The 5 Biggest Pain Points of TISAX® (The "How To")

Table of Contents

Introduction
Pain Point 1: Massive Time and Resource Drain
Pain Point 2: High and Unpredictable Costs
Pain Point 3: Lack of In-House Expertise
Pain Point 4: The "Evidence Collection" Nightmare
Pain Point 5: Disruption to Company Culture
Turning Pain into Progress

Introduction

 
Stop me if this sounds familiar.

You kicked off your TISAX® certification thinking it would be a structured, if slightly tedious, checklist exercise. A few months in, though, it feels like the wheels are coming off. Engineers are stuck in endless meetings instead of shipping features. Finance is chasing invoices for tools and audits you didn't even know you'd need. HR is rewriting policies from scratch. And you? You're left wondering how something that's supposed to prove your company's maturity can feel so chaotic.

Here's the thing: you're not alone. Almost every company that goes through TISAX® certification runs into the same operational headaches. They're messy, expensive, and frustrating, but they're also predictable.

That's where this article comes in. You're about to learn the five biggest pain points companies face during TISAX® certification and, more importantly, how to get ahead of them so they don't derail your team or your culture.

Pain Point 1: Massive Time and Resource Drain

 
Ask anyone who's been through TISAX® what the biggest cost is, and they won't say money. They'll say time.

The process pulls your most valuable people away from their actual jobs. Engineers spend hours in compliance workshops instead of shipping code. IT teams chase down screenshots and system logs instead of improving infrastructure. HR swaps recruitment and retention for rewriting policies no one will ever read twice.

The result? Weeks of lost productivity that directly slows down product development and revenue growth.

The Solution:

• Assign a dedicated compliance lead: Even if part-time, having a single owner for TISAX® keeps the process moving and reduces random interruptions for everyone else.
• Use project management tools: Treat TISAX® like any other major project. Map out tasks, owners, and deadlines in Jira, Asana, or Monday to avoid last-minute scrambles.
• Automate wherever possible: Tools like Vanta, Drata, or IX can cut down the time spent gathering evidence and monitoring controls.
• Set boundaries for engineers: Limit compliance "pulls" to defined sprints instead of constant interruptions. This protects product velocity.

Pain Point 2: High and Unpredictable Costs

 
If time is the biggest drain, money comes a close second. TISAX® certification is expensive and not in a neat, predictable way you can budget for.

There are the obvious costs: ENX registration fees, five-figure audit invoices, and subscriptions for compliance tools and security software. But the real shock comes from the hidden ones — remediation costs for gaps you didn't plan for, and the opportunity cost of pulling people off revenue-generating work.

For many companies, the sting isn't just the size of the bill. It's the unpredictability. What started as a "manageable investment" often spirals as new requirements surface (see also our post "The Real Price of TISAX®").

The Solution:

• Budget realistically: Assume certification will cost more than the initial quote. Build in a 20–30% buffer for unplanned remediation or tool spend.
• Phase investments: Prioritize critical controls first, then spread additional spend across quarters instead of absorbing it all at once.
• Leverage existing tools: Before buying new platforms, check if current systems (like Microsoft 365 or AWS) already meet certain requirements.
• Compare audit providers: Audit fees vary. Get multiple quotes, but don't only chase the lowest cost. Balance price with the auditor's reputation.

Pain Point 3: Lack of In-House Expertise

 
Most startups and mid-sized companies don't have a compliance or security expert on staff. That means regulatory requirements are often tackled on the fly, with teams trying to decipher complex standards they've never seen before.

The danger here isn't just inefficiency. It's uncertainty. Without experience, it's hard to know whether you're actually meeting requirements, or if you're setting yourself up for rework once the auditor starts asking tough questions. Teams waste hours debating interpretations, writing policies from scratch, or copying generic templates that don't actually pass muster.

What makes this painful isn't just the learning curve. It's the constant feeling of "not knowing what you don't know." Instead of confidence, there's second-guessing at every step.

The Solution:

• Bring in external expertise early: Hiring a consultant, even short-term, can save months of trial-and-error.
• Upskill someone internally: Identify a compliance "champion" and give them training or certifications. This builds long-term capability.
• Lean on your auditor: Auditors can clarify requirements if you ask. Don't be afraid to use them as a resource.
• Join peer communities: Engage with industry groups or forums where others share what worked for them. The TISAX® Info Hub is your shortcut to practical know-how.

Pain Point 4: The "Evidence Collection" Nightmare

 
If there's one part of TISAX® that teams universally dread, it's evidence collection. For every control, you need proof — screenshots, logs, policies, records, and more.

On paper, that sounds simple. In reality, it's a relentless cycle of digging through systems, formatting screenshots, and chasing down colleagues for documentation. Evidence quickly becomes scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and shared drives, making it a nightmare to keep organized. And when auditors ask for updates or corrections, the whole cycle starts again.

What makes this so draining is that it's repetitive, manual, and error-prone. Highly skilled employees end up spending days clicking around dashboards just to capture proof that the controls are in place. It's mind-numbing work that nobody wants to own.

The Solution:

• Centralize documentation: Store evidence in a single repository (like Confluence, Notion, or SharePoint) so it's easy to find and update.
• Use compliance automation tools: Platforms like Drata or Vanta integrate with your systems to auto-collect evidence, reducing manual effort.
• Standardize templates: Create repeatable templates for policies, screenshots, and logs. Or use dedicated TISAX® automation platforms like IX to access 4,000+ pages of templates and implementation guidelines. This cuts down rework.
• Document as you go: Don't leave evidence gathering to the last minute. Make it part of your ongoing workflow so the audit isn't a mad rush.

Pain Point 5: Disruption to Company Culture

 
TISAX® doesn't just change processes, it changes how people work. Engineers suddenly have to follow stricter deployment rules. Employees face new access restrictions that slow them down. Policies appear that feel bureaucratic and out of touch with how the team actually operates.

Individually, each change seems minor. Collectively, they create friction. People begin to see compliance as a blocker rather than an enabler. Morale dips as the team feels buried under red tape, and "security" becomes a dirty word associated with extra work instead of customer trust.

The cultural impact is often underestimated. TISAX® isn't just about controls and audits, it reshapes day-to-day workflows. If mishandled, it can breed resentment and resistance, making certification even harder to sustain long term.

The Solution:
 

• Explain the "why": Frame compliance not as red tape but as proof to customers and partners that the business takes security seriously.
• Embed controls into workflows: Whenever possible, choose tools that integrate seamlessly with existing processes (e.g. SSO instead of manual password resets).
• Balance strictness with practicality: Not every control has to be maximally restrictive. Find solutions that protect data without grinding productivity to a halt.
• Celebrate progress: When milestones are hit — like passing a readiness check — acknowledge the effort. It helps people see compliance as a shared achievement, not just extra work.

Turning Pain into Progress

 
TISAX® certification is tough — there's no sugar-coating it. It eats time, drains budgets, stretches teams thin, and even tests company culture. If you've felt frustrated or overwhelmed during the process, you're not alone. These five pain points are the same ones that every company struggles with.

The good news? They're not unsolvable. With the right planning, tools, and mindset, you can cut down wasted effort, keep costs under control, and protect your team's culture while still hitting certification.

That's exactly why we built the TISAX® Info Hub: to give you practical resources, proven strategies, and clarity at every stage of the certification journey. Instead of navigating blind, you get the shortcuts, templates, and insights that save time, money, and stress.

TISAX® will never be effortless, but it doesn't have to feel impossible. With the right approach and the right support you can turn certification from a painful distraction into a competitive advantage.