Let’s face it: there are plenty of things you’d rather – and probably should – be doing when a Security Questionnaire comes across your desk that you’re asked to complete.

SecurityPal knows the pressure Questionnaires can put on internal projects and team inertia. We’ve experienced it ourselves.

Customers regularly tell us what they’d do with the days they would get back by reimagining Security Reviews. Their feedback reminds us that Security Questionnaires aren’t just a business hurdle; they also get in the way of our personal lives.

Welcome to the first in a series where we answer the burning question: What Could You Be Doing If Not A Security Questionnaire?

“Work on proactive solutions to increase [our] security posture”

Security Teams are usually most impacted by program delays and tradeoffs due to Security Questionnaires, since their expertise is almost always required for completion. Those tradeoffs can be costly – we’re talking about millions in lost revenue for every data breach.

Proactive Security Posture enhancements keep you ahead of a rapidly shifting threat landscape instead of simply responding to attacks after they happen. There’s no need to learn the cost of a data breach yourselves.

“Spend more time building features”

The tradeoffs that Security Questionnaires force aren’t limited to Security Teams. Engineering, IT, and Sales Engineering are too often stakeholders or drive the Questionnaire process themselves instead of developing the features and value your customers ask for.

Companies can’t afford to dedicate multiple customer-facing teams to Security Questionnaires when they need more than even to elevate the customer experience and out innovate their peers.

Organizations commonly use a central repository or Answer Library to complete inbound Questionnaires. But to leverage an Answer Library, you first have to continuously maintain it; new customers won’t accept even day-old data. That’s why working with a Questionnaire partner unlocks twice the bandwidth to drive your products forward – no more Questionnaires or Answer Library upkeep.

“My CTO would be very happy”

Completing Questionnaires can feel thankless, but an organization’s ability to complete them efficiently is a C-Suite priority because of the tradeoffs mentioned above for Security and customer-facing teams.

Executives know how essential articulating a robust Security Posture in a timely manner is to acquiring the most sought-after enterprise customers.

That doesn’t mean they know how overwhelming Questionnaires can be for revenue-generating teams like sales and solutions engineering, though. Sales professionals only spend 28% or their time actually selling, according to Salesforce’s latest State of Sales Report. Over 9% of their non-selling time is spent dealing with proposals and Questionnaires. Getting rid of that work can unlock 30% more selling time for your team.

“Get some rest”

Companies that overwork employees lower their productivity, risk burnout, and experience higher regretted attrition than teams with effectively-managed workloads. Considering the time and cost of hiring cybersecurity analysts, there’s a strong business case for promoting employee health.  

Questionnaires don’t have to be a drag on morale or productivity. SecurityPal’s scaled analyst team – underpinned by the same bleeding-edge technology suite we give our customers – has spent over 400,000 hours completing them. We’ll ensure you can reach your organizational and personal goals while demonstrating a robust Security Posture.

Look out for Part 2 of this series, featuring a few funny customer responses!

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Curious what SecurityPal can do for you? Book a meeting with us today.