What is the ROI of Automated Compliance vs Consultants?

The ROI of automated compliance is measured in predictable costs, faster procurement cycles, and significant time savings compared to consultants. Where consultants drain budgets with unpredictable fees, automation delivers a scalable investment that accelerates growth.

For CFOs in digital health, compliance is a cost centre that can make or break your ability to win NHS and private sector contracts. You cannot avoid investing in compliance. But how you invest, whether in consultants, in-house staff, or automation, changes the return you get.

The decision is not just about cost. It is about predictability, scalability, and the ability to unlock revenue faster. That is where automated compliance offers a clear advantage over consultants.

When Consultants Drain Your Budget

Traditionally, compliance has meant bringing in consultants. They provide expertise on frameworks such as NHS DSPT, DTAC, DCB 0129, GDPR, or ISO 27001, but at a significant premium. Consultancy projects typically run between £20,000 and £30,000 per framework. For health tech suppliers, that cost can recur every time a new product is launched, a new customer is onboarded, or requirements are updated.

This makes financial forecasting difficult. One quarter you may spend £20,000, the next it is double. Compliance becomes unpredictable, and finance teams are forced to plug gaps rather than plan for growth.

There is also the issue of time. Waiting on consultants to produce documentation or evidence slows procurement cycles. When deals stall, revenue recognition is delayed and capital remains tied up in extended sales processes. For CFOs focused on efficiency, that creates serious risk.

Why This Matters for Growth

Consultancy fees are not just a budgeting challenge. They directly limit the ability to scale. Every pound spent on one-off compliance projects is a pound not invested in development, sales, or expansion into new markets. Delays compound the problem. If procurement teams cannot see audit-ready documentation, deals pause until compliance is proven. Sales cycles lengthen, targets slip, and revenue is affected. For CFOs responsible for both cost control and growth, reliance on consultants becomes a barrier to sustainable scaling.

How To Take a Different Approach

Automated compliance platforms change this equation. Instead of paying consultants each time a framework needs attention, organisations can manage everything in one place, on a predictable subscription.

Naq’s health tech compliance platform automatically generates policies, risk registers, evidence, and staff training for more than 20 compliance frameworks. That includes NHS DSPT compliance, DTAC compliance, the DCB 0129 clinical safety standard, ISO 27001 compliance, and GDPR.

Evidence collection is automated, with more than 300 system integrations pulling compliance data directly from a company’s existing tech stack. Dashboards provide a live view of compliance status. Expert support is still available when needed, but it is built in rather than billed separately.

Higher ROI From Day One

The financial difference is immediate. Where consultants cost tens of thousands per framework, automation replaces this with a fixed, transparent subscription. This reduces year-to-year variability, eliminates surprise costs, and frees up budget for growth.

The time savings are just as significant. Automation can save more than 200 hours of manual work per year. Tasks such as updating policies, monitoring risks, and collecting evidence for audits no longer consume valuable staff time. Instead, teams can focus on product development, sales, and customer success to generate revenue.

Automation also accelerates sales. By being audit-ready at all times, suppliers can demonstrate compliance from the very first conversation. That shortens procurement cycles, enables faster deal closures, and brings forward revenue recognition. The ROI is not just measured in cost savings, but in the speed and confidence with which contracts can be won.

Comparing the Models

The three common approaches to compliance highlight the contrast. Consultants charge between £20,000 and £30,000 per framework, often repeated for each new requirement, creating unpredictable spend with slow turnaround times. Hiring in-house staff provides continuity, but at £80,000 to £100,000 per year it is out of reach for many scale-ups and often fails to cover the breadth of frameworks required. Automated compliance software replaces both models with a fixed subscription that covers multiple frameworks simultaneously, delivers continuous compliance, and includes expert support. Consultants and in-house staff represent sunk costs, while automation is a scalable investment with measurable returns.

Beyond Cost: Strategic Value

The ROI of automated compliance is not just financial. It creates strategic value across the business. Predictable costs allow for accurate financial planning. Scalability ensures that new frameworks and markets can be added without proportional increases in cost. Audit-ready status accelerates NHS DSPT compliance, DTAC approval, and ISO certification, unlocking new opportunities more quickly. Automated updates ensure continuous alignment with regulatory changes, improving resilience over time. In practice, this means CFOs can plan budgets with confidence, align compliance spend with growth goals, and support sales teams with the assurance buyers demand.

Compliance does not need to drain your budget. With automation, it becomes a strategic investment that delivers measurable ROI. Predictable spend, faster procurement cycles, and scalable coverage across frameworks make automated compliance a growth enabler, not a cost burden.

With Naq, The Choice Is Clear

You can continue paying consultants in cycles, with unpredictable costs and delayed returns. Or you can invest in a compliance automation platform, a model that saves money, saves time, and makes compliance an enabler of growth.

At Naq, we help digital health companies replace costly, unpredictable consultancy with automated compliance they can rely on. If you want to understand how automation can deliver ROI for your business, reach out to learn more about how Naq can help.

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