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grComply vs GRC platforms

The UK and European GRC market splits into two clusters: compliance-automation tools built for fast SOC 2 certification, and enterprise IRM suites built for six-figure regulated programmes. grComply is the operating system in between — multi-framework, tenant-branded, cloud to air-gap — with security posture management, privacy and AI governance, audit delivery and awareness training in the same record. Five plans from £1,200 per month.

Market landscape

Two clusters dominate UK/EU shortlists

Cluster	Typical vendors	Buyer
Compliance automation / trust	Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Sprinto, Thoropass, Scytale, Scrut	SaaS, fintech, scale-ups needing fast certification
Enterprise / mid-market GRC	OneTrust, ServiceNow GRC, Archer, Hyperproof, LogicGate, AuditBoard, Anecdotes	Regulated enterprises, multi-framework IRM, privacy + risk

grComply's wedge: organisations that outgrow spreadsheet GRC and "US SOC 2–first" tools, but cannot justify six-figure ServiceNow/Archer programmes — especially where data residency, hybrid/on-prem, local frameworks, and audit delivery matter.

Strengths

Twelve reasons teams choose grComply

Each strength pairs what grComply does with why it matters to UK, European and Gulf buyers.

01 · Multi-framework, one inventory

ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST, CIS, DORA, UK/EU overlays and your own frameworks share one control tree with cross-framework mapping and impact preview.

Programmes rarely stop at one standard — Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, UK GDPR and NIS2/DORA together is common.

02 · Security posture in the compliance record

Scanning, asset owners, device baselines, cloud and container benchmarks and code scanning feed the same findings, risk and evidence records.

NIS2, DORA and FCA expectations call for continuous ICT risk discovery, not uploaded PDFs.

03 · Cloud to air-gap

Cloud for speed, hybrid sync for regulated estates, and fully on-premises with online or offline licence renewal.

Many European and Gulf buyers need controlled hosting that US-first SaaS trust platforms cannot offer.

04 · Risk on your methodology

Matrix size, weights, appetite line and level names are yours — with a preview of every rescored risk before you save.

Risk committees need the register to match the methodology they approved.

05 · Privacy and AI governance built in

DPIAs, data discovery and an AI system register sit beside the risk register, using the same scoring and evidence.

UK GDPR, the EU AI Act and ISO/IEC 42001 reviews ask for these records together.

06 · Auditor-grade delivery

Audit planning, observations, peer countersign, formal control tests, sign-offs and signed, versioned reports.

Assurance buyers need a structured loop, not a shared drive folder.

07 · Awareness training that counts as evidence

Campaigns by team, certificates and phishing simulation — completion lands on the controls that require it.

Annual-awareness clauses in ISO 27001, SOC 2 and PCI DSS are evidenced automatically.

08 · AI that stays accountable

The assistant answers from your own workspace, links its sources and drafts — a person always confirms.

Procurement now asks how AI is governed inside the tool.

09 · Obligations and regulatory change

An obligations register and regulatory change tracking linked to the controls that satisfy them.

Regulators ask to see the obligations library, not only the controls.

10 · Client brand first

Client logos and names own the workspace and every export package.

Consultancies and groups deliver programmes under their own or their client's brand.

11 · Framework-agnostic core

Standards are data. New UK, EU, Gulf or sector packs load without rebuilding the product.

National and sector overlays change faster than vendor template libraries.

12 · Five clear plans

Starter, Professional, Enterprise Cloud, Enterprise and Enterprise Assured — from £1,200 per month, quoted in GBP or USD.

Buyers match plan to residency, scale and support needs up front.

Every feature

The complete grComply feature list

12 categories, 59 features and 132 sub-features — governance, security posture, risk, assurance, people, AI, reporting and deployment in one system of record. See which plan includes what.

Govern

Framework and control library

Frameworks as data

Import by JSON, YAML, CSV or API, or author in-app
Structure validated before publishing
13+ frameworks built in; new ones load without a software release

Versioning with impact preview

Added, changed and retired controls shown before adoption
Workspaces stay on a version until they choose to move
Evidence that still applies carries forward

Evidence requirements per control

Document, policy, procedure, log, scan, attestation or narrative
Optional review cadence
Completion computed live from what is attached

Applicability and not-applicable decisions

Justification recorded on the control
Generated not-applicable declaration for the audit file
Statement of Applicability kept in step with the programme

Custom frameworks

Internal baselines, group standards and contractual schedules
Same evidence, progress and export behaviour as published standards

Scope that grows with the business

Add or remove frameworks at any time
Mapped evidence counts on day one
Removing a framework keeps its evidence and audit trail

Govern

Cross-framework mapping

Crosswalk as data

Equivalent, partially satisfies, supports, implements and mitigates relationships
Confidence and rationale on every link

Mapping sets

Activate a whole stack — for example ISO 42001, ISO 27001 and NIST AI RMF — in one action

Coverage matrix

Satisfied directly, satisfied through mapped evidence, gap or not applicable — across every framework

Suggested mappings, confirmed by people

Confidence score and clause-level rationale
Batch approve or reject; rejected suggestions do not return

Traceability graph

Upstream and downstream mapped clauses for any control
Evidence-propagation paths; read-only view for auditors

Mapping impact preview

Preserved, broken and newly available mappings before a new version is adopted

Govern

Evidence, narratives and records

Versioned, requirement-linked evidence

One artefact satisfies many requirements
Approval before evidence counts
Validity periods and expiry

Generated control narratives

Editable drafts from requirements, evidence and findings
Reviewed and published, never static pages

Custom fields without code

Text, number, date, dropdown, multi-select, file and person fields
On controls, risks, findings, evidence, policies and more
Appear in lists, filters and exports immediately

Signed export packages

PDF plus evidence bundle assembled from live data
Cryptographically signed and client-branded

Workflow designer

Define the states and transitions a record moves through

Govern

Policies, obligations and regulatory change

Policy lifecycle

Draft, review, approve, publish and scheduled re-approval
Full version history
Linked to the controls each policy supports

Obligations register

Source, jurisdiction, owner and review cadence
Linked to controls across frameworks
Obligations with no control flagged as gaps

Regulatory change tracking

Changes linked to affected obligations and frameworks
Owner alerts and escalation when a change is ignored

Policy search

Plain-language questions answered from published policies only
Answers link to the policies they relied on

Discover

Vulnerability management

Agentless external scanning

Open ports, TLS and certificates, DNS, exposed services
Known vulnerabilities and subdomain-takeover risk
Scheduled per asset group

Internal scan agents

Container, virtual machine or binary
Outbound-only registration
Internal ranges, endpoints, directory services and cloud configuration

Unified findings register

Every engine feeds one register
Scored by severity, exploitability and asset criticality
Routed to gap, risk or remediation — a person confirms

Vulnerability enrichment

Public vulnerability intelligence and known-exploited status attached before triage

Findings to corrective action

Owner, due date and closure trail
Control status reflects open findings until resolved

Discover

Security posture management

Asset inventory with named owners

Category-driven onboarding decides how each asset is assessed
Accountable person per asset, falling back to the group owner
Findings linked to the asset they affect

Device registration and configuration baselines

Registered devices checked against baselines
Gaps raised to the accountable person automatically

Cloud, container and Kubernetes benchmarks

CIS cloud benchmarks for major cloud providers
Image vulnerability scanning and the CIS Kubernetes Benchmark
Run as signed scripts — no stored cloud credential

Source code and configuration scanning

Repository scanning feeding the same findings register

Data discovery to DPIA

Finds where personal, payment and credential data lives — never the values
Suggests linking or drafting a DPIA; a person confirms

Scan authorisation and windows

Signed authorisation per asset
Scan windows, blackout periods and pre-scan notices
Signed, checksummed scripts you can read before running

Assess

Risk, privacy and AI governance

Configurable risk methodology

Matrix from 3×3 to 7×7, weights, appetite line and level names
Preview which risks are rescored before saving
Inherent and residual scores with full history

Risk from any source

Created from a finding, audit observation or DPIA, or entered directly
Linked back to its source

Heat map and formal acceptance

Drill from a cell to the risks behind it
Executive acceptance with rationale, person and time

DPIA workflow

Trigger questions and linked processing activity
Residual risk on your own methodology
Sign-off before closure

AI system register

Purpose, risk tier, owner and dependencies
Linked to ISO/IEC 42001 and NIST AI RMF controls and to assets

Assure

Audit delivery

Audit planning

Frameworks, controls, timeline and auditor in scope
Auditor and reviewer access granted per workspace

Observation workflow

Raise, respond, review, close or reopen
Every step timestamped and attributed

Peer review and countersign

Independent second review before observations are final

Formal control testing

Method, population, sample, result and effectiveness rating
Test history per control

Control sign-off and versioned reports

Conclusions alongside the tests that support them
Signed, versioned audit report packages

People

Security awareness training

Course studio

Purpose and framework mapping required before a course publishes
Lessons, quick checks and a final test

Campaigns by team

Audiences by team or group, due dates and grace periods
Reminders to people who are behind

Course player and certificates

Resume where you left off
Quick checks before moving on and a fairly issued final test
Certificates with validity periods

Coverage and team results

Coverage tracked against a 95% target
Team leaderboards and people past grace

Phishing simulation

Lure templates with warning signs explained
Results by team; individual results only for administrators, with a recorded reason

Training as evidence

Completion counts against every mapped control
Training-only seats separate from platform users

Assist

AI assistant

Answers from your own workspace

Every answer links to the controls, evidence, findings or policies it used
Conversations kept and searchable

Drafting help

Policies, control narratives and audit observation responses
Evidence-to-control mapping suggestions

Accountable by design

Every output labelled as a draft; a person confirms
Never changes a control status
What is shared with the AI is stated on screen; can be switched off
Private AI model option on Enterprise plans

Report

Reporting and oversight

Live dashboards

Readiness by framework, control and owner
Executive overview with posture history

Scheduled reports

Built from the same widgets as the dashboard
Delivered on a schedule

Notifications

Evidence reviews, observations, due dates, regulatory changes and training
Respects each person's preferences

Tamper-evident audit trail

Who changed what, when, from what, to what
Kept 1 to 7 years depending on plan

Run

Administration, security and deployment

Role-based workspaces

Administrator, compliance officer, executive, auditor, peer reviewer, staff and training-only learner
Workspace isolation enforced at the data layer

Client branding and account security

Client logo and name on the workspace and every export
Multi-factor authentication

Multi-client operation

One console to run many client workspaces — for groups and consultancies

Deployment choice

Cloud in the UK/EU or in-country
Hybrid with category-level sync controls
Fully on-premises with an air-gapped option
Licence activation online or offline

Capability comparison

grComply vs compliance automation, enterprise GRC and spreadsheets

Capabilities by category, including where the alternatives are stronger. Compliance-automation tools lead on third-party integrations; enterprise GRC suites lead on board, ethics and IT service management breadth. grComply leads where compliance, security posture, risk and audit need to live in one record — and where data must stay on premises.

Capability comparison of grComply with other approaches
Capability	grComply	Compliance-automation tools	Enterprise GRC suites	Spreadsheets and shared drives
Frameworks and mapping
Multi-framework control library	Built in	Common	Common	Manual
Cross-framework mapping with coverage matrix	Built in	Common; depth varies	Common	Manual
Custom and national frameworks loaded as data	Built in	Varies	Common, with configuration effort	Manual
Framework version impact preview	Built in	Uncommon	Varies	No
Evidence and governance
Automated evidence from third-party SaaS integrations	Limited — scanning engines, agents and signed scripts	Strength — large integration catalogues	Varies	No
Policy lifecycle and approvals	Built in	Common	Common	Manual
Obligations register and regulatory change tracking	Built in	Uncommon	Common, often a separate module	Manual
Signed, client-branded export packages	Built in	Uncommon	Configurable	Manual
Security posture
Built-in external and internal vulnerability scanning	Built in	Usually through integrations	Usually through integrations	No
Assets, device baselines, cloud, container and code scanning in one view	Built in (Enterprise Cloud and above)	Partial, through integrations	Usually separate tools	No
Risk, privacy and AI
Risk register on your own methodology	Built in	Basic to moderate	Strength	Manual
DPIA workflow	Built in	Uncommon	Strength in privacy-led suites	Manual
AI system register	Built in	Emerging	Emerging	Manual
Assurance and people
Audit engagements with peer countersign and control testing	Built in	Varies	Strength in audit-led suites	Manual
Security awareness training and phishing simulation	Built in (add-on seats)	Some include basic training	Usually a separate product	No
AI assistant with linked sources and human confirmation	Built in	Common	Emerging	No
Deployment and commercial
Hybrid, fully on-premises or air-gapped	Built in (Enterprise plans)	Rare	Available on some suites	Local files only
Board, ethics and ESG governance suite	Not included	Rare	Strength	No
Deep IT service management platform linkage	Not included	Varies	Strength in platform-based suites	No
Typical time to first value	Weeks	Weeks	Months	Immediate, but manual

Category assessments are general and directional; individual products vary and change. Check current capabilities with each vendor before buying.

Which plan fits

grComply plans by customer type and industry

Each plan suits a different kind of organisation. Start from where your compliance data must live and how many frameworks you run; your industry usually settles the rest.

grComply plan applicability by customer type and industry vertical
Plan	Type of customer	Industry verticals	Typical frameworks
StarterCloud (UK/EU)	Mid-market organisations running one compliance programme with a small compliance team — up to 200 platform users.	SaaS and technology, fintech start-ups, professional services, digital agencies, mid-market manufacturing.	ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, UK GDPR
ProfessionalCloud (UK/EU)	Growing organisations running several frameworks in parallel, scanning more often and training the wider workforce — up to 500 platform users.	Scale-up SaaS and fintech, payments and e-commerce, healthcare and life sciences, logistics, audit and consultancy firms.	ISO 27001 with SOC 2 and GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27017 and 27018
Enterprise CloudCloud — UK/EU or in-country	Large organisations content with cloud hosting that need unlimited frameworks, full security posture management, seven-year history or in-country data residency.	Insurance, retail groups, higher education, healthcare networks, regional banks and fintechs under data-residency rules.	DORA, NIS2, NIST CSF, CIS Controls, ISO/IEC 42001, sector regulator frameworks
EnterpriseHybrid or on-premises, air-gapped option	Regulated organisations whose compliance data must stay on their own infrastructure, with in-house IT to run the platform.	Banking and financial services, telecoms, government and public sector, energy and utilities, critical national infrastructure, defence supply chain.	DORA, central-bank and telecom-regulator frameworks, ISA/IEC 62443, MITRE ATT&CK, national cyber security frameworks
Enterprise AssuredHybrid or on-premises, run with Mutex Systems	Organisations that want the platform and the outcome — implementation, 24/7 support, quarterly compliance reviews and an awareness roll-out — without a large in-house GRC team.	Regulators and national CERTs, state-owned enterprises, banks preparing for regulatory inspection, telecom operators, large public bodies.	Regulator-mandated national frameworks alongside ISO 27001 and sector standards

FAQ

How grComply compares

How is grComply different from Vanta or Drata?

Vanta, Drata and Sprinto-class tools are compliance-automation-first, built around SOC 2 and fast certification, with large third-party integration catalogues. grComply is a broader GRC operating system — multi-framework mapping, built-in scanning and security posture management, risk, DPIAs, audit delivery and awareness training — deployable in the cloud, hybrid or fully on-premises.

How is grComply different from OneTrust or ServiceNow GRC?

OneTrust, ServiceNow and Archer-class platforms are enterprise suites with broad board, privacy and IT service management modules and longer implementations. grComply focuses on cyber compliance, security posture, risk and audit in one record, reaches first value in weeks, and runs hybrid or air-gapped where data must stay in-house.

What features does grComply include?

grComply covers twelve categories: framework library, cross-framework mapping, evidence and records, policies and obligations, vulnerability management, security posture management, risk with DPIA and AI governance, audit delivery, security awareness training, an AI assistant, reporting, and administration and deployment. The compliance core is on every plan.

Which grComply plan suits banks, telecoms and government?

Enterprise or Enterprise Assured. Both run hybrid or fully on-premises with an air-gapped option, so compliance data stays on your infrastructure. Enterprise Assured adds implementation, 24/7 support with a named customer success manager, quarterly compliance reviews and an awareness roll-out.

Where are other tools stronger than grComply?

Compliance-automation tools have larger catalogues of third-party SaaS integrations for automatic evidence collection. Enterprise GRC suites offer board, ethics and ESG governance and deep IT service management linkage, which grComply does not include. grComply is strongest where compliance, security posture, risk and audit must share one record.

Does grComply support UK, EU and Gulf frameworks?

Yes. Frameworks are data, so overlays such as Cyber Essentials Plus, NIS2, DORA, UK GDPR, SAMA and national cyber security frameworks, as well as your own baselines, load without waiting for a software release.

Can grComply run fully on-premises for data residency?

Yes. The Enterprise and Enterprise Assured plans run hybrid or fully on-premises, with online or offline licence renewal and an air-gapped option. Enterprise Cloud offers in-country cloud hosting where on-premises is not required.

See how grComply fits your compliance programme

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