Fortinetics
Approach

We don't audit.
We architect.

Most compliance firms perform an assessment and hand you a report. That model fails the organizations we serve — teams of fifty to five hundred people pursuing a certification for the first time, without dedicated security staff. Our model is different: we execute the full program alongside your team, from first kickoff to assessor sign-off.

Engagement phases

Six phases. Sequenced so evidence is a byproduct, not a scramble.

Phase 01

Discovery

1–3 weeks

We start with your actual current state, not your aspirational one. Document review, stakeholder interviews, environment walk-through. At the end, you have an honest gap analysis against the target framework — and we have the context to shape the engagement correctly.

Phase 02

Architecture

2–6 weeks

We design the target-state compliance architecture. Control selection, boundary definitions, technical specifications, policy framework outline. Deliverables include reference architectures, control mapping matrices, and a phased implementation plan you can actually execute.

Phase 03

Implementation

varies by scope

We build it with you. Technical controls deployed, configurations hardened, identity and access management refined, logging and monitoring pipelines operational. Not a slide-deck implementation — real infrastructure, real evidence.

Phase 04

Documentation

parallel to implementation

We author your policy library, System Security Plan (or equivalent), Statement of Applicability, POA&M, and incident response plan. Everything written to the evidence standard that an assessor expects — specific, dated, traceable.

Phase 05

Evidence & Assessment

assessment window + prep

We produce and organize the evidence artifacts — screenshots, config exports, log samples, policy sign-offs, training records. We run a pre-assessment dress rehearsal. When the assessor or auditor arrives, we sit with you through every interview.

Phase 06

Continuous

optional ongoing

Certification is the beginning, not the end. We design a continuous monitoring program that matches the framework's expectations, run quarterly health checks, and stand ready to refresh the package ahead of surveillance audits or re-certification windows.

Commercial model

Firm fixed-price or time & materials. Milestones, never retainers.

Firm Fixed Price (FFP)

For well-scoped programs.

One fixed price for the full engagement. Milestone-based payments. Fifty percent at execution, remainder on monthly installments through delivery. You know the total cost up front; no surprises, no scope creep billed as "extras."

Best fit: Level 2 certifications, SOC 2 sequences, SCIF accreditation support with clear scope.

Time & Materials (T&M)

For evolving or advisory scope.

Hourly rates against a not-to-exceed ceiling. Monthly invoices with a running total. Budget alerts at 75 percent and 90 percent of the ceiling so you're never surprised. Change orders handle scope expansion explicitly.

Best fit: advisory engagements, continuous monitoring, pre-certification readiness work, fractional CISO.

Try the scoping tool → Book a scoping call Five minutes interactive · thirty minutes live
Operating principles

Four rules that shape every engagement.

We don't audit and leave.

Traditional consultancies perform a gap assessment, hand you a 200-page report, and disappear. Your internal team — already overloaded — has to figure out what to actually do. That model does not work for organizations without dedicated security staff. Our model is full-stack execution from the first kickoff to assessor sign-off.

Vendor-agnostic.

We don't resell tools, take kickbacks, or push a preferred toolchain. The architecture serves the business — not a Splunk, Okta, or Microsoft license. When your team asks "what should we buy?", the answer is based on your actual situation, not a partner-tier quota.

Evidence-generating operations.

The most common CMMC and SOC 2 failure mode is retroactive evidence collection — scrambling to screenshot configs the week before the assessor arrives. We set up operations that generate assessor-grade evidence as a byproduct of normal work. The audit becomes a packaging exercise, not a fire drill.

We tell you what won't work.

If your target timeline is unrealistic, we say so up front. If you're pursuing the wrong certification for your actual market, we flag it. If a requirement is going to cost more than the contract it enables, you'll hear that early. Honest scoping saves real money.

Start here

A scoping call is the honest first step.

Thirty to forty-five minutes. We walk through your current posture, the target, and constraints. If the fit is wrong, we say so. If the timing is wrong, we say so. If it's right, we shape an engagement that actually works.

Book a scoping call →