in one streamlined platform, allowing leadership to make more informed decisions about productive steps to take.
  • Reduced resources for compliance monitoring - Compliance monitoring software automates your compliance tracking and evaluation, saving resources by reducing the need to manually monitor your systems.

Additional resources you might like:

ISO 27001
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Live Demo: How to streamline ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance with automation

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The State of Trust: Top Security & Compliance Trends for 2025

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Join us for a fireside chat with Christina Cacioppo, CEO and Co-founder of Vanta, and Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, as they share insights on navigating the modern startup journey. Discover how founders today can adapt to AI-driven innovation and utilize startup principles to find success in today’s dynamic landscape.

Additional resources you might like:

ISO 27001
Vanta events | Vanta
Live Demo: How to streamline ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance with automation

Join Vanta’s 45-minute live demo to see how our platform automates up to 90% of the work for achieving ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance, helping you streamline security and move towards continuous compliance.

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Vanta events | Vanta
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Join us live as we discuss key findings from Vanta’s State of Trust Report, how automation eases the compliance burden, and the role of continuous control monitoring in building real-time trust.

Compliance
Vanta events | Vanta
Building in the age of AI: Startup lessons for early-stage growth

Join us for a fireside chat with Christina Cacioppo, CEO and Co-founder of Vanta, and Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, as they share insights on navigating the modern startup journey. Discover how founders today can adapt to AI-driven innovation and utilize startup principles to find success in today’s dynamic landscape.

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Live Demo: Automating Security and Compliance Workflows

Join Vanta’s live product demo to discover how automation, continuous monitoring, and centralized workflows can streamline your GRC program, enhance control visibility, and improve vendor and buyer security management—all within a single platform.

Compliance
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How to Choose Your Next Compliance Framework

How do you choose your next framework to support growth — without overburdening your team? Join Vanta and Insight Assurance for a discussion where we’ll delve into considerations for scaling your compliance program.

Compliance
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How to streamline ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance with automation

Watch Vanta’s 45-minute live product demo. Register today to begin your automated compliance journey!

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Simplifying SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance

Watch our 45-minute webinar where we’ll demonstrate how Vanta automates up to 90% of the work for security and privacy frameworks, and helps you move towards a state of continuous compliance.

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The State of Trust 2024: How UK Businesses are managing risk and compliance with automation

Watch our webinar where leading cybersecurity experts Ciaran Martin and Victoria Baines will discuss findings from Vanta’s second annual State of Trust Report. Understand the risks facing UK organisations, why good security means good business and how to minimise manual security work through AI and automation. 

SOC 2
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Compliance for startups with Fern (YC W23)

Watch our webinar with Danny Sheridan, Co-founder and CEO at Fern (YC W23), and Brian Kuan, Product Marketing Manager at Vanta (YC W18), for a deep dive into why startups should prioritize compliance early in their journey, and how Vanta can help you become SOC 2-ready in as little as four weeks—giving time back for you to focus on building a company.