Shieldra
Free SOC 2 Readiness Assessment
Answer 11 questions in about two minutes and get a practical view of SOC 2 readiness, audit gaps, and the evidence areas to tighten before Type I or Type II testing. Free, no account required.
By the Shieldra Compliance Team · Last updated July 2026
Key takeaways
- The assessment is 11 questions, takes about two minutes, and needs no account.
- You get a readiness score, gaps across the Trust Services Criteria, and an estimate of audit delay and rework exposure.
- Type II is the report enterprise buyers usually mean, and it requires evidence that controls operated over a period — typically 3–12 months.
- The gaps that most often delay a report are access reviews, change management, vendor review, monitoring, and incident response.
What you get
- A SOC 2 readiness score against common audit expectations
- An audit gap summary mapped to the Trust Services Criteria
- An estimate of potential audit delay and rework exposure
- Recommended evidence and control priorities to close first
What auditors actually look for
SOC 2 Type II is an evidence exercise. The auditor is not asking whether you have a policy; they are asking you to demonstrate that a control operated consistently across the observation window. That is why teams with good intentions still fail: the control existed, but nobody can prove it ran in March.
The five areas that most often cause findings
- Access control — joiner/mover/leaver evidence and periodic access reviews that were actually performed and signed off
- Change management — tickets, approvals, and deployment records that tie a change to a reviewer
- Vendor and third-party review — a maintained vendor inventory with risk ratings and evidence of periodic review
- Monitoring — logging, alerting, and evidence that alerts were triaged rather than merely generated
- Incident response — a tested plan, and documentation of real incidents from detection through closure
Type I or Type II?
A Type I report assesses whether controls are suitably designed at one point in time. A Type II report assesses whether those controls operated effectively over a period, typically 3 to 12 months, and is what most enterprise buyers expect.
If a deal is blocked right now, a Type I can unblock it while you accumulate the observation window for Type II. If you have time, going straight to Type II avoids paying for two audits. Either way, the evidence you need is the same — Type II just requires more of it, over a longer period.
If you also handle PHI
Healthcare SaaS teams usually face both frameworks: HIPAA because the law requires it when you touch protected health information, and SOC 2 because customers require it before they sign. Around 60–70% of the underlying technical controls overlap — access control, encryption, logging, change management, vendor management, incident response.
That overlap is worth planning for. Collecting evidence once and mapping it to both frameworks is considerably cheaper than running two disconnected programs. Shieldra maps controls across HIPAA and SOC 2 so the same evidence supports both, starting at $99/month with a 14-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?
A Type I report assesses whether controls are suitably designed at a single point in time. A Type II report assesses whether those controls operated effectively over an observation period, typically 3 to 12 months, and is what most enterprise buyers expect to see.
How long does SOC 2 readiness usually take?
It depends on where you start. Teams with existing access reviews, change management, and logging often need a few months to close gaps and accumulate evidence; teams starting from spreadsheets should plan for longer. The assessment shows which gaps drive the timeline.
What most often delays a SOC 2 report?
Missing evidence rather than missing controls. Incomplete access reviews, change management without documented approvals, an unmaintained vendor inventory, monitoring without triage records, and an untested incident response plan are the recurring causes of findings and rework.
Do I need SOC 2 if I am already HIPAA compliant?
They serve different purposes. HIPAA is a legal obligation when you handle protected health information; SOC 2 is a commercial attestation customers ask for. About 60–70% of the technical controls overlap, so a HIPAA program is a strong head start, but it does not produce a SOC 2 report.
Is this assessment a substitute for a readiness audit?
No. It is a free self-assessment that prioritizes your gaps and evidence work. A formal readiness assessment by a CPA firm evaluates scope, control design, and evidence quality before the audit period begins.
