Lavender's Journey to Compliance Automation with Drata

Introduction to Lavender

Lavender is a leading email intelligence company that enhances email copywriting and improves results. Lavender sought out to achieve SOC 2 compliance in just one year, onboarding a partner that provided more roadblocks than solutions. 

Lessons Learned in Compliance Partnerships 

The initial compliance automation platform Lavender adopted posed significant challenges in their compliance journey. They sought a turnkey solution to streamline compliance efforts, with a particular focus on achieving SOC 2 compliance within a year. However, despite high expectations, the process proved less smooth than anticipated, and the partnership fell short. 

Lavender faced hurdles such as persistent upselling including inability to access controls that would have solved some of their challenges and a lack of transparency around total cost, resulting in paying more than they had initially budgeted. In addition, the policies solution had gaps making it appear that they were compliant when in reality there were policy gaps with new employees. 

This initial vendor proved not to be the expert partner they were looking for for a smooth audit, and as a result Lavender experienced an 8-month delay in SOC 2 attainment. The absence of comprehensive support and guidance left them feeling adrift in their compliance endeavors, particularly during their inaugural SOC 2 audit.

The Pursuit of Seamless Compliance

Feeling let down by their previous experience, Lavender began exploring alternative solutions and found Drata. The decision to switch to Drata was driven by the more user-friendly and comprehensive compliance solution, coupled with robust support and transparent pricing. 

Drata's onboarding process was exceptional, offering white-glove support and guidance that ensured a smooth and efficient transition from their previous vendor. Lavender's team invested just 20 hours over the course of a month, making the switch both swift and seamless. Lavender was able to go to Drata’s compliance support team and get immediate guidance on compliance questions.

In addition, Lavender appreciated the flexibility to exclude items that weren’t in scope, allowing for more efficient compliance maintenance. Thanks to Drata, Lavender ditched those old basic templates and upgraded to detailed, compliant policies, drastically boosting their compliance game.

Success with Drata’s Integration and Automation

Since partnering with Drata, Lavender has transformed its compliance journey, reducing the time spent on audit activities by 40%. The onboarding process with Drata has been exceptional, offering personalized support and guidance that exceeded all expectations.

Lavender has successfully migrated its compliance efforts to Drata, leveraging features such as excluding unnecessary controls and utilizing the Trust Center. This shift has saved 50% in vendor management time and streamlined onboarding. The integration of critical tools has been seamless, enhancing the professionalism and effectiveness of their compliance program.

Next up, Lavender looks forward to achieving their ISO 27001 framework to further unlock business opportunities in Europe.