August 2026. Collecting evidence for ISO 27001 surveillance does not require a heavy GRC suite. SMEs can automate pragmatically: exports from IdP, ticketing, cloud audit logs and a shared evidence folder with fixed structure.
What to automate first?
- access reviews: quarterly export + approval workflow;
- patch/compliance: endpoint or cloud posture report;
- changes: tickets with security label from Jira/ServiceNow;
- backup/restore: test report template + reminder.
Without GRC overkill
Tag evidence per control in one index (spreadsheet or light tool). Auditors want samples — not 10,000 files. Link to audit evidence and preparation pages.
Plan a monthly evidence health check: missing quarterly reviews, expired certificates, open CAP without ticket. That prevents last-minute stress before surveillance.
