THE CHALLENGE
A virtual care startup needed to scale rapidly in a highly regulated healthcare market while building trust with enterprise clients requiring SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance. Traditional approaches treated security as a separate compliance function, creating friction between operational velocity and regulatory requirements.
The company faced a critical decision: slow down to build security infrastructure, or risk growing without proper governance controls. Healthcare clients demanded proof of security maturity, but the startup lacked the internal expertise and resources to navigate complex compliance frameworks while maintaining their growth trajectory.
THE ENGAGEMENT
AltDigital deployed a fractional CISO and implemented an integrated GRC approach that eliminated the distinction between operational and security needs. Rather than treating compliance as a separate workstream, we embedded governance controls directly into the company's core business processes.
The engagement focused on operationalizing security across employee lifecycle management, software development practices, and IT infrastructure—transforming governance from a compliance checkbox into a competitive advantage.
- •Strategic security roadmap aligned with business growth
- •Executive-level governance and board reporting
- •Risk assessment and compliance program design
- •Automated onboarding with security training and access provisioning
- •Role-based access control (RBAC) framework
- •Offboarding procedures with audit trails
- •Security requirements integrated into development workflow
- •Automated vulnerability scanning and code review
- •Change management and deployment controls
- •Cloud security architecture and configuration management
- •Network segmentation and access controls
- •Logging, monitoring, and incident response procedures
- •Control design and implementation across all TSCs
- •Evidence collection and audit preparation
- •Successful Type II audit with zero findings
- •Privacy and security rule compliance framework
- •PHI handling procedures and encryption standards
- •Business associate agreement (BAA) readiness
THE RESULTS
Over 18 months, the integrated governance approach transformed security from a compliance burden into a competitive differentiator. The company achieved SOC 2 Type II certification, established HIPAA readiness, and experienced exponential revenue growth—all while maintaining operational velocity.
By embedding security controls into core business processes, AltDigital enabled the company to win enterprise healthcare clients who required proof of security maturity. The fractional CISO model provided executive-level expertise without the overhead of a full-time hire, allowing the startup to scale efficiently.
- SOC 2 Type II certification achieved
- HIPAA-ready infrastructure and processes
- Zero audit findings or compliance gaps
- Exponential revenue growth over 18 months
- Enterprise healthcare clients secured
- Security became competitive advantage
- Automated employee onboarding/offboarding
- Secure SDLC integrated into development workflow
- Hardened infrastructure with monitoring
- Fractional CISO providing strategic leadership
- HIPAA compliance journey beginning next month
- Continuous governance maturity advancement
AltDigital eliminated the false choice between security and speed. By integrating governance into our operations—from employee onboarding to our SDLC—they enabled us to achieve exponential growth. Security became our growth engine, not a compliance checkbox.
GOVERNANCE AS A GROWTH ENABLER
This engagement demonstrates how integrated GRC—embedded directly into business operations—transforms security from a compliance burden into a competitive advantage that enables exponential growth in regulated markets.