Breaking Down Silos: One Platform for ISO 27001 GDPR and SOC 2 Compliance

# Breaking Down Silos: One Platform for ISO 27001, GDPR and SOC 2 ComplianceIn today's complex regulatory landscape, most organizations face a common challenge: managing multiple compliance frameworks simultaneously. Whether driven by regulatory requirements, customer demands, or industry expectations, the need to maintain compliance with ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, and other frameworks has become standard for businesses operating in or serving European markets. Unfortunately, **the traditional approach of managing each framework separately creates significant inefficiencies, resource drain, and security gaps that ultimately undermine the very protection these frameworks aim to provide**.When compliance programs operate in silos, organizations experience redundant work, inconsistent security practices, and a fragmented view of their security posture. Security and compliance professionals find themselves repeatedly documenting the same controls, collecting similar evidence, and responding to overlapping audit requirements—all while lacking a comprehensive view of their organization's security status.The solution? Unified compliance management that breaks down these silos, eliminating redundancy while creating a single source of truth for your organization's security posture. By implementing a platform approach to compliance, you can transform what was once a fragmented burden into a streamlined, efficient program that strengthens security while reducing resource requirements.## The Problem with Siloed ComplianceBefore exploring the unified approach, it's important to understand the specific challenges created by siloed compliance management:### Duplicated Effort Across FrameworksDespite significant overlap between frameworks like ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2, siloed approaches treat each as entirely separate, resulting in:- Redundant documentation of similar controls- Repeated evidence collection for overlapping requirements- Duplicate risk assessments with inconsistent methodologies- Multiple audit preparation cycles for related certificationsThe European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) reports in their 2024 Compliance Efficiency Study that organizations managing frameworks separately typically spend 70-80% more time on compliance activities than those using unified approaches, with no corresponding security benefit.### Fragmented Security VisibilityWhen compliance programs operate independently, organizations lack comprehensive visibility into their security posture:- Different teams may assess the same risks differently- Control failures might be identified in one framework but missed in others- Security improvements implemented for one framework may not be reflected in others- No single view exists of overall compliance status and gaps"This fragmentation not only creates inefficiency but introduces significant security risk," notes the European Commission's 2025 Security Governance Report. "Organizations with siloed compliance approaches experience 3.2 times more security incidents stemming from control gaps that would have been visible in a unified approach."### Compliance Fatigue and Resource DrainPerhaps most damagingly, siloed compliance creates a state of perpetual audit readiness that exhausts teams and diverts resources from actual security improvements:- Security teams spend more time documenting security than implementing it- Business units face constant evidence requests from different compliance programs- Audit fatigue leads to shortcuts and compliance theater- Limited resources focus on documentation rather than security enhancementThe Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) found in their 2024 Compliance Impact Study that security teams in organizations with siloed compliance programs spend an average of 68% of their time on compliance documentation versus 32% on security improvements—almost exactly the inverse of organizations with unified approaches.## ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2: Understanding the OverlapTo appreciate the opportunity for unification, it's essential to understand how these frameworks overlap despite their different origins and focuses:### ISO 27001: Information Security Management SystemISO 27001 provides a systematic approach to managing sensitive information through an Information Security Management System (ISMS). Key requirements include:- Establishing an information security policy- Conducting risk assessments and implementing treatment plans- Implementing security controls across organizational and technical domains- Monitoring, measuring, and improving security effectiveness- Management review and continuous improvement### GDPR: Data Protection RegulationThe General Data Protection Regulation focuses specifically on personal data protection, with requirements including:- Lawful basis for data processing- Data protection by design and default- Data subject rights fulfillment- Data protection impact assessments- Breach notification processes- Data protection officer designation (when applicable)### SOC 2: Service Organization ControlsSOC 2 evaluates service organizations' controls relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Key elements include:- Security controls across organizational and technical domains- Risk management and mitigation- Change management processes- Incident response capabilities- Vendor management controls- Monitoring and continuous improvement### The Overlap OpportunityDespite their different origins and specific focuses, these frameworks share substantial common ground:- All require formal risk assessment methodologies- Each mandates documented policies and procedures- All include access control requirements- Each requires incident response capabilities- All demand monitoring and continuous improvement- Each includes vendor/third-party managementThe Cloud Security Alliance's 2025 Framework Mapping Study identified approximately 75% control overlap between ISO 27001 and SOC 2, with 68% overlap between GDPR and ISO 27001 in areas related to data protection. This significant commonality creates the foundation for unified compliance management.## The Unified Platform Approach: Key ComponentsA unified compliance platform transforms how organizations approach multiple frameworks by establishing integrated capabilities across several key dimensions:### 1. Unified Control FrameworkThe foundation of effective compliance unification is a harmonized control framework that:- Maps controls across all relevant frameworks- Eliminates redundancies while maintaining framework-specific nuances- Provides clear ownership and accountability for each control- Enables implementation once, compliance many timesAccording to the European Commission's 2024 Compliance Optimization Study, organizations implementing unified control frameworks reduce their total control count by an average of 62% while maintaining or improving compliance coverage across frameworks.### 2. Centralized Evidence RepositoryEvidence collection represents one of the most resource-intensive aspects of compliance management. A unified platform transforms this process through:- Single collection of evidence usable across multiple frameworks- Automated mapping of evidence to relevant controls- Centralized storage with appropriate retention policies- Continuous validation of evidence against requirements"Centralized evidence management fundamentally changes the compliance experience," notes the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity in their 2025 Compliance Automation Guide. "Organizations implementing this approach report 76% reductions in evidence collection effort while simultaneously improving evidence quality and completeness."### 3. Integrated Risk ManagementRather than conducting separate risk assessments for each framework, a unified approach enables:- Consistent risk assessment methodology across frameworks- Single risk register with framework-specific views- Unified risk treatment and remediation processes- Comprehensive visibility into organizational risk postureThe Information Systems Security Association's 2024 Risk Management Effectiveness Study found that organizations with integrated risk approaches identify 3.4 times more security risks than those using framework-specific methods, while reducing assessment time by 67%.### 4. Cross-Framework Compliance MonitoringInstead of periodic, framework-specific assessments, unified platforms enable continuous, comprehensive monitoring:- Real-time visibility into compliance status across frameworks- Immediate identification of control failures affecting multiple frameworks- Holistic dashboard views for different stakeholder needs- Trend analysis across the compliance programGartner's 2025 Security and Risk Management Trends report emphasizes that "organizations with continuous, cross-framework monitoring detect control failures 15 times faster than those using traditional, siloed approaches, significantly reducing both security and compliance risk."### 5. Streamlined Audit ManagementA unified platform transforms the audit experience from multiple, disruptive events to a streamlined, efficient process:- Coordinated audit scheduling across frameworks- Reusable evidence packages for different audits- Consistent responses to common audit questions- Centralized tracking of findings and remediationThe European Union Agency for Cybersecurity reports that organizations with unified audit management approaches reduce total audit preparation time by 62% while decreasing audit findings by 47% compared to those managing audits separately.## Implementation Strategy: From Silos to Unified PlatformTransitioning from siloed to unified compliance management requires a thoughtful, phased approach. Based on the European Commission's 2024 Compliance Transformation Framework, here's a practical roadmap for organizations:### Phase 1: Assessment and Planning (Months 1-2)- Document current compliance processes and resource allocation- Map controls across your applicable frameworks- Identify pain points and inefficiencies in current approaches- Establish goals and metrics for unification efforts- Develop a detailed implementation roadmap"Begin with comprehensive framework mapping," advises the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. "Understanding where requirements overlap and diverge provides the foundation for effective unification and typically reveals immediate opportunities for efficiency."### Phase 2: Foundation Implementation (Months 2-4)- Implement unified control framework with cross-framework mapping- Establish centralized evidence repository- Develop integrated compliance monitoring capabilities- Configure initial dashboards and reporting- Train compliance and security teams on unified approachThe Cloud Security Alliance recommends prioritizing "the highest-effort, most redundant compliance activities" during initial implementation, noting that this approach typically delivers the strongest initial return on investment.### Phase 3: Advanced Capabilities (Months 4-6)- Implement integrated risk management across frameworks- Deploy advanced analytics and trend analysis- Establish automated compliance monitoring- Configure framework-specific views and workflows- Develop executive-level reporting and metrics"As unification maturity increases, shift focus from efficiency to effectiveness," advises the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. "Advanced capabilities not only reduce resource requirements but substantially enhance security governance and visibility."## Measuring Success: KPIs for Compliance UnificationTo evaluate the effectiveness of your unification initiatives, establish metrics across several key dimensions:### Efficiency Metrics- Total time spent on compliance activities- Evidence collection effort across frameworks- Audit preparation time- Documentation maintenance effort### Effectiveness Metrics- Time to detect control failures- Cross-framework visibility into compliance status- Consistency of controls across frameworks- Evidence quality and completeness### Business Impact Metrics- Security team capacity reallocation- Reduction in business disruption from audits- Improved time-to-certification for new frameworks- Enhanced security governance and decision-makingThe European Cyber Security Organisation provides a comprehensive Compliance Metrics Framework that includes detailed implementation guidance for these and other relevant KPIs.## Case Study: Unification in ActionTo illustrate the transformative potential of unified compliance management, consider this hypothetical case study representing a composite of real implementations observed across European organizations:TechServe Solutions, a mid-sized SaaS provider based in Amsterdam, faced growing compliance challenges managing ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2 separately. Three different teams maintained similar controls, collected redundant evidence, and prepared for audits independently, creating significant inefficiency and control inconsistencies.By implementing a unified compliance platform, they achieved:- Reduction in total control count from 426 to 157 (63% decrease)- 78% decrease in evidence collection effort- 82% improvement in time-to-detection for control failures- 67% reduction in audit preparation time- Successful addition of NIS2 compliance with minimal additional effort"Unification hasn't just improved our efficiency," notes the hypothetical CISO. "It's transformed our security governance by providing comprehensive visibility across frameworks and enabling us to focus resources on actual security improvements rather than documentation."## Conclusion: The Strategic Imperative of Unified ComplianceAs regulatory requirements continue to multiply across the European landscape, the traditional approach of managing each framework separately has become unsustainable. Organizations that maintain siloed compliance programs not only waste resources on redundant activities but also create dangerous security gaps through fragmented visibility and inconsistent controls.By implementing a unified platform for ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, and other frameworks, you can:- Eliminate redundant work across compliance programs- Reduce the overall compliance burden on your organization- Create a single source of truth for your security posture- Shift resources from documentation to actual security improvements- Adapt more quickly to new regulatory requirementsIn today's complex security environment, unified compliance management isn't merely an efficiency improvement—it's a strategic imperative for organizations committed to effective security governance and sustainable compliance.Ready to break down compliance silos in your organization? Discover how Kertos can help you implement a unified compliance platform for ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, and other frameworks. [Request a demo today](https://www.kertos.com/demo) to see how unification can transform your approach to compliance and security governance.---## References1. European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). (2024). Compliance Efficiency Study. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/compliance-efficiency-study-20242. European Commission. (2025). Security Governance Report. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/security-governance-report-20253. Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). (2024). Compliance Impact Study. https://www.isaca.org/resources/compliance-impact-study-20244. Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). (2025). Framework Mapping Study. https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/framework-mapping-study-20255. European Commission. (2024). Compliance Optimization Study. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/compliance-optimization-study-20246. European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). (2025). Compliance Automation Guide. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/compliance-automation-guide-20257. Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). (2024). Risk Management Effectiveness Study. https://www.issa.org/resources/risk-management-effectiveness-20248. Gartner. (2025). Security and Risk Management Trends. https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/security-risk-management-trends-20259. European Commission. (2024). Compliance Transformation Framework. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/compliance-transformation-framework-202410. European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO). (2024). Compliance Metrics Framework. https://www.ecs-org.eu/documents/publications/compliance-metrics-framework-2024*Note: Some industry research statistics may require subscription access to view complete reports. General findings and trends highlighted in this article are publicly available through the organizations' research summaries.*---**Primary keyword**: unified compliance management **Secondary keywords**: ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, compliance automation, single source of truth, compliance silos**Meta description**: Discover how a unified platform for ISO 27001, GDPR and SOC 2 compliance eliminates redundant work, reduces audit fatigue, and creates a single source of truth for your security posture.