Write the Drata-admin role out as a job description and the problem becomes obvious. The listing would ask for someone to reconnect integrations when tokens expire, investigate every monitor that flips red, walk new hires through their security tasks, keep policies and the risk register current, map controls when a second framework arrives, and package evidence for each audit window. That is maybe a third of a full-time job — and it spans three disciplines: platform administration, security engineering, and program management.
Nobody posts a fractional req with that spread, which is why the real question is rarely “can we do this” and usually “who should hold it”. By default it lands on whichever engineer set Drata up, and the instance quietly becomes that person’s side project.
Drata’s support and customer success teams are strong on how-the-platform-works questions, but they don’t operate your instance — they won’t close your failing monitors or run your access reviews. Your audit firm is ruled out by design: independence standards prevent auditors from operating the program they attest. That leaves two realistic candidates: a fractional GRC consultant, who typically advises while your team executes, and a managed Drata provider, whose engineers hold scoped admin access and execute directly.
Agency runs the second model as Managed Drata: named compliance engineers inside your tenant, 200+ hours saved per year for the team that used to absorb the work, and coverage across SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, FedRAMP, CMMC 2.0, ISO 42001, HITRUST, and US data privacy laws as the program grows.
No — the managed service runs on a license you already own. If you buy or renew through Agency, top-tier partner pricing applies, and the Drata Best Price Guarantee puts it in writing.
Agency operates both leading platforms every day and will tell you which suits your stack before any license is signed. The operator’s view is written up in Vanta vs Drata.
