Case Study

Expert Guidance, Scalable Results: mPulse’s compliance success with the Coalfire® team and the Compliance Essentials platform

February 6, 2026
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In 2025, acquisitions expanded mPulse’s assurance workload notably—from a single HITRUST assessment, a CMS audit, and a SOC 1, to four HITRUSTs (each with a very large scope), a SOC 1, a CMS, Red Team Pen Test, and a HIPAA Risk Analysis.

Challenge

Performed separately, these engagements would have required year-round auditing based on the various certification dates. 

The team needed to consolidate their approach so they could maintain continuity across audits even as new environments came into scope.

Solution

Kurt’s approach centered on two moves.

1. Consolidate assurance work into a coordinated execution model.

With Coalfire’s help, mPulse consolidated the expanded set of requirements into three environment-based engagements, strategically layering inheritance and interdependencies within each framework. This aligned timing and scoping across assessments, reduced duplicate evidence work, and prevented the calendar from turning into a year-round audit treadmill.

2. Build a stronger, more efficient evidence system.

mPulse adopted Coalfire Compliance Essentials as a centralized evidence and recordkeeping repository. Compliance Essentials made it easier for teams to store artifacts, look back at how they were used, and apply that context to new requests as scope expanded. It also supported evidence reuse across controls and assessments, so the team didn’t have to rebuild the same audit package from scratch each cycle.

Throughout it all, mPulse prioritized the human side of execution: clear communication, steady coordination, and relationships that hold up over time. “A big part of why I’ve enjoyed working with Coalfire is the team,” says Byron Snead, Senior Security Engineer, mPulse. “We’ve had the same faces for four years.” 

That continuity helped sequence audits, so timelines didn’t snag, even when new requirements surfaced. “508 compliance came out of nowhere,” says Kurt. “It wasn’t even our domain. But I had the confidence that Coalfire had the right SMEs within the company. I reached out to Abbi (Assurance Lead, Coalfire) and she found those people, scheduled everything, got our teams together, and walked them through it all to ensure everything was delivered on time, within tight timelines.”

“Partnering with Kurt and his team at mPulse on the compliance program growth has been incredibly rewarding,” says Adam Shnider, EVP, Assessment Services, Coalfire. “By providing a platform that adapts to expanding frameworks and audit scopes in Compliance Essentials, maintaining a consistent team, and having a defined, repeatable approach, we are thrilled to support mPulse to ensure their compliance processes scale smoothly alongside their business.”

Impact

  • A three-person team managed a compliance scope that tripled in size while maintaining the same staffing level.
  • Evidence became easier to track and reuse across assessments, reducing rework and improving day-to-day audit readiness.
  • Multiple audits were coordinated successfully in parallel, even under tight timelines.
  • mPulse maintained recent attestations that increased customer transparency and trust.
  • Sales teams had stronger assurance in customer conversations where proof of recent audits influences deals: “This is a real differentiator… being able to say we’ve undergone these rigorous audits within the last 12 months.”

Conclusion 

mPulse’s growth expanded compliance scope and audit volume, but the execution model stayed stable due to reusable evidence and reliable coordination. With Coalfire Compliance Essentials as the central repository for audit evidence and artifacts, and Coalfire’s SMEs available when requirements shifted, mPulse kept readiness steady as new environments entered scope.