We help SMBs get compliance-ready in 3-4 months. Achieve ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 2, or other compliance and grow. Our senior team is guiding you from start to finish.
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Average months to certification
Certified
Security experts
100%
Audit pass guarantee
0
Major non-conformities
We guide startups and mid-sized businesses in regulated industries through a wide range of frameworks. Timelines depend on the scope of work, but most certifications can be achieved within 3–4 months.
SOC 2
from 3 months
Win enterprise contracts in the US and beyond.
ISO 27001
from 6 months
Earn instant credibility with partners worldwide
HIPAA
from 2 months
Get greenlit to work with US healthcare providers and insurers.
GDPR/CCPA
from 2 months
Build trust with users, keeping their personal data secure.
PCI DSS
from 2 months
Accept and process payments with no data leaks.
NIST CSF
from 3 months
Spot and fix weak spots before attackers find them.
NIS2
from 3 months
Meet the EU’s latest security requirements for infrastructure.
ISO 22301
from 3 months
Prove to your clients that you have proper quality management.
You get a risk assessment, practical policies, properly configured system controls, and ongoing compliance guidance. With Protagonist, compliance stops being a headache and becomes part of your workflow.
Implementation strategy
We benchmark your current security posture against the chosen framework, identify gaps, and design a remediation roadmap that prioritizes high-risk areas first.
Custom policies
Our team delivers audit-ready policies tailored to your business, covering access control rules, incident response plan, vendor risk management, and others.
Hands-on implementation
We configure and enforce the required security controls, including cloud settings, encryption, logging, MFA, vulnerability scanning, and endpoint protection.
Audit preparation
We help you select an auditor, run with them pre-audits to flag risks, and represent your team during the official audit, answering all technical and documentation questions
Continuous compliance
For frameworks requiring regular recertification, we handle continuous processes. For others, we continuously monitor your environment and update controls to keep you compliant.
What our clients are saying about us
Protagonist empowers teams to build with confidence, ensuring every product is secure, compliant, and ready to scale.
“Their deep expertise in cybersecurity, particularly in the context of modern software architecture, was outstanding.”
“The project was well-managed from start to finish. What stood out most was their ability to combine deep technical expertise with a pragmatic and business-oriented approach.”
“The issues they found were clearly relevant to our production environment and were explained in a way that made them easy to prioritize.”
“We were impressed by Protagonist’s deep expertise, hands-on experience, and strict delivery processes.”
“Protagonist has delivered a clear list of compliance-related improvements, which we have implemented. The team has provided valuable recommendations, giving us a better understanding of how to handle security and privacy topics in future software releases. They work independently.”
For us, compliance isn’t “seasoned advice” or a checkbox exercise. We guide you through each stage, from identifying gaps to maintaining compliance, building the process that keeps you audit-ready long after the certificate is issued.
Step 1
Duration: 2 weeks
Gap assessment
We map your current state to define the scope of work. Our team interviews stakeholders, team leads, and IT staff, and reviews infrastructure, configurations, access controls, and existing documentation. In 2 weeks, you’ll get a tailored risk list and a prioritized roadmap for the target certification.
Step 2
Delivery: 2-9 months
Implementation
We implement the chosen compliance standard end-to-end, acting as an embedded part of your team. We engage the actual auditor closely and, 2 months before the official audit, conduct the pre-audit to catch and close any remaining gaps.
Step 3
Delivery: 1 week
Audit pass
We provide hands-on security and compliance support for design reviews, code changes, and release processes to maintain security alignment as your product evolves.
Step 4
Delivery: ongoing
Compliance maintenance
Compliance doesn’t stop with the certificate. We keep you audit-ready by monitoring processes, checking the effectiveness of existing measures, updating controls for new components, and ensuring new products or features are compliant. When recertification comes, you’ll be fully prepared.
We’ve successfully passed compliance multiple times and know exactly what it takes to succeed. With Protagonist, you’ll pass the audit on the first try, or we will fix it at no cost.
Audit-ready documentation
Every document, control, and process is prepared and verified before the audit. We work through detailed checklists and ensure everything is in the approved format, so there are no last-minute surprises.
First-time pass audit
From day one, we help you choose the right auditor. Two months before the official audit, we run with them a full pre-audit that mirrors the real process, finding and fixing any weak spots, so the final audit is just a formality.
Team training
We train your team to own and maintain compliance processes or take support on us, ensuring your company stays audit-ready continually.
Growth-enabling process
We integrate controls into your operations without slowing development. Security and compliance become part of your workflow.
Continuous compliance
Compliance isn’t a one-time event: we make it part of your daily operations. Continuous monitoring, automated evidence collection, and real-time gap alerts keep you ready for an audit any time.
Business value delivered
Our compliance framework helps you close deals faster, opens enterprise markets, and keeps you investor-ready.
See how our clients successfully pass compliance, land federal clients, prevent attacks, and unlock new markets.
We take you from “we’re losing prospects due to compliance gaps” to
“we’re certified and trusted by enterprise clients.” Here’s how your
compliance program evolves with Protagonist.
Unlike platforms that give you more work and consultants who only offer advice, we take the work off your plate, delivering better results.
What you need | Protagonist | Internal DevOps | AppSec engineers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implementation | A dedicated compliance team that implements all changes with you | You see red metrics and dashboards, but no guidance on fixing them | Generic recommendations, no help with implementation |
| Long-term compliance | We keep you compliant for years, updating controls as your business grows | No built-in support when your systems or infrastructure evolve | Advice ends once the project is done, no ongoing compliance |
| Audit readiness | End-to-end audit management with auditor selection & pre-audits | You are left to prepare for the audit on your own | Limited help, audit is mostly handled by your team |
| Integration with operations | We embed compliance into your existing workflows | Tools require workarounds and process changes to fit | Advisors aren’t involved in your operations |
| Work with us |
Our compliance services can be broken down into 3 stages: gap assessment, implementation, and maintenance. Our pricing is designed specifically for growing SMBs. We deliver enterprise-grade compliance at a fraction of the cost of building an internal security team or hiring a full-time CISO.
Gap assessment
$8K
1-2 weeks
Deliverables:
Implementation
$8k/month
2+ months
Deliverables:
Maintenance retainer
$2K/month
Monthly or quarterly
Deliverables:
Get certification in 3–4 months with our proven process. Book a free consultation to see a specific timeline for your required standard.
Free Consultation
Get a free 30-minute testing consultation
Actionable advice
See how we’d help you meet regulatory requirements
Custom plan & cost
Receive an estimated timeline and budget
Your first call with us is FREE. And packed with value.
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We help you choose the auditor best suited to your needs, then run a full pre-audit 2–3 months before the official date to identify any weak spots. During the audit period, we act as your internal team and answer all compliance-related questions. Stakeholders are only involved when necessary, and we guide you on what to expect and how to respond.
It depends on the compliance standard:
Yes, depending on your team’s maturity. After certification, you can monitor compliance internally or delegate it to us. Our support includes:
This has never happened with our clients. We ensure every requirement is implemented and pass the audit with you as your internal team. In the unlikely event of a failure, we stay with you to fix critical issues at no extra cost.
We provide a clear timeline depending on the compliance standard. Typically, you can be certified in 3–4 months and up to 9 months for the most complex cases.
Around $2–3K and typically takes 2 weeks. During this time, we interview stakeholders and team leads to get a complete picture of your current state. At the end, you’ll receive a detailed report with a checklist of existing processes, a risk assessment, and a roadmap for receiving the needed certificate. If you decide to continue working with us, the cost of the assessment will be deducted from the project, making it free.
We’re tool-agnostic, so we can work within your existing systems for compliance management, e.g., Confluence/Jira or Notion/Asana. We focus on processes and effectiveness, not pushing software purchases.
We help you choose the auditor best suited to your needs, then run a full pre-audit 2–3 months before the official date to identify any weak spots. During the audit period, we act as your internal team and answer all compliance-related questions. Stakeholders are only involved when necessary, and we guide you on what to expect and how to respond.
