Security Solutions for SaaS Company Leaders
We help B2B SaaS companies build security programs that protect customer data and turn security into a revenue enabler.
How We Engage with SaaS Companies
Our Fractional CISO Approach for SaaS Companies
Most SaaS companies engage a Fractional CISO to provide strategic security leadership without full-time overhead. We work with you through a three-phase approach - assessing where you are, designing what you need, and building and operating security programs that prioritize the risks that matter and enable growth and the achievement of business objectives.
What This Looks Like for SaaS Companies:
We focus on what matters most for B2B SaaS growth: product and platform security (multi-tenant isolation, API security, secrets management), managed CSPM services for continuous monitoring across your AWS/GCP/Azure environments, and a Customer Trust program and SOC 2 certification that unblocks enterprise deals and supports growth.
Your vCISO works with your engineering leadership to embed security into your development lifecycle - automated testing in CI/CD, threat modeling for new features, and architecture reviews that prevent expensive security rewrites later. Security decisions are made with full understanding of the trade-offs between protection, user experience, and development speed.
When Should You Engage Security Leadership?
You don't need perfect security to start enterprise sales, but you do need a plan. Here are signs you should engage security leadership now rather than later:
Sales & Revenue Signals:
- Sales team reporting security concerns in 3+ active enterprise deals
- Lost deals where security was cited as a blocking factor
- Customer security questionnaires taking 2+ weeks to complete
- Enterprise prospects asking for SOC 2 reports you don't have
- Sales cycle extending by 2+ months due to security diligence
Technical Risk Signals:
- Cloud infrastructure has never been assessed for security
- No one can answer "how is tenant data isolated?" with confidence
- Secrets or credentials stored in code, config files, or environment variables
- No security testing in CI/CD pipeline
- Production access not controlled or logged
Organizational Signals:
- No one owns the security roadmap or compliance timeline
- Employees concerned that organization isn't meeting security and privacy commitments
- Board or investors asking security questions you can't answer
- Recent security incident revealed gaps in detection or response
- Scaling team from 50 to 100+ employees
Compliance Signals:
- Customer contracts requiring SOC 2 or other certifications within 6-12 months
- Customers asking about GDPR, CCPA, or other privacy compliance
- Pursuing enterprise customers in regulated industries (healthcare, finance)
- Current security "program" is scattered Notion docs and Slack conversations
If you are seeing a few of these signals, you're past the point where you can kick security down the road. The cost of delay increases faster than most SaaS leaders expect - each quarter missing commitments like SOC-2 means more lost or pushed deals, each security gap discovered by customers rather than you damages trust that's hard to rebuild.
Common Questions About B2B SaaS Security
Do we need a CISO before pursuing enterprise customers?
Not necessarily a full-time CISO, but you need CISO-level expertise to build your security program, achieve SOC 2, and respond to enterprise customer security requirements. Many growth-stage SaaS companies use vCISO (virtual CISO) services to get expert guidance without full-time overhead. This provides the expertise you need while you determine when to hire full-time security leadership.
When do we need SOC 2 certification?
Start by getting prepared with security processes and operations before you're under pressure. When enterprise customers start consistently asking for SOC 2 reports, move forward with the formal audit process. If you're being bombarded by clients asking for SOC 2 certification, it's time to start.
What's the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?
Type I evaluates control design at a single point in time. Type II evaluates both design and operating effectiveness over a period (typically 6-12 months). Enterprise customers almost always require Type II because it demonstrates controls work consistently over time, not just on audit day. Type I can be useful as a stepping stone but won't satisfy most enterprise requirements.
How do we manage third-party vendor security?
SaaS companies depend on numerous vendors - cloud providers, security tools, monitoring services, and data processors. Establish a vendor security assessment process that evaluates vendors based on risk level. High-risk vendors (those handling customer data or critical services) need comprehensive reviews including SOC 2 reports, security questionnaires, and contract terms. Lower-risk vendors can use simplified assessments. We help you build vendor risk management programs that satisfy SOC 2 requirements and enterprise customer expectations without creating operational bottlenecks.
What security testing should we do?
Comprehensive security testing includes: automated security testing in your CI/CD pipeline (SAST for code vulnerabilities, dependency scanning), continuous security posture and vulnerability scanning of cloud infrastructure, API security testing, code reviews for security-sensitive features and periodic penetration testing by third parties. We are a huge fan of ongoing public bug bounty programs. These testing practices are typically built in stages as your security program matures. Frequency depends on your risk tolerance and compliance requirements, but regular pen testing is standard for SOC 2 and enterprise customers.
Related Insights
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Understanding the cultural and organizational barriers to DevSecOps
Accelerate Growth with a Strong Security Posture
How security programs enable B2B SaaS enterprise sales
Security Isn't a Department, It's How You Operate
Embedding security into SaaS development and operations
Ready to Strengthen Your SaaS Security?
Let's discuss your B2B SaaS security needs and enterprise customer requirements.