GRC Software by Framework: ISO 27001, SOC 2, ISO 27701, DORA and More

Last updated: 19 October 2026

Quick answer: Good GRC software for multiple frameworks keeps one library of controls, maps each control to the requirements of every framework you follow, and stores evidence once so it can be reused across audits. Each framework then adds its own outputs: a Statement of Applicability for ISO 27001, an evidence trail across an observation period for SOC 2 Type 2, privacy records for ISO 27701 and GDPR, and incident reporting and an ICT third-party register for DORA and NIS2.

Most organisations do not comply with just one framework. A SaaS company may hold ISO 27001, produce a SOC 2 Type 2 report and act as a GDPR processor; a payment firm may add PCI DSS and DORA. Running each one in its own spreadsheet means answering the same questions several times and keeping several copies of the same evidence.

The frameworks overlap heavily, but they differ in who checks you, what you must produce and how often.

This guide explains how multi-framework compliance works in practice, then takes each major framework in turn: who needs it, what your GRC software must support, and where to find our in-depth guide.

How does multi-framework compliance work?

Multi-framework compliance works by separating what you do (your controls) from why you do it (the framework requirements), so that one control and its evidence can satisfy several requirements at once.

• Common controls. You keep one internal control library, for example “Access rights are reviewed quarterly” or “Suppliers are risk-assessed before onboarding”. Each control has an owner, a description, a test method and a frequency.
• Mapping. Each control is linked to the clauses, criteria or articles it helps satisfy. A quarterly access review can map to an ISO 27001 Annex A control, a SOC 2 common criterion, a PCI DSS requirement and NIS2 Article 21. When you add a new framework, you map it to existing controls and only build what is missing.
• Evidence reuse. Evidence (a review record, a policy approval, a test report) is attached to the control, not to the framework. One upload then supports every framework the control maps to, and auditors see the same consistent record.

In practice: mapping saves the most effort where frameworks share structure, such as ISO 27001 and ISO 27701, or ISO 27001 and NIS2. It saves less where a framework has unique outputs, such as the DORA register of information or the PCI DSS scope of the cardholder data environment. Plan for those separately.

Which frameworks overlap, and where?

Seven control areas appear in nearly every security and privacy framework, which is why a common control set pays off quickly.

The differences sit in the detail, including how compliance is shown:

What should GRC software support for ISO 27001?

Who needs it: any organisation that wants independent proof of a working information security management system (ISMS). It is often a customer or tender requirement, especially in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 has mandatory clauses 4 to 10, covering context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement, plus 93 Annex A controls grouped into organisational, people, physical and technological themes. Certification involves a Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit, followed by surveillance audits during a three-year certificate cycle.

Your software should support:

• A risk assessment and treatment process with defined criteria, risk owners and treatment plans linked to Annex A controls.
• A Statement of Applicability that records which controls apply, why, and their implementation status. See our ISO 27001 Statement of Applicability guide.
• Document control: versioned policies, approvals and periodic review reminders.
• Internal audit planning, checklists, findings and corrective actions. Our ISO 27001 internal audit guide covers clause 9.2 in detail.
• Management review records and nonconformity tracking.
• An asset inventory linked to risks and controls.

For planning, our guide to the ISO 27001 certification timeline explains the phases and audits and how long each typically takes.

What should GRC software support for SOC 2 Type 2?

Who needs it: service organisations, typically SaaS, cloud and managed service providers, whose customers want assurance about how customer data is protected. It is most often requested by US customers.

SOC 2 is an attestation, not a certification. An independent CPA firm examines your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria: Security, which is always included, plus Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy where relevant to your service. A Type 1 report looks at control design at a point in time. A Type 2 report also tests whether controls operated effectively over an observation period, commonly between 3 and 12 months.

Because Type 2 is about consistency over time, your software should support:

• Mapping internal controls to the Trust Services Criteria in scope.
• Recurring tasks with owners, so periodic controls (access reviews, backup tests, vendor reviews) happen on schedule.
• Dated evidence collected throughout the period, not gathered just before fieldwork.
• Exception tracking, so deviations are recorded and explained.
• Risk assessment and vendor management records, both of which the common criteria expect.

Many organisations need both SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Our comparison of SOC 2 vs ISO 27001 explains the differences and how far one programme can support the other.

What should GRC software support for ISO 27701?

Who needs it: organisations that want certifiable proof of a privacy information management system (PIMS), whether they act as controllers, processors or both. Processors serving large customers often use it to answer privacy due diligence.

ISO/IEC 27701 adds privacy-specific requirements and controls for handling personally identifiable information (PII), with separate control sets for controllers and processors. The original 2019 edition was an extension to ISO 27001. The 2025 edition is a standalone management system standard, although most organisations still run it alongside ISO 27001 because the management system clauses and many security controls overlap.

Your software should support:

• A record of processing activities and data mapping linked to assets and systems.
• Privacy risk assessments and data protection impact assessments (DPIAs).
• Data subject request handling with deadlines and audit trail.
• Processor and sub-processor management, contracts and international transfer records.
• Shared management system records with your ISMS, so internal audits and management reviews cover both.

The same records usually support GDPR as well.

What should GRC software support for PCI DSS?

Who needs it: any merchant or service provider that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data, or that can affect the security of the cardholder data environment. Payment acquirers and card brands set the validation level.

The current version is PCI DSS v4.0.1, published by the PCI Security Standards Council in June 2024. Version 4.0 was retired at the end of 2024, and the requirements that were future-dated became mandatory on 31 March 2025. The standard has 12 principal requirements. Depending on your level, you validate through a Report on Compliance with a Qualified Security Assessor or a Self-Assessment Questionnaire.

Your software should support:

• A scoped inventory of system components in the cardholder data environment, and documented scope confirmation.
• Targeted risk analyses where the standard lets you set control frequencies.
• Policy and procedure management with assigned roles for each requirement.
• Third-party service provider records, including which PCI DSS requirements each provider is responsible for.
• Evidence organised by requirement for your assessor or questionnaire.

A GRC platform manages the programme; you still need approved scanning vendor scans and penetration tests. Our PCI DSS 4.0.1 compliance guide walks through the requirements.

What should GRC software support for NIST CSF?

Who needs it: any organisation that wants a structured, outcome-based way to describe and improve its cybersecurity. It is voluntary and widely used in the US and beyond.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, published in February 2024, organises outcomes into six functions: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover. Govern was added in version 2.0 and covers strategy, roles, policy and supply chain risk management. There is no certification; organisations build current and target profiles and close the gaps.

Your software should support:

• Assessments against CSF categories and subcategories, with maturity or implementation scoring.
• Current and target profiles, with gap remediation tasks.
• Mapping to ISO 27001 and other frameworks, so the CSF can serve as a reporting view over controls you already run.

Our article on NIST CSF 2.0 and the Govern function explains what changed.

What should GRC software support for GDPR?

Who needs it: controllers and processors established in the EU, and those outside the EU that offer goods or services to people in the EU or monitor their behaviour. The UK applies its own version, the UK GDPR.

The GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is built on accountability: you must be able to demonstrate compliance, not just achieve it. Your software should support:

• Records of processing activities under Article 30. See our GDPR ROPA guide.
• DPIAs under Article 35 for high-risk processing.
• Data subject requests, which must normally be answered within one month under Article 12(3).
• Personal data breach records and notification to the supervisory authority within 72 hours where required under Article 33.
• Processor due diligence and contracts under Article 28, and transfer records and transfer impact assessments for international transfers.
• Security of processing under Article 32, which can map to your existing ISO 27001 controls.

What should GRC software support for NIS2?

Who needs it: essential and important entities in the sectors listed in Annexes I and II of the NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555, generally medium-sized and large organisations, plus some entities designated regardless of size. Obligations apply through each Member State’s national law.

Your software should support:

• The ten cybersecurity risk-management measures in Article 21, mapped to your controls. Our guide to NIS2 Article 21 measures lists them.
• Management body approval of the measures and training records, as required by Article 20.
• Incident handling aligned to Article 23: an early warning within 24 hours of becoming aware of a significant incident, an incident notification within 72 hours and a final report within one month.
• Supply chain security assessments for direct suppliers and service providers.
• Registration data and entity scoping across Member States.

What should GRC software support for DORA?

Who needs it: EU financial entities listed in Article 2 of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554), including credit institutions, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, investment firms, crypto-asset service providers and insurers. DORA has applied since 17 January 2025. ICT third-party service providers designated as critical are also subject to EU oversight.

DORA has five main areas: ICT risk management, ICT-related incident management and reporting, digital operational resilience testing, ICT third-party risk management, and information sharing. Your software should support:

• A documented ICT risk management framework, with an inventory of ICT assets, the business functions they support and their dependencies.
• Incident classification against the regulatory criteria, a register of ICT-related incidents and major incident reports to your competent authority.
• A programme of resilience tests with scenarios, results and remediation tracking.
• The register of information on all contractual arrangements with ICT third-party service providers. Our DORA register of information guide explains its structure.
• Third-party due diligence, contract requirements, exit strategies and concentration risk analysis.
• Management body oversight records, since the management body is responsible for ICT risk.

DORA for fintechs and electronic money institutions

Fintechs that hold a payment institution or electronic money institution (EMI) licence in the EU are financial entities under DORA. Smaller entities that are exempt under the payment services or e-money rules may be able to apply the simplified ICT risk management framework in Article 16, but they are still in scope. Check your authorisation status and the proportionality rules with your regulator.

For EMIs, DORA sits alongside other obligations that a GRC platform can help organise:

• Safeguarding of customer funds. Supervisors in the UK and Ireland have increased scrutiny of safeguarding arrangements and audits. Our article on EMI safeguarding audits covers this.
• Payment services security requirements under PSD2, and the proposed PSD3 and Payment Services Regulation, which you can track as a gap analysis against your current controls.
• AML and financial crime governance. Screening and transaction monitoring tools do the operational work; the GRC layer holds the risk appetite, policies, methodology and evidence of oversight.
• PCI DSS, if you issue cards or handle card data.

UK-authorised firms are not directly subject to DORA. They fall under the FCA and PRA operational resilience rules instead.

How do you choose GRC software for several frameworks?

Choose software that reflects how your frameworks differ, not just how they overlap. Ask:

1. Coverage. Are all the frameworks you need available as structured content today, and can you add a framework or custom requirements later?
2. Mapping. Can one control map to several frameworks, and can you see the impact when a control fails?
3. Evidence. Is evidence stored once, dated, versioned and linked to controls, with an audit trail?
4. Framework-specific outputs. Does it produce a Statement of Applicability, a DORA register of information, regulatory incident timelines and privacy records, or will you need extra tools?
5. Privacy and security together. If you are subject to GDPR or ISO 27701, are ROPA, DPIA and data subject request modules part of the same platform as your ISMS?
6. Collaboration. Can control owners, suppliers and auditors work in the platform rather than by email?
7. Fit for your size. Enterprise suites such as Archer or ServiceNow tend to suit large organisations with dedicated administrators. Mid-sized teams usually need ready-to-use content and a shorter setup.

Enactia is one option built around cybersecurity and data protection. Its Compliance Universe maps requirements across frameworks, and the platform includes enterprise risk management, asset, policy, vendor and third-party, incident and data breach, ROPA, DPIA, data subject request and evidence management modules. Supported frameworks include ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 2, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, HIPAA, Cyber Essentials, GDPR, UK GDPR, NIS2 and DORA, among others.

Frequently asked questions

Can one GRC platform handle ISO 27001, SOC 2 and GDPR together?
Yes, if it maps a common set of controls to each framework and stores evidence against the controls. Much of the security work overlaps, but each framework still has its own outputs: a Statement of Applicability for ISO 27001, a period of operating evidence for SOC 2 Type 2, and privacy records such as ROPA and DPIAs for GDPR.

Is SOC 2 a certification?
No. SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by an independent CPA firm under AICPA standards. A Type 2 report gives an opinion on whether your controls were suitably designed and operated effectively over a defined period. GRC software helps you prepare and organise evidence, but only the auditor issues the report.

Do I need ISO 27001 before ISO 27701?
Under the 2019 edition, yes, because ISO 27701 was an extension to ISO 27001. The 2025 edition is a standalone standard, so it can be implemented on its own. Many organisations still combine the two because the management system requirements and many security controls are shared. Check transition arrangements with your certification body.

Does DORA apply to electronic money institutions?
Yes. Electronic money institutions are listed among the financial entities covered by DORA, which has applied since 17 January 2025. Smaller exempt institutions may use the simplified ICT risk management framework, but they remain in scope for the regulation.

How much of NIS2 can I cover with ISO 27001?
A large part of the Article 21 measures, such as risk analysis, incident handling, business continuity, supply chain security and access control, is covered by a well-run ISMS. You still need to add NIS2-specific elements, including registration, management body accountability and the 24-hour, 72-hour and one-month reporting cascade.

Running several frameworks from one programme

Treat frameworks as different views over one set of controls, risks and evidence. Build the common foundation once, map each framework to it, and then add the outputs that only that framework requires. That keeps answers consistent for auditors, customers and supervisors.

To see how this works across ISO 27001, SOC 2, ISO 27701, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, GDPR, NIS2 and DORA, contact us or book a demo or start your 14-day free trial.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.