Compliance (ISO 27001 · SOC 2)

ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are the two information-security frameworks most requested by enterprise customers, investors, and regulators from SaaS and fintech companies in Mexico. ISO 27001 is an international certification of a management system; SOC 2 is an independent auditor's attestation, more common when you sell to clients in the United States. This guide gathers everything you need to know before you start: costs, timelines, how to choose a consultant, and what happens if you don't have it.

Why this matters to your company now, not "eventually"?

More and more tenders, supplier chains, enterprise customers, and investors ask for evidence of a certified security management system before signing a contract or closing an investment round. What was a differentiator 5 years ago is now the minimum entry filter — active ISO 27001 certifications globally grew from 6,000 in 2006 to more than 71,500 in 2022. If your company sells to other companies (B2B), it's a question of when they'll ask for it, not whether.

What is ISO 27001?

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is the international standard that defines the requirements to establish, implement, maintain, and improve an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It is a certification — an accredited body audits your system and issues a certificate valid for 3 years, subject to annual surveillance audits.

What is SOC 2 and how is it different from ISO 27001?

SOC 2 is not a certification — it's an attestation: an independent auditor issues a professional opinion on whether your controls meet the Trust Services Criteria (Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy). It's the standard almost always requested by customers or investors in the United States, while ISO 27001 has broader international recognition. Many growth-stage SaaS/fintech companies end up needing both.

How much does it cost and how long does it take to get certified?

The total cost in Mexico ranges from $80,000 MXN (initial diagnosis) up to $1,500,000 MXN (complete process in large organizations), with timelines of 9 to 24 months depending on your starting point.

How do I choose a consultant or firm to guide me?

There are 5 objective criteria you should evaluate before hiring — from the consultant's actual certification to whether the support continues after certification.

What happens if you don't have ISO 27001 or SOC 2 yet?

The most common cost isn't a fine or a sanction — it's the contract lost in silence, without anyone explaining why. An enterprise customer or investor simply doesn't move the conversation forward when you can't show certified evidence.

Coming soon in this cluster: "The real cost of not having ISO 27001: lost contracts and how to quantify them."

You already have an ISMS, but you're not sure how mature it is?

Before contracting any implementation, it's worth evaluating your own maturity level by domain — from security governance and roles, to supplier management, DRP/BCP, and technical security posture.

How to start without committing to a large project from day one?

A Combined Diagnosis of 2-3 weeks gives you prioritized and quantified findings — on compliance and on cloud costs — before you decide whether you need a full implementation.