Imagine this scenario: You have spent two years building your SOC 2 program on Vendor A's platform. You have thousands of evidence files—policy approvals, access reviews, background checks.
Then, Vendor A raises their price by 40%. You decide to switch to Vendor B.
You go to export your data, and you discover the hard truth: There is no "Export All" button. Or worse, the export button gives you a 5GB JSON file that no human auditor can read.
You are now in Evidence Jail. To leave, you must manually download thousands of screenshots one by one, or lose your entire audit history.
The Ingestion vs. Extraction Asymmetry
SaaS vendors are incentivized to make onboarding frictionless and offboarding painful. In the compliance space, this asymmetry is dangerous because audit history is a legal requirement.
The "Proprietary Format" Trap
Some vendors will claim they support "Full Data Export." But when you look closely, the export is a proprietary zip file that only their platform can read.
If you cancel your subscription, you can't open the files. This means you don't actually own your compliance evidence; you are just renting access to it.
The Audit Risk: If an auditor asks for evidence from last year (to prove continuous operation), and you have switched tools, you might be unable to produce it. This is a "Scope Limitation" that can result in a qualified opinion on your report.
The "Exit Strategy" Checklist
During your evaluation, you must be annoying about data portability. Do not sign a contract until you have verified the following:
- Human-Readable Exports: Can I export all my policies and evidence as PDFs/CSVs?
- Bulk Download: Is there a single button to download everything, or do I have to click into each control?
- Link Independence: Do the evidence links work without logging into the platform? (i.e., Are they actual files, or just internal redirects?)
The "Escrow" Clause
For enterprise contracts, ask for a "Post-Termination Access" clause. This guarantees you read-only access to your data for 90 days after cancellation, giving you time to migrate without pressure.
For more contract negotiation tips, see our Consultant's Guide to Decision Making.
Your Data, Your Responsibility
Ultimately, the auditor certifies your company, not your software vendor. If the vendor loses your data or holds it hostage, it is your audit that fails.
Treat your compliance data like your financial data. You wouldn't use an accounting system that didn't let you export your General Ledger. Don't use a compliance system that won't let you export your Evidence Locker.