Guides, organized by the situation you're actually in
Independent, no vendor commissions, written to be useful whether or not you ever talk to us. Start with the section that sounds like your week.
// Leaving RSA Archer
Leaving RSA Archer
For GRC professionals running Archer and weighing what comes next — renewals, extraction, destinations, and the honest case for staying.
Archer → Vanta Migration Guide
The complete step-by-step, from inventory through parallel run to decommission.
RSA Archer Alternatives
Vanta, Drata, AuditBoard, LogicGate, ServiceNow GRC — matched to exit profiles.
Archer Renewal Cost
Pricing drivers, hidden costs, and a 3-year total-cost calculator.
Archer Ownership & Future
The dated ownership timeline and a direct answer to the end-of-life question.
Exporting Data from Archer
Every export method, honestly assessed — and what a complete extraction requires.
Archer vs Vanta
A different-category comparison, including who should stay on Archer.
Archer vs Drata
The same honest category framing, Drata edition.
Archer Migration Checklist
37 items across 7 phases, printable, with realistic timelines.
// Outgrowing Spreadsheets
Outgrowing spreadsheets
For teams whose compliance lives in a spreadsheet that's starting to creak — how to tell, and what moving actually involves.
Signs You've Outgrown Spreadsheet Compliance
The recognizable breaking points — and when the spreadsheet is honestly fine.
How to Move Off the Spreadsheet
What transfers, honest hour estimates, and the cleanup that makes imports painless.
What Actually Transfers
Expectation-setting for the first 30 days on a platform — including the gap list.
Spreadsheet-to-Platform Checklist
30 items across 6 phases, from inventory to retiring the spreadsheet.
// Stalled on Your Platform
Stalled on your platform?
For teams that bought Vanta, Drata, or Secureframe, connected a few integrations, and drifted — paying for a platform that isn't finished. Stalling is common, and finishing is usually cheaper than switching.
Bought a Platform, Still Not Compliant?
The eight-month arc, why programs stall, and a self-check: salvageable stall or genuine misfit.
How to Finish a Stalled Implementation
Triage the red dashboard, run the restart week, and get to audit-ready — honest effort ranges included.
Finish or Switch? The Honest Fork
The signals in both directions — and why switching a stalled program usually re-stalls it.
// Switching Platforms
Switching platforms
For teams already on Vanta, Drata, or a peer — migrations between platforms, honest comparisons, and choosing well the first time.
Vanta → Drata Migration Guide
What transfers, what's manual, timelines, and the mistakes that derail it.
Drata → Vanta Migration Guide
The reverse trip, including the device-agent rollout nobody budgets for.
How to Choose a GRC Platform
Start from your buying trigger, not the feature grid.
Vanta vs Drata
The most common shortlist, compared independently.
The Other Platforms: Secureframe & Sprinto
When the cheaper challengers belong on your shortlist — and when they don't.
Signs Your Platform Isn't Scaling
Seven signals your current tool is running out of road.
35 Questions to Ask
The interactive contract-negotiation companion.
// Renewals & Negotiation
Renewals & negotiation
For anyone holding a renewal quote that made them blink — your options, your leverage, and the math.
Vanta Renewal Options
Negotiate, stay and optimize, or switch — an independent take.
Drata Renewal Options
The same three paths, with Drata-specific levers.
Archer Renewal Cost
What drives the number and what you can do about it.
Renewal Increase Calculator
Is your increase normal? Instant verdict and negotiating leverage.
// Working with vCISOs
Working with vCISOs
For companies being pitched vCISO services — or paying for one and unsure what they're getting.
Can't find your situation? Tell us what's actually going on.
A free 30-minute consultation maps your exact situation — what data moves, what doesn't, whether your timeline is viable, and what the switch will actually cost in time and disruption.
Independent advice. Not affiliated with any platform vendor.