Your security and compliance glossary

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

Show filters

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.

{{cta_simple3="/cta-modules"}}

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:

Compliance
Events
Live-Produktdemo: ISO 27001- und SOC 2-Compliance mit Vanta einfach umsetzen

Der Nachweis von Compliance mit einem Sicherheitsrahmensystem wie ISO 27001 oder SOC 2 ist nicht nur für den Ausbau Ihres Unternehmens und die Beschaffung von Kapital unverzichtbar, sondern schafft auch die so wichtige Vertrauensbasis.

GRC
Events
Security, AI, and Trust: What We Learned from the Trust Maturity Report

Join us for a live conversation with Matt Johansen, Founder & Security Researcher at Vulnerable U, as we dig into the findings of the report and explore what trust maturity looks like at every stage of growth.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Automating Compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and More

Discover how Vanta’s automation and AI tools can help your team simplify compliance, strengthen security, and scale trust across frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more.

Additional resources you might like:

Compliance
Events
Live-Produktdemo: ISO 27001- und SOC 2-Compliance mit Vanta einfach umsetzen

Der Nachweis von Compliance mit einem Sicherheitsrahmensystem wie ISO 27001 oder SOC 2 ist nicht nur für den Ausbau Ihres Unternehmens und die Beschaffung von Kapital unverzichtbar, sondern schafft auch die so wichtige Vertrauensbasis.

GRC
Events
Security, AI, and Trust: What We Learned from the Trust Maturity Report

Join us for a live conversation with Matt Johansen, Founder & Security Researcher at Vulnerable U, as we dig into the findings of the report and explore what trust maturity looks like at every stage of growth.

Compliance
Events
Live Demo: Automating Compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and More

Discover how Vanta’s automation and AI tools can help your team simplify compliance, strengthen security, and scale trust across frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more.

AWS
Events
Turn security into your startup’s secret sales weapon

In this joint session with AWS, Vanta, and BreachRx, you’ll learn how early-stage teams are turning that pressure into an advantage.

Compliance
Events
Inside the FedRAMP 20x Pilot: Lessons Learned with Vanta

Get an inside look at our journey submitting the first FedRAMP 20x pilot submission - a new initiative that fast-tracks the path to FedRAMP Low authorization without the need for an agency sponsor.

Product updates
Blog
Introducing the all-new Vanta AI Agent to supercharge GRC teams

The Vanta AI Agent guides you through key compliance workflows and takes action on your behalf.

NIS 2
Events
Simplify Your Path to NIS 2 Compliance

Explore Vanta’s NIS 2 solution, which automates up to 65% of compliance tasks through pre-built controls, templates, and cross-framework integrations—all with continuous monitoring for complete visibility over your security posture.

HIPAA
Blog
SOC 2 vs. HIPAA: Everything you need to know

How to tackle both certifications with ongoing security monitoring

HIPAA
Blog
5 practical tips to navigate AI, security, and compliance in healthcare

Healthcare companies must balance AI innovation with risk mitigation to provide the best solutions and care without introducing additional risk.