How SOC 2 Type II Certification Benefits Digital Signage Buyers Working With Resellers

The Security Question Resellers Can't Answer on Their Own

When an enterprise buyer purchases digital signage through a reseller, the relationship typically works like this: the reseller handles the sale, the site surveys, the installation, the hardware, the training, and the ongoing local support. They're your day-to-day partner. They know your buildings, your IT team, and your content workflow.

But the CMS platform your content runs on? The cloud infrastructure hosting it? The access controls, the encryption, the data handling, the incident response procedures? Those belong to the software provider behind the reseller's solution.

This creates a question that enterprise procurement and security teams are asking more and more frequently: "How do I verify the security of a platform I'm buying through a channel partner?"

Your reseller can tell you about their own installation practices. They can describe how they'll configure the network and set up your accounts. But they can't independently verify the security of the cloud platform itself. They didn't build the CMS. They don't manage the infrastructure. They don't control the software development lifecycle or the data handling policies. For those assurances, you need evidence from the platform provider.

firmChannel is developed and operated by Corum Digital Corporation, and Corum holds SOC 2 Type II certification covering the firmChannel platform. This article explains what that means for enterprise buyers purchasing through firmChannel's reseller network, and why it changes the security conversation in the channel.

Why Platform-Level Security Matters More Than You Think

It's tempting to evaluate the security of a signage deployment based on what you can see: the hardware in the ceiling, the network cable in the wall, the login screen on the dashboard. Those are real components and they matter. But the largest security surface area in any cloud-managed signage deployment sits behind all of that, in the platform itself.

The firmChannel CMS manages user authentication across every customer and every reseller deployment. It stores and transmits content to connected players. It processes API connections to third-party data sources. It handles role-based permissions that determine who can publish content, manage devices, and modify system settings. It runs on cloud infrastructure that requires proper configuration, patching, monitoring, and access control.

If any of those layers have weaknesses, it doesn't matter how well the local reseller installed the hardware. A compromised CMS credential can push unauthorized content to every screen in a deployment. An unpatched server vulnerability can expose customer data. An insufficient access control model can let a single compromised account cascade into a system-wide incident.

This is why platform-level security certification matters for channel buyers. Your reseller is responsible for deploying the system correctly in your environment. The platform provider is responsible for building and operating a system that's worth deploying. SOC 2 Type II certification is how Corum Digital proves, with independent evidence, that the firmChannel platform meets that bar.

What Corum's SOC 2 Type II Certification Covers

SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is an auditing framework from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It evaluates how a service organization protects customer data, and it's built around five Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Security is the only mandatory category; organizations select additional criteria based on the services they provide and the commitments they make to customers.

What makes SOC 2 credible is independence. Only licensed CPA firms can conduct the audit and issue the report. And the Type II distinction is what separates real operational proof from paperwork. A Type I audit checks whether controls are properly designed at a single point in time. Type II evaluates whether those controls operated effectively over an extended observation period, typically six to twelve months. The auditor samples evidence across that entire window, checking that access reviews happened on schedule, that code changes went through documented approval, and that incident response procedures were followed when real events occurred.

Corum Digital's Type II certification covers the firmChannel platform specifically. The audit scope includes the cloud infrastructure hosting the CMS, player management systems, data storage and transmission, user access controls and authentication, the software development and change management process, vulnerability management and penetration testing, incident response procedures, backup and disaster recovery, and employee security practices including hiring, training, and access revocation.

For SOC 2 signage reseller channel buyers, this means the platform underneath every firmChannel deployment has been independently validated. Not by the reseller. Not by Corum's own marketing team. By an independent auditing firm whose professional reputation depends on the accuracy of their findings.

The Trust Transfer: How Certification Flows Through the Channel

Here's the concept that makes SOC 2 Type II particularly valuable in a reseller model: the certification covers the platform, not the individual deal.

When a firmChannel reseller deploys the system at your hospital, your corporate campus, or your retail locations, the CMS they're configuring for you runs on the same certified infrastructure, the same certified codebase, and the same certified operational processes that were examined during the audit. The reseller didn't build a separate instance of the platform for your project. They're deploying the platform that Corum built, operates, and maintains under the controls that the auditor validated.

This means the security assurance travels from Corum's audit through to your specific deployment. Your reseller provides the implementation expertise. Corum provides the certified platform. And the SOC 2 Type II report provides the independently verified evidence that connects those two layers.

For enterprise buyers, this is a significant advantage over purchasing from a reseller whose upstream platform provider has no independent certification. In that scenario, the buyer has to take the platform's security entirely on faith, or attempt to conduct their own assessment of a company they have no direct relationship with. Neither option is practical at scale.

With firmChannel, the buyer can request Corum's SOC 2 Type II report through their reseller and review it directly. It's a standardized document that your security team knows how to read and your compliance officers know how to file. For any SOC 2 signage reseller transaction, the report answers the majority of questions that a vendor risk assessment would typically cover, without requiring your reseller to reverse-engineer answers about a platform they didn't build.

What This Means for Your Procurement Process

If you've been through an enterprise procurement cycle recently, you know that vendor security evaluation is no longer a formality. Security questionnaires are longer. Third-party risk management programs are more structured. Compliance teams expect documentation, not assurances.

When you're buying through a reseller channel, this process gets complicated. The reseller is your commercial relationship, but the security risk sits primarily in the platform. Procurement teams often struggle with this because their vendor risk process is designed for direct relationships. Who do you assess? The reseller? The platform provider? Both?

Corum's SOC 2 Type II certification simplifies this significantly. For the platform layer, the report provides the independently validated evidence your security team needs. It covers access controls, encryption, change management, monitoring, incident response, availability, and personnel security. Your team doesn't have to send a fifty-page questionnaire to a company they've never spoken to. The report answers most of those questions already.

For the deployment layer, your reseller provides the local implementation knowledge. They coordinate with your IT team on network configuration, handle the installation, document the deployment, and train your staff. That's their domain of expertise and responsibility.

This separation is clean and practical. The platform's security is validated by the auditor. The deployment's quality is validated by the reseller's track record and your own experience working with them. Neither side has to pretend they're responsible for the other's domain.

For organizations managing secure signage vendors across multiple facilities or regions, this model scales well. The SOC 2 report doesn't expire after one deployment. It covers the platform continuously through the observation period, and Corum undergoes recurring audits to maintain the certification. Your vendor risk file stays current without re-assessing from scratch every time you add a new location.

Regulated Industries and the Compliance Advantage

For buyers in healthcare, financial services, government, and education, working with compliant signage partners isn't optional. These industries all require documented due diligence on third-party vendors who connect to organizational networks or handle data. The specific regulation varies (HIPAA, NIST, FERPA, PCI DSS, and others), but the underlying requirement is the same: show your auditors that you vetted the vendor's security posture with more than a handshake.

When a firmChannel reseller presents a proposal to a hospital's IT security committee or a university's procurement office, being able to include Corum's SOC 2 Type II report changes the dynamic entirely. Instead of a drawn-out back-and-forth about security capabilities, the reseller provides a document the committee already knows how to evaluate. That translates to shorter sales cycles, fewer procurement objections, and the ability to compete for contracts that require documented security evidence as a qualifying condition.

What the Certification Does Not Cover

Being straightforward about boundaries builds more credibility than overclaiming, so here's what Corum's SOC 2 Type II certification does not extend to.

It doesn't cover the reseller's own business operations. The reseller's internal HR practices, their office network security, their business continuity plans. Those are outside the scope of Corum's audit. Some resellers may hold their own certifications, and that's worth asking about. But the SOC 2 report from Corum speaks specifically to the firmChannel platform and Corum's operation of it.

It doesn't cover the customer's deployment environment. If your organization deploys players on an unsegmented network, uses weak passwords, or grants unnecessary admin access, those risks sit on your side of the shared responsibility model. The platform provides the security capabilities (MFA, role-based access, VLAN-compatible architecture, encrypted communications). Implementing them correctly in your environment is a shared responsibility between you, your reseller, and your IT team.

It also doesn't guarantee that breaches are impossible. No certification does. What it guarantees is that an independent auditor examined Corum's security controls over an extended period and concluded they were suitably designed and operating effectively. That's a meaningful and verifiable standard, but it's not a promise of invulnerability.

These boundaries are part of what makes the certification credible. Corum's report covers what it covers, clearly and specifically, and your team can evaluate it on those terms.

Questions to Ask Your Reseller

If you're evaluating a firmChannel deployment and security is part of your procurement criteria, here's how to use the SOC 2 certification in your process.

Ask the reseller for access to Corum's SOC 2 Type II report. A qualified firmChannel reseller should be able to provide it or facilitate the request. If they can't, or if they don't know what you're asking for, that tells you something about the depth of their partnership.

Have your security team review the report's scope and the auditor's opinion. The report will detail which Trust Services Criteria were examined, what controls were tested, and whether any exceptions were noted. Your team will know how to interpret this.

Use the report to pre-answer your vendor risk questionnaire. Map the report's findings to your organization's standard vendor assessment questions. You'll likely find that the majority of platform-related questions are already addressed.

Ask the reseller how they handle the deployment-layer security responsibilities that fall outside the SOC 2 scope. Network configuration, VLAN deployment, access provisioning, documentation handoff. Their answers will tell you whether they're a deployment partner who complements Corum's platform security or one who's leaving gaps.

Ask whether Corum's certification is current. SOC 2 Type II reports cover a specific observation period, and the certification requires recurring audits. Make sure the report you're reviewing reflects recent, ongoing compliance, not a one-time effort from years ago.

The Bottom Line for Channel Buyers

Enterprise digital signage purchases through reseller channels have always required a degree of trust. You trust the reseller to deploy the system well. You trust the platform provider to build and operate it securely. The difference now is that trust doesn't have to be blind.

Corum Digital's SOC 2 Type II certification gives firmChannel reseller-channel buyers something concrete: an independently audited report that validates the security of the platform underneath every deployment. For organizations that need compliant signage partners, it simplifies procurement, strengthens compliance documentation, and provides the kind of evidence that security teams and auditors actually accept.

If you're evaluating secure signage vendors through the firmChannel reseller network, ask for the report. Review it with your security team. And use it to make a vendor decision grounded in evidence rather than marketing claims.

Contact your firmChannel reseller to request the SOC 2 Type II report, or reach out to firmChannel directly if you need help finding a qualified reseller in your region.

This is the second in firmChannel's series on enterprise signage deployment and security. For a closer look at how qualified resellers reduce deployment risk, read Reducing Deployment Risk Through Trusted Digital Signage Partners.