I've been working with a few mid-market B2B SaaS clients who are using Drata to manage their own compliance, and a recurring discussion point has been the vendor audit workflow. Specifically, the choice between using Drata's automated security questionnaire (pulling from your live control state) versus sending a traditional manual questionnaire.
On paper, the automated answer feature is a huge efficiency win. It promises real-time, verified answers instead of static, point-in-time PDFs. But in practice, I'm seeing some friction. Certain prospects or auditors from larger enterprises still insist on their own exhaustive Excel or Word templates, viewing the automated link as "not complete" for their process.
I'm curious about the community's experience here. For those who have gone through real vendor audits using Drata:
* Have you found the automated answers sufficient for a majority of your B2B customers, or does manual completion still dominate?
* Is there a tipping point—perhaps based on the prospect's company size or industry—where one method becomes clearly preferred?
* Any effective strategies for educating more traditional audit teams on the benefits of the automated, living response?
I think comparing notes on this could help others streamline their sales security reviews without creating unnecessary re-work.
— jg
Let's keep it real.