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Complyan GRC Platform for Compliance
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Drata raised $328M. Vanta hit $10B valuation. Secureframe secured $79M. These are well-funded, well-built platforms. And for a US startup pursuing SOC 2 or ISO 27001, they’re excellent choices.

But if you’re sitting in Dubai, Riyadh, or Doha trying to achieve compliance with UAE IA v2.1, NCA ECC, SAMA CSF, VARA, or CBUAE — you have a problem.

The Framework Gap

Let’s look at what the major platforms actually support versus what GCC organizations need:

Framework Drata Vanta Secureframe Sprinto Complyan
SOC 2 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
ISO 27001:2022 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
PCI DSS v4 ✅ ✅ ✅ ⚠️ ✅
HIPAA ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
UAE IA v2.1 ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
NCA ECC ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
SAMA CSF ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
VARA ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
CBUAE ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
NESA ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
ADHICS ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
DESC ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
Saudi PDPL ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
CBK CSF (Kuwait) ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅

See the pattern? Every GCC-specific framework is a blind spot for Silicon Valley platforms.

It’s Not Just About Framework Libraries

Framework support isn’t just having a list of controls. It’s understanding the context:

What GCC Compliance Actually Requires

  • Arabic documentation support — Many GCC regulators require bilingual (Arabic/English) policy documentation
  • Local data residency awareness — UAE, Saudi, and Bahrain have data localization requirements
  • Regulator-specific reporting formats — NCA, TDRA, and SAMA each have their own assessment templates
  • Cross-framework mapping with GCC context — How UAE IA maps to NESA maps to ISO isn’t the same as SOC 2 to ISO
  • Sector-specific overlays — Financial services in UAE need CBUAE + UAE IA + potentially NESA + PCI DSS

The “Custom Framework” Workaround Doesn’t Work

Most global platforms offer “custom frameworks” as their answer to regional requirements. In theory, you can create your own control library. In practice:

  • You’re doing the mapping work yourself (the hardest part)
  • No pre-built evidence templates aligned to regional expectations
  • No cross-mapping to other GCC frameworks
  • Updates when regulations change? That’s on you
  • You’ve just built an expensive spreadsheet

What Regional Organizations Actually Need

The GCC Compliance Platform Checklist

  • ✅ Pre-built control libraries for UAE IA, NCA ECC, SAMA CSF, VARA, CBUAE, NESA, DESC, ADHICS
  • ✅ Automated cross-framework mapping between GCC + international frameworks
  • ✅ Evidence templates aligned to regional regulator expectations
  • ✅ Cyber risk quantification (boards in the GCC are increasingly demanding CRQ)
  • ✅ Bilingual support for documentation and reporting
  • ✅ Understanding of data residency requirements
  • ✅ Track record with GCC entities — government, financial services, critical infrastructure
  • ✅ Local support and implementation teams who speak the regulatory language

The Bottom Line

Drata, Vanta, and Secureframe are great products — for their market. If you’re a Series B startup in San Francisco trying to close enterprise deals that require SOC 2, they’re perfect.

But if you’re a bank in Riyadh, a government entity in Abu Dhabi, or a fintech in Dubai, you need a platform that speaks your regulatory language natively — not one that asks you to build it yourself.

The GCC compliance market is too complex, too nuanced, and too high-stakes for workarounds.

Complyan was built in the GCC, for the GCC. With native support for 20+ regional and international frameworks, automated cross-mapping, and integrated cyber risk quantification, it’s the platform that understands your regulatory reality. See it in action →

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