The Reciprocity® Community Edition is now available and is your chance to see the new Reciprocity ROAR Platform in action and it…is…totally…free! This is a great opportunity for you to not only get an instance of the ROAR Platform but also to see how the Reciprocity Community can provide you with meaningful content and connections to other organizations facing similar challenges. And did I mention that it’s free?!?
What’s included with the Reciprocity Community Edition
One of the core concepts of the new ROAR platform is getting you up and running as quickly as possible, and the Community Edition is no different. All functionality and content in the Community Edition is geared towards the goal of building a program around SOC 2 compliance. Supporting content includes a SOC 2 scoping questionnaire, a “how-to” article that introduces you to SOC 2 and ways you can obtain your first SOC 2 report. All of this adds up to a solid collection of detailed instructions on how to leverage the platform to accomplish your goals around SOC 2. Additionally, you can utilize the Reciprocity Community as a great way to connect with your peers for valuable insight and recommendations.
Quick and simple to get started
Getting started with the Community Edition is as easy as setting up your access and following the in-app tips and recommendations to build your first Program. Once you’ve set up your SOC 2 Program, articles and instructional videos will walk you through the additional steps of setting up your first Risk Register, conducting your first internal audit and creating a remediation plan for any identified issues.
As new functionality for the ROAR Platform is released, the Community Edition will receive the same updates, including powerful integrations with cloud computing platforms like AWS and Azure, ticketing integrations and more. The ROAR Platform will also continue to expand your ability to perform real-time Risk Performance Management by leveraging the work you’re already doing for your compliance initiatives.
Mindshift: Start with your business initiative
Another core concept of the ROAR Platform is its focus on changing the approach to a Risk Management Program by focusing on desired business outcomes rather than more granular goals like, “I want to remain PCI compliant.” This is a shift from how many organizations currently approach risk and compliance management but can provide better insight into what’s really in the way of achieving your organization’s goals. Functionality in the ROAR Platform focuses on this changing approach and the Community Edition uses the SOC 2 standard to illustrate this concept.
The ROAR Platform (including the Community Edition) uses pre-built and pre-mapped content including frameworks, control sets and risk registers, among others to give you the ability to start testing and reporting off of compliance from day one. The mappings between the content can also provide you with integrated functionality by leveraging compliance testing results to automatically generate residual risk scores!
Best Practices for Using the Reciprocity Community Edition
Once you’re ready to get started, focus on the following steps:
- Determining Your SOC 2 Scope – Use the free SOC 2 Scoping Questionnaire in the Reciprocity Community to identify which of the Trust Services Criteria you should focus on.
- Create Your SOC 2 Program – Use the ROAR wizard to set up your Program using the SOC 2 framework, SCF control set, risk and threat registers.
- Create an Audit – Use the ROAR wizard to set up your audit and start testing your controls.
Most importantly, remember to use the Reciprocity Community for additional information around the SOC 2 framework and numerous how-to videos and articles that will guide you through using ROAR, including a list of best practices for using the application.
Get Started Today!
The benefits of the ROAR Platform are too many to list in this blog and they will only keep growing. With that, the Community Edition is a great way for you to have insight into how the ROAR Platform can help you right away.
Get started by signing up for your free instance of the Reciprocity Community Edition and see how this new approach can help you jumpstart your compliance and risk initiatives today!