Technical Audit

A technical audit is a comprehensive, independent evaluation of your software application's codebase, infrastructure, security practices, and development processes. Expert auditors analyze code quality, identify security vulnerabilities, assess performance bottlenecks, review cloud infrastructure, and evaluate team workflows to uncover hidden risks and technical debt. It's especially valuable when preparing for due diligence, experiencing technical issues without clear root cause, or needing unbiased validation of technical health before major investments or decisions.

Hire a technical audit consultant when you're: (1) Preparing for fundraising and investors request technical due diligence, (2) Acquiring a company and need independent validation of technical claims, (3) Experiencing performance, security, or stability issues without clear causes, (4) Onboarding as new CTO or technical leader needing rapid system understanding, (5) Preparing for compliance certification (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA), or (6) Deciding whether to modernize or rebuild a legacy system. The ideal time is before making significant technical investments or when external validation would reduce risk and accelerate decision-making.

Technical audits typically cost $8,000-$15,000 for focused assessments of specific areas (1-2 weeks), $15,000-$35,000 for comprehensive audits covering all technical aspects (2-3 weeks), or $35,000+ for enterprise environments requiring deep compliance audits and multi-system evaluation (3-4 weeks). Pricing varies based on application complexity, number of systems, compliance requirements, and depth of analysis. Most clients save 10-50x their audit investment by identifying issues that would have cost $100K-$500K+ to remediate after production incidents, failed due diligence, or emergency rewrites.

Typical deliverables include: (1) Executive summary suitable for non-technical stakeholders, investors, or board members, (2) Detailed technical report covering code quality, security vulnerabilities, performance analysis, infrastructure assessment, and process evaluation, (3) Prioritized findings matrix ranking issues by severity and business impact, (4) Effort estimates for each recommendation with time, cost, and resource requirements, (5) Phased remediation roadmap with quick wins, short-term, and long-term improvements, (6) Security vulnerability report with CVE references and remediation guidance, (7) Performance profiling data with optimization recommendations, and (8) Compliance gap analysis if applicable. All deliverables are confidential and owned by you.

Technical audits typically take 1-4 weeks depending on scope and complexity. A Focused Audit takes 1-2 weeks and covers specific areas like security or performance. A Comprehensive Audit takes 2-3 weeks and includes full evaluation of code, security, performance, infrastructure, and processes. Enterprise Audits run 3-4 weeks for complex, multi-system environments with compliance requirements. Timeline depends on application size, number of systems, access complexity, and depth of analysis. Most clients see immediate value from quick wins identified in first week, with full remediation ROI realized within 3-6 months.

StepInsight differentiates through: (1) Real builders, not just auditors - our team has 10+ years building production systems, so we understand practical trade-offs vs. theoretical perfection, (2) Actionable recommendations - we provide specific code examples, architecture diagrams, and implementation guidance, not just high-level findings, (3) Prioritized by business impact - we rank issues by actual business risk and ROI, not just technical severity, (4) Integrated service model - we can implement remediations if you choose, eliminating handoff friction, and (5) Confidential and unbiased - we have no product to sell you, just honest assessment of your technical health. Our audits lead to action, not shelf-ware.

Minimal disruption. Most of our audit work happens independently through code repository access, automated scanning tools, and infrastructure analysis. We typically need: (1) Initial 1-2 hour kickoff meeting to understand context and priorities, (2) 2-4 hours total of developer time for Q&A and clarifications spread across the engagement, (3) Access to documentation, monitoring tools, and deployment processes, and (4) Final 1-2 hour presentation of findings. Your team continues normal development throughout. Many clients schedule audits during slower periods or between major releases, but it's not required. We work asynchronously and accommodate your team's availability.

We follow responsible disclosure practices. If we discover critical security vulnerabilities, we: (1) Immediately notify your technical leadership through secure channel, (2) Provide initial mitigation guidance to reduce immediate risk, (3) Document the vulnerability with proof-of-concept and remediation steps, (4) Help you assess business impact and prioritize response, and (5) Support your team in implementing fixes if needed. We maintain strict confidentiality throughout - findings are never disclosed to third parties without your explicit approval. Many clients use our audit to proactively fix vulnerabilities before public disclosure, bug bounty programs, or penetration testing discovers them.

Yes, we have expertise across all major languages and frameworks. Our team has audited applications built with: JavaScript/TypeScript (React, Vue, Angular, Node.js), Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI), Ruby (Rails), PHP (Laravel), Java (Spring Boot), C# (.NET), Go, and mobile (Swift, Kotlin, React Native, Flutter). We also audit legacy systems in older languages. Our methodology is language-agnostic, focusing on security principles, architecture patterns, and best practices that apply universally. For specialized or niche technologies, we bring in language-specific experts to ensure accurate assessment.

After audit delivery, you have three options: (1) Self-remediate with your internal team using our detailed roadmap and recommendations, (2) Hire external developers and we provide oversight to ensure proper implementation, or (3) Continue working with StepInsight for remediation implementation - we transition from audit to execution seamlessly. We provide 2 weeks to 1 month of post-delivery support (depending on engagement tier) to answer questions during remediation. Many clients return for follow-up audits after 6-12 months to validate improvements and catch new issues as systems evolve.

Absolutely. We sign NDAs before beginning any audit, and all findings are strictly confidential. You own the audit report and all deliverables - you decide who sees them and when. We never disclose client names, findings, or technical details without explicit written permission. For fundraising or M&A due diligence, we can provide findings directly to investors or acquirers under NDA per your instructions. Our team has experience handling sensitive audits for publicly-traded companies, regulated industries, and high-profile startups where confidentiality is paramount.

Yes, compliance preparation is a common audit focus. Our compliance-focused audits include: (1) Gap analysis identifying where your current practices fall short of SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, or other framework requirements, (2) Risk assessment and control evaluation, (3) Documentation review and improvement recommendations, (4) Technical control implementation guidance (encryption, access controls, logging, monitoring), and (5) Remediation roadmap prioritized by compliance readiness. We've helped 30+ companies achieve certification by identifying and addressing gaps 3-6 months before formal audit. While we don't provide formal certification (only authorized auditors can), we prepare you to pass with confidence.

Yes, we offer flexible ongoing arrangements including: (1) Monthly retainer advisory (4-8 hours/month) for technical guidance on remediation priorities or architecture decisions, (2) Quarterly re-audits to track remediation progress and identify new issues, (3) Fractional CTO services where our senior engineers act as your interim technical leadership, or (4) On-demand consulting for specific technical challenges. Ongoing advisory ensures remediation stays on track and your technical health continues improving. Retainers typically range from $3,000-$12,000/month depending on scope and seniority level required.

Healthy technical debate is expected. Our process includes: (1) Daily or weekly check-ins during the audit to share preliminary findings and get your context, (2) Severity ratings based on industry standards (CVSS for security, for example) with clear justification, (3) Prioritization that balances technical severity with business impact and your specific constraints, (4) Multiple remediation options presented for major findings with pros/cons and trade-offs, and (5) Final review meeting where you can challenge findings and we provide additional evidence or adjust recommendations. Ultimately, you own the technical decisions. We provide expert, unbiased perspective, but you choose which recommendations to implement based on your risk tolerance, budget, and priorities.

Yes, with some constraints. For third-party code: (1) If you have source code access (open-source, licensed code, contracted development), we audit it like your own code, (2) For compiled binaries or obfuscated code, we perform behavioral analysis, security testing, and vulnerability scanning, (3) For SaaS integrations, we audit integration security (API keys, data handling, permissions) and vendor risk assessment (security posture, compliance certifications, SLA terms). We help you evaluate vendor technical claims, identify integration risks, and recommend contract terms that protect you. Many clients use vendor audits during procurement or when consolidating tech stacks.