Audit Tool to Compliance OS: AI Cross-Framework Mapping for Delve

Context / Background

Delve positions itself as a compliance automation platform. It helps companies prepare for certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR by automating evidence collection, monitoring cloud infrastructure, and guiding teams through audit prep. Instead of relying on spreadsheets and manual checklists, Delve uses integrations and automation to streamline the audit process.

Who uses Delve today?

• Startups racing to achieve SOC 2 or GDPR so they can close enterprise deals.
• Mid-market companies moving into regulated industries, needing HIPAA or PCI-DSS to scale into new markets.
• Enterprises pursuing advanced standards like ISO 27001 and emerging ones like ISO 42001 (AI Management) to meet global compliance demands.

These customers often don't have large compliance teams sometimes it's the CTO, Head of Security, or a single compliance manager wearing multiple hats. For them, speed and simplicity are critical.

The Current Customer Journey

1. Buy Delve - Triggered by an immediate business need (e.g., "we can't close this enterprise deal until we're SOC 2 certified"). Delve connects with core systems (AWS, GCP, GitHub, Okta) to begin collecting evidence.
2. Get Certified - Within weeks or months, Delve helps the team organize controls, gather proofs, and pass their first audit. The certificate becomes a major milestone — unlocking deals and building trust with customers.
3. Expansion Pressure - Growth brings new demands from customers, partners, and regulators. A startup that achieved SOC 2 may now need ISO 27001 for Europe, or HIPAA/PCI-DSS to sell into healthcare or fintech. Compliance shifts from a one-time project to a continuous, multi-framework journey.
4. Risk of Churn - Today, managing multiple frameworks in Delve means repeating work, duplicating evidence, and remapping controls from scratch. Without a clear path to handle multi-framework compliance, customers may turn to broader GRC platforms — turning Delve into a stepping stone rather than a long-term partner.

The Problem

For many Delve customers, compliance doesn't stop at the first certificate.

• A startup may get SOC 2 to close deals with U.S. customers — but when expanding to Europe, they also need ISO 27001 or GDPR.
• A healthcare SaaS might achieve HIPAA, only to face customer demands for PCI-DSS or ISO 27001.
• Enterprises often juggle three, four, or more frameworks as they grow internationally.

The challenge:

• Today, each framework inside Delve is handled in isolation.
• Customers must duplicate evidence, manage overlapping requirements manually.
• Overlap is significant — BD Emerson estimates that organizations may see up to 85% overlap between ISO 27001 Annex A controls and SOC 2 criteria when implemented with similar scopes (BD Emerson). Yet Delve does not currently surface or automate these overlaps, leaving customers to repeat work unnecessarily.

The Insight

At first glance, multi-framework compliance looks like a burden: each new standard adds another layer of checklists, evidence requests, and auditor demands. For Delve customers, this often feels like starting over every time they expand into a new market or industry.

But here's the hidden truth: most compliance frameworks are built on the same foundations.

• SOC 2 requires access restrictions — ISO 27001 asks for access control policies.
• HIPAA mandates encryption of health data — PCI-DSS requires encryption of payment data.
• GDPR emphasizes incident response timelines — SOC 2 and ISO both require incident management.

Different language, different auditors — but the underlying control is often the same.

Industry mappings back this up: BD Emerson estimates that organizations may see up to 85% overlap between ISO 27001 and SOC 2 criteria when applied to similar scopes (BD Emerson). This means much of the work a customer does to satisfy SOC 2 could also count toward ISO 27001, HIPAA, or even emerging standards like ISO 42001 (AI Management).

This is where GenAI and Graphs come in. By applying Gen AI to Delve's existing checklists of controls (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS), and structuring those controls in a graph model, Delve can:

• Align Controls Across Frameworks → GenAI interprets the text, while GNNs connect equivalent controls across frameworks (e.g., SOC 2 ↔ ISO 27001 ↔ HIPAA).
• Reuse Existing Evidence → artifacts like AWS encryption settings or Okta logs are linked across the graph, making reuse transparent and auditable.
• Flag True Gaps → the graph highlights which nodes (controls) are not connected, so customers focus only on unique requirements.
• Stay Current → when frameworks update, the graph structure adapts and GenAI remaps the impacted nodes automatically.

Instead of compliance feeling like "do it all again," Delve could reframe it as "build once, reuse everywhere."

How It Works

1. Add a New Framework - When a company expands from SOC 2 to ISO 27001, HIPAA, or GDPR, Delve activates its AI engine.
2. GenAI + Graph Mapping - Generative AI interprets the text of controls, while Graph Neural Networks link them into a connected compliance graph. Existing evidence (e.g., AWS encryption settings, Okta logs) is automatically reused wherever equivalent controls are detected.
3. Surface the Gaps - The graph highlights only the unmatched nodes — the truly new requirements that need attention — instead of forcing teams to redo everything.
4. Continuous Updates - As standards evolve (SOC 2 2025, ISO 27001 updates, EU AI Act), the graph adjusts relationships and GenAI remaps affected controls. Customers stay compliant without starting over.

Customer Experience Flow

• Dashboard View: Green = fully satisfied by existing evidence. Yellow = partially satisfied (needs an update). Red = new, unique requirement.
• Task Suggestions: Auto-generated tickets in Jira. Slack notifications for pending approvals.
• One-Click Evidence Reuse: "This AWS S3 encryption proof satisfies 3 controls across SOC 2 + ISO 27001 + HIPAA."

Impact / Value

For customers

• Time-to-framework ↓ when adding ISO/HIPAA after SOC 2 (evidence reuse + auto-mapping)
• Duplicate uploads ↓ via one-click reuse with citations.
• Audit rework ↓ thanks to change tracking (standards deltas auto-flagged).
• Team focus ↑: tasks auto-routed to owners (Jira) with Slack nudges.

For Delve (business)

• Retention ↑: multi-framework accounts churn far less than single-framework.
• Expansion ARR ↑: natural upsell to 2nd/3rd frameworks.
• Sales velocity ↑: "We don't start from scratch" becomes a proof point in late-stage deals.
• Enterprise posture: positions Delve as a compliance OS, not a point tool.
• workload ↓ number of employees that will work with client

Rollout Plan (MVP → v1)

MVP (Phase 1)

• Collect requirements and baseline mappings across frameworks.
• Start with SOC 2 ↔ ISO 27001 (highest overlap, most common customer need).
• Features: GenAI + Graph-driven auto-mapping, Green/Yellow/Red statuses for controls, One-click evidence reuse, Exportable mapping report for auditors.
• Integrations: Read-only evidence ingestion, Push tasks into Jira, Slack notifications for approvals and updates.
• Gather early feedback and refine accuracy

v1 (Phase 2)

• Expand to HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR mappings.
• Add confidence scoring and rationale (why two controls are linked).
• Provide partial-match explanations for Yellow items.
• Enable change-tracking: automatically show which controls are impacted by framework updates (e.g., SOC 2 2025).
• Build auditor view with mapping transparency and evidence provenance.

Risks & Mitigations

• Risk: False positives in mappings → Mitigation: human-in-the-loop approvals, confidence scores, and full mapping rationale.
• Risk: Auditor interpretation differences → Mitigation: configurable org-level policies from previous audits that passed and overrides in the graph.

Market & Competitive Landscape

As companies grow, they rarely stop at a single certification. A startup might begin with SOC 2 to close U.S. enterprise deals, then expand into ISO 27001 for Europe or HIPAA/PCI-DSS for regulated industries. The ability to manage multiple frameworks in one platform is critical for retention.

Vanta

• Supports a wide range of frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, and more).
• Recent Update (Sept 5, 2024): Vanta announced "intelligent cross mapping" across frameworks to reduce duplicative work when companies pursue multiple certifications. (Vanta, Powering the Future of GRC)

Drata

• Strong integrations and automation for evidence collection.
• Supports 20+ frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, etc.).
• Allows customers to map a single control across multiple frameworks and reuse the same evidence, reducing duplicate work.

Delve's Opportunity

• Go beyond offering framework templates by delivering intelligent, AI-driven mapping.
• Use GenAI + graph models to automatically detect overlaps, reuse evidence, and surface only true gaps.
• Provide continuous remapping as standards evolve (SOC 2 2025, EU AI Act, ISO 42001), eliminating manual rework.
• Position Delve not just as a certification tool, but as the compliance operating system that grows with customers and keeps them ahead of regulatory change.

Closing

Compliance shouldn't feel like starting from zero every time a company grows. With AI-powered cross-framework mapping, Delve can transform duplicated effort into lasting value.

For customers, it means faster certifications, less rework, and a smoother path into new markets. For Delve, it means stronger retention, natural upsells, and a position not just as an audit prep tool, but as the compliance operating system companies never outgrow.

Build once. Reuse everywhere. Grow with Delve.