Beyond Silos: Mastering Compliance Across PCI, ISO 27001, and SOC 2

Stop treating PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 as separate audits.

Organizations integrating these frameworks are cutting compliance timelines by 1-3 months, reducing costs by up to 25%, and transforming security from a checkbox exercise into a strategic advantage—here's how to do it.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) remains indispensable for any entity that processes cardholder data, with 12 requirements spanning secure networks, access control, monitoring, and policies.  Validated annually via Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) or self-assessments, its impact is clear: compliant organizations experienced 50% fewer cyberattacks   according to Verizon research.

Meanwhile, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 is the global benchmark for building, maintaining, and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). And System and Organization Control (SOC) 2, centered on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA’s) Trust Services Criteria (TSC), helps organizations demonstrate the design and operational effectiveness of controls relevant to security, confidentiality, availability, processing integrity, and privacy.

As organizations navigate these frameworks, expertise matters. VikingCloud operates one of the world's largest QSA practices, with over 100 consultants worldwide who collectively hold nearly 800 certifications across 83 areas of security, audit, and technology expertise—bringing depth to multi-framework alignment that few firms can match. ISO 27001 provides the overarching structure, whereas SOC 2 delivers customer-centric attestation aligned with U.S. expectations; both are highly respected but speak to different audiences and objectives.

Uncovering Overlap: The Power of Integration

Notably, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 share a considerable overlap, estimates range from 80% according to the AICPA, to a broader range of 53%–95%, depending on the scope and criteria selected. This overlap enables a strategic consolidation of evidence, documentation, and controls.

In parallel, PCI DSS aligns with both frameworks via controls that address access management, encryption, incident response, vendor oversight, and physical security, allowing organizations to consolidate policy, evidence, and workflows across these standards.

Organizations pursuing both PCI DSS and SOC 2 compliance concurrently report measurable time and cost benefits, including accelerating certification timelines by 1 to 3 months and achieving savings up to 25% from minimized duplication.

Why Integrated Compliance Strengthens Security and Business Outcomes

Adopting an integrated compliance strategy brings both structural and strategic advantages. With ISO 27001 as the ISMS backbone, organizations gain strong SOC 2 alignment, reduced governance friction, and global credibility while PCI DSS‑specific requirements integrate into the same system.

A combined approach is enabling organizations to support large amounts of government regulations by meeting new and evolving requirements in operational resilience. It also strengthens customer trust: certifications are strong signals of security rigor and accountability. The compliance trident of ISO 27001, SOC 2, and PCI DSS forms the bedrock of modern assurance and compliance programs.

Organizations are increasingly embracing operational embedded compliance, transforming compliance from a reactive, audit-driven scramble into a continuous, integrated cycle. This shift, driven by heightened risk awareness and agile delivery models, reduces audit fatigue, enables faster responses to third-party assessments, and compliance evolves from being a cost center to delivering measurable returns on investment.

Orchestrating Integration: A Strategic Blueprint

Successfully aligning PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 isn’t about running three audits in parallel. It’s about engineering a Unified Compliance Framework that eliminates redundancy, reduces audit fatigue, and elevates your organization’s operational maturity. Done right, it’s a strategic advantage, not a resource drain.

1. Conduct an Overlap Mapping and Gap Analysis

The first step is to analyze where your existing controls already satisfy multiple frameworks. There’s significant convergence in areas like access controls, encryption, incident response, vendor management, and logging.

A thorough gap analysis reveals where a single control, such as a centralized identity management system, can satisfy multiple requirements at once. Tools like control mapping matrices or the AICPA SOC 2 / ISO 27001 crosswalk are essential in uncovering these efficiencies. Tools like control mapping matrices or the AICPA SOC 2 / ISO 27001 crosswalk are essential in uncovering these efficiencies. Organizations working with experienced assessors—particularly those with representation on standards bodies like the PCI SSC's GEAR advisory group—gain access to insights that go beyond generic mapping templates.

2. Build From a Strong Foundation

Use ISO 27001’s Information Systems Management System (ISMS) as your compliance foundation as a structural “chassis” for policies, governance, risk assessments. Embed PCI DSS specific controls (e.g., secure coding standards, cardholder data segmentation) and SOC 2 requirements within this single, auditable system to avoid the trap of parallel compliance tracks that create duplicated work and contradictory policies.

3. Streamline Audit Planning for Efficiency and Sanity

Uncoordinated audits burn out teams and budgets. A smarter approach is to plan assessments on a synchronized calendar and engage advisors with deep certification breadth and specialized experience across multiple frameworks—organizations using a single partner for PCI DSS and SOC 2 with consistently realize significant cost efficiencies and faster turnaround.

The quality of your compliance partnership scales with the complexity of your environment. Organizations with cloud architectures, diverse payment channels, or distributed operations benefit from working with firms that can assign specialists—not generalists—to their engagements. A partner's ability to staff assessments with consultants who have direct experience in your industry and technology stack directly impacts assessment quality, timeline predictability, and the practical utility of recommendations

Modern compliance automation platforms support multi-framework workflows, enabling the scheduling, tagging, and management of artifacts for various assessments without duplication. However, these tools are most effective when paired with strategic guidance from experienced security and compliance professionals who can design your integrated approach and coordinate across auditors and frameworks.

4. Centralize Evidence and Policy Management

When evidence lives in five different spreadsheets across three departments, compliance breaks down fast. The goal here is unified documentation for master policies that address common control requirements with framework-specific appendices or cross-references.

This strategy aligns well with established professional standards.  AICPA recommends tagging artifacts according to Trust Services Criteria while linking to ISO 27001 Annex A controls for clarity and audit readiness. Invest in a Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform or compliance management tool that supports versioning, tagging, evidence uploads, and control mapping in one place.

5. Embrace Continuous Monitoring and Improvement

Both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 emphasize the principle of continuous improvement, encouraging organizations to move beyond periodic audit preparation toward year-round audit readiness. The most resilient compliance programs don’t merely pass audits, they maintain a proactive posture that ensures controls are consistently monitored, updated, and aligned with evolving risks. Organizations that embed continuous monitoring report lower compliance costs over time and faster detection of risks and anomalies.

It’s not just about technology, it’s about rhythm. Establish a quarterly cadence for internal reviews and cross-departmental updates. Integrate compliance into sprint planning and change management workflows, so new features or systems trigger control validation checks automatically.

6. Cultivate Internal Awareness and Shared Ownership

The success or failure of an integrated program often hinges on internal communication. Staff shouldn’t just memorize what “SOC 2, Type II” means they should understand how their actions support risk management and compliance across the business.

The Clorox Company, for example, uses internal compliance “champions” to reduce friction across departments to streamline evidence gathering and auditor interactions.

A culture of shared ownership ensures that when the next audit comes around, no one is left scrambling. Instead, they’re confidently speaking to a well-aligned, mature program.

Real-World Impact and Return on Investment (ROI)

Evidence shows that integrating SOC 2 and ISO 27001 can drive growth, stakeholder confidence, and operational maturity. On a macro level, organizations that strategically combine PCI DSS, SOC, and ISO efforts reduce redundant workloads, accelerate compliance timelines, and reinvest time and budget into security enhancements, not just audit preparation.

Compliance as a Strategy, Not a Chore

In 2025, regulatory and buyer expectations demand more than compliance box-checking. Organizations that architect unified, multi-framework programs position themselves not only to meet demand but to scale confidently and stay ahead of risk.

This is not compliance as a burden, it’s compliance as an operational amplifier. When built right, your approach to PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 becomes a differentiator, allowing teams to focus on growth and innovation.

How VikingCloud Can Help

Need help aligning PCI DSS, ISO, and SOC 2 without the chaos? VikingCloud maintains one of the industry's largest and most experienced QSA practices, with over 100 consultants worldwide averaging more than ten years of experience each. Our assessments are delivered by PCI QSAs, ISO 27001 Lead Auditors, SOC 2 practitioners, and specialists across all PCI SSC payment security standards (P2PE, PCI 3DS, PCI PIN, SSF, and more). And our assessment delivery team is backed by rigorous internal governance, including a Compliance Council of industry experts and an independent Quality Assurance team ensuring consistency and quality across every engagement.

Our reputation is built on results: we produce more Reports on Compliance (ROCs) and certify more applications than any competitor, performing twice as many assessments as our closest rival. With senior consultants who helped author the PCI DSS, and ongoing representation on the PCI SSC's Global Executive Assessor Roundtable (GEAR), we bring unparalleled depth to complex, multi-framework compliance strategies.

VikingCloud's assessment and risk management professionals specialize in multi-framework compliance strategies that maximize efficiency while ensuring comprehensive coverage. Our experienced team can help you:

• Conduct gap analyses to identify exactly where you stand across all required frameworks.
• Develop compliance roadmaps that minimize duplicate effort while ensuring complete coverage.
• Gain expert guidance on prioritization and sequencing decisions based on your unique business requirements.
• Coordinate with a single auditor and assessment provider for multiple frameworks to ensure consistent messaging and evidence preparation.
• Utilize ongoing advisory services that keep your compliance programs aligned with evolving requirements and business needs

Rather than navigating the complexity of multi-framework compliance alone, partner with experts who understand how to make these requirements work together for your organization's success.

Contact VikingCloud to discuss how our Risk Management advisory services and assessments can streamline your path to comprehensive compliance.

For more details on how to turn compliance from a check-the-box task into a competitive advantage, check out our on-demand webinar, Compliance Without Chaos: A Better Way to Manage PCI, ISO, & SOC.