GRC Platform & Virtual CISO FAQ
Your GRC platform questions — answered.
How Agency AI and our U.S.-based forward-deployed engineers operate on top of Vanta and Drata, and how they deliver virtual CISO coverage end-to-end without adding headcount. The detail buyers, security teams, and auditors ask about most.
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GRC Platform & Virtual CISO FAQ
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Your GRC platform→Agency operates it→Audit-ready
The detail buyers, security teams, and auditors ask about most.
GRC FAQ
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Integrating with Vanta & Drata
How the platform layers on top of your existing GRC software — no rip-and-replaceDo I have to replace Vanta or Drata to work with Agency? No. Agency is GRC platform-agnostic and operates on top of Vanta, Drata, CrowdStrike, and the rest of your stack — no rip-and-replace, no migration. Agency's engineers are deep experts in each platform and layer their AI and engineering onto whichever one you already run.
How does Agency AI connect to my GRC software? Through engineer-operated integrations orchestrated by Agency AI. The platform reads control status and evidence from your GRC tool, validates and fills gaps, and writes audit-ready evidence back — so your Vanta or Drata instance reflects a program that's actually operated, not just monitored. Your existing connections and configuration stay in place.
Does Agency lower the cost of my GRC platform? Yes. Because Agency's engineers and AI operate the platform for you, you extract far more value from your Vanta or Drata license and avoid the internal headcount most teams add to run it. The average client reclaims 200+ hours per year and roughly $100K+ in engineering and compliance time.
Vanta vs Drata — which should I choose? Either works well as the underlying GRC software; the platform you pick matters far less than how it's operated. Agency runs both, so the choice comes down to existing contracts and preferences. Whichever you use, Agency's engineers and AI deliver the same operated, audit-ready outcome on top of it.
What if I haven't bought a GRC platform yet? Agency helps you select and stand up the right GRC platform as part of onboarding, then operates it for you from day one. You're not left to configure Vanta or Drata alone — the forward-deployed team scopes your frameworks, connects your stack, and begins running the program immediately.
Can Agency run on multiple GRC tools at once? Yes. If different business units or acquisitions run different GRC software, Agency's orchestration layer operates across them and maintains a single, unified view of control status and evidence — so you manage one program even when the underlying tooling isn't consolidated.
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Virtual CISO coverage without adding headcount
Full security leadership and execution, delivered as a serviceWhat is virtual CISO (vCISO) coverage? Virtual CISO coverage is outsourced security leadership delivered as a service. Agency's vCISO sets your security strategy, owns the framework roadmap, answers buyer and auditor security questions, and oversees day-to-day execution — giving you the function of a Chief Information Security Officer without the cost or hiring timeline of a full-time executive. Published tiers: Managed Comply includes a full vCISO from $5,000 per month, while Express Comply covers a single framework at a flat rate from $5,000 for a full year.
Do I still need to hire a CISO or compliance manager? No. Virtual CISO coverage, a compliance manager, and security engineering are all included in Agency's service. The forward-deployed team sets strategy and runs execution, so you get complete security and compliance coverage without adding to your headcount or hiring plan.
How does Agency deliver coverage without adding headcount? Agency's forward-deployed engineers operate your program directly, amplified by Agency AI, which handles high-volume work like evidence collection and monitoring. That combination delivers the output of a full security team — strategy, implementation, audits, questionnaires — as a managed service, so your own headcount stays flat while coverage scales.
Does the vCISO handle audits and customer security reviews? Yes. Your virtual CISO and engineers coordinate audits end-to-end, prepare system descriptions, manage evidence requests, and work directly with auditors. They also own buyer security questionnaires and customer security reviews, so sales-blocking security questions get answered without pulling in your engineering team.
How much of my team's time does this take? Far less than running GRC in-house. Agency operates the program directly instead of assigning your team a backlog of tasks, and the AI absorbs the repetitive work. The average client reclaims 200+ hours per year and roughly $100K+ in internal engineering and compliance time.
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Managed GRC: scope, frameworks & getting started
What's included, which frameworks, and how onboarding worksWhat is managed GRC? Managed GRC means an outside team runs your governance, risk, and compliance program end-to-end instead of selling you software to run yourself. Agency's managed GRC pairs forward-deployed engineers and a virtual CISO with proprietary AI that operates on top of your existing GRC platform — covering control implementation, evidence, monitoring, audits, and risk.
Which frameworks does Agency operate? Agency runs compliance across SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, CMMC, GDPR, FedRAMP, HITRUST, ISO 42001, and more. The same forward-deployed team and unified control set operate them together, so adding a framework reuses overlapping controls and evidence instead of starting a new project from scratch.
Can Agency run several frameworks simultaneously? Yes — that's the core advantage. Agency maps your controls into a unified control set, so one implemented control satisfies its equivalent requirement across every framework. SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR run as one operated program in parallel, with a single real-time view of status across all of them.
What's included beyond compliance frameworks? The full security program: virtual CISO coverage, control implementation, evidence collection, continuous monitoring, vendor and third-party risk, penetration testing, security questionnaire responses, incident and breach response, and managed detection and response — across BYOD, contractor fleets, and multi-party environments.
Is Agency a fit for startups or only larger companies? Both. Startups use Agency to deploy enterprise-grade security and compliance from day one without building a team; mid-market and enterprise companies use it to scale across frameworks, business units, and geographies without scaling headcount. 1,000+ companies trust Agency, and it's rated 4.9 on G2.
How do I get started? Book a call to assemble your GRC team. Agency scopes your current posture, target frameworks, and existing GRC platform, then your forward-deployed engineers begin operating the program on top of your existing tools — typically reaching audit-ready in 8–16 weeks for a first framework.
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Agency's proprietary AI platform
What Agency AI, Auditsuisse AI, and CustodyID are — and how the platform runs your programWhat is Agency's GRC platform? Agency's platform is Agency AI — a software- and stack-agnostic cybersecurity and compliance platform operated by U.S.-based forward-deployed compliance engineers, alongside Auditsuisse AI and CustodyID. It runs governance, risk, and compliance end-to-end on top of the GRC software you already use, so you get a continuously operated, audit-ready program instead of another dashboard to staff.
What is Agency AI and what does it do? Agency AI is the operating platform behind our forward-deployed engineers. It connects to your GRC platform, cloud, identity, and security tools and connects day-to-day security work with compliance evidence and ongoing assurance — control implementation, evidence collection, monitoring, and remediation run continuously across every connected system rather than in manual quarterly pushes. Agency's engineers operate Agency AI; you don't configure it.
What is Rumi? Rumi is the AI DevSecOps engineer inside Agency AI. It supports the engineering work that puts security controls into practice — writing infrastructure-as-code fixes and executing API-based remediation for cloud misconfigurations — with Agency engineers reviewing every change.
What do Auditsuisse AI and CustodyID do? Auditsuisse AI is Agency’s precision-engineered IT audit software for the auditor’s side of the table: audit firms license it to review evidence, test controls and draft reports for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR and PCI DSS engagements, with AI doing the volume work and auditors keeping the judgment. CustodyID governs identity and access across everything Agency operates. The unified control ontology that maps one implemented control to every framework requirement it satisfies lives inside Agency AI; like the rest of the platform, CustodyID and Agency AI are operated by Agency’s engineers on your behalf, not configured or run by your team.
Do I operate the platform myself? No. Clients never operate Agency AI, Auditsuisse AI, or CustodyID — Agency's forward-deployed engineers do, on your behalf. You receive the outcomes: continuous compliance status, completed audits, answered security questionnaires, and board-ready reports. The AI raises velocity and lowers cost; the engineers own the judgment and accountability.
Is my data secure when Agency operates on my stack? Yes. Agency operates within your existing tools and access model rather than copying your data into a separate system, and access is scoped to only what's needed to run your program. Agency maintains a mature security posture that has met the highest levels of scrutiny from independent third-party auditors.
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Frameworks We Operate — end-to-end compliance execution across the frameworks your buyers and regulators demand
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Our mature compliance posture has met the highest levels of scrutiny from independent third party auditors.
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Free SOC 2 & ISO 27001 startup resources
SOC 2 Startup GuidePlain-English guide from the team that runs compliance end-to-end for 1,000+ companies.
ISO 27001 Startup GuidePlain-English guide from the team that runs compliance end-to-end for 1,000+ companies.
SOC 2 Readiness ChecklistPlain-English guide from the team that runs compliance end-to-end for 1,000+ companies.
Platform Products
Agency AIEnd-to-end cybersecurity and compliance, across the stack you already use. GRC IntegrationsEngineer-operated GRC platform integration CustodyIDIdentity verification for trust and complianceFind your auditor
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GRC Platform & Virtual CISO FAQ
Answers to common GRC-platform questions — and what a virtual CISO actually does for your program.
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