What kind of reports are service organization control (SOC) reports?

Service Organization Control (SOC) reports are specifically designed to evaluate and offer insights into the controls that service organizations have in place to safeguard client data. They document the effectiveness of these controls and provide assurance to users about the service organization's processes and compliance with relevant standards.

There are different types of SOC reports, such as SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3, each serving various purposes, such as financial reporting or system controls concerning security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy. The core purpose of these reports is to inform stakeholders—like clients or business partners—about how the organization manages its data and protects it, which directly relates to their trust in the service provider.

This focus on service organization controls is crucial because it allows organizations that depend on third-party services to understand the level of risk associated with outsourcing services and to ensure that their data will be handled securely.