In Latin American B2B software, security rarely closes the first meeting. It becomes decisive when the buyer grows more demanding, procurement deepens, and trust has to survive real scrutiny.

Security is seldom the feature that energises an early demo. In HR, finance and compliance software across Latin America, the real alternative is often still a spreadsheet, a shared drive or a WhatsApp workflow. In that context, “enterprise-grade security” can sound impressive without meaning very much. For Visma, however, security is not a slogan or a supporting claim. It is one of the company’s clearest strengths, built into the product logic, operating standards and customer promise that make it the benchmark for secure business software. 

Javier Irastorza, Security & Compliance Manager at Mandü, puts the problem plainly:

‍“In markets with low digital maturity, enterprise-grade security is first a positioning concept, not a shared technical standard.”

If the buyer does not have the technical framework to evaluate the claim, the phrase alone does little work.

That is why the language has to change. Security becomes commercially useful when it is translated into outcomes a decision-maker can recognise: sensitive data stays protected, access can be revoked quickly when someone leaves, and activity can be traced without guesswork.

Security often enters through the supply chain

For many SMEs, the pressure to meet higher standards does not begin internally. It comes from the customers they serve. A smaller company working with a bank, a multinational or a regulated business increasingly inherits security requirements as a condition of doing business.

Irastorza notes that this pressure is already visible across legal services, accounting, logistics and fintech. A business may not think of itself as a material security risk, but a larger customer often sees it as part of a wider exposure.

That changes the role of security in the sales process. It is no longer a reassuring extra or a sign of product polish. In many cases, it becomes part of the threshold for participation.

The commercial process splits in two

Once IT or compliance enters the conversation, the deal changes shape. There is still a business case to make, but a second process begins alongside it: technical evaluation. Depending on the account, Irastorza says, that can add between two and eight weeks.

Many teams handle this clumsily. They try to answer diligence questions inside the same meeting, and with the same material, as the commercial pitch. That usually slows both conversations.

The better approach is to prepare for each audience properly. Economic buyers need a clear business case. Technical stakeholders need documentation before they ask for it.

“A security one-pager or a public trust centre with policies, architecture and documented controls can reduce weeks of back and forth,” Irastorza says.

More than that, it signals that the company understands what a serious buyer is testing for.

His broader point is equally useful:

‍“In sophisticated accounts, security does not accelerate the sale. It unlocks it.”

That distinction matters. Strong security may not create urgency, but weak security can stop momentum altogether.

Certifications help, but posture matters more

Formal certification can remove a great deal of friction. Irastorza describes ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II as a form of delegated trust: the buyer relies partly on the external auditor instead of building an assessment from scratch.

In practical terms, that can shorten diligence substantially. Yet certification is only the baseline. Once that threshold is met, buyers start looking for something less easily copied.

“The real differential begins afterwards, when you can demonstrate a proactive posture,” he says.

Incident history, responsible disclosure, continuous monitoring and documented improvements over time all say more than a polished claim on a sales deck.

That is where credibility deepens. Buyers notice the difference between a provider that has built habits around security and one that has merely assembled the right documents.

Customer weakness can become vendor risk

The challenge does not end at the edge of the platform. Many smaller businesses still underestimate phishing, ransomware and data breach exposure, assuming attackers are interested only in larger organisations. That leaves them exposed, while their credentials, client data and access rights can become routes into much bigger businesses.

For software vendors, this creates reputational as well as commercial risk. A customer with poor internal practices may suffer an incident and still blame the provider, regardless of where the weakness began.

Irastorza’s view is pragmatic. The provider should respond contractually and educationally at the same time: clear terms that define responsibility, combined with onboarding and ongoing guidance that make good security practice part of the relationship.

Security may still be quiet in the early stages of a deal. In long-term B2B relationships, it rarely stays in the background for long.