Managed Argo CD and Kargo With PCI DSS v4.0.1 Certification — Built for Regulated Environments
Ken Cochrane
Running workloads in regulated environments means your team carries a heavy burden — designing controls, writing documentation, collecting audit evidence, and defending every decision to security reviewers. That overhead compounds fast, especially when your deployment platform sits in or adjacent to a PCI-scoped environment.
Akuity has successfully completed a PCI DSS v4.0.1 assessment and received a Report on Compliance (ROC) as a Service Provider. This means that the Akuity Platform, its infrastructure, and its operational controls were independently assessed against the latest version of the PCI standard by Linford.
Your regulated environment has real compliance requirements and we built to match them. PCI DSS, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and a dedicated EU region for GDPR and data sovereignty mean that whatever your audit obligations are, Akuity has already done the groundwork.
Why PCI DSS is becoming a platform engineering requirement
PCI DSS - best known for protecting payment card data - is increasingly appearing in vendor security reviews for platform teams. Not because those teams process payments, but because their infrastructure sits adjacent to environments that do.
If your platform touches critical systems in a PCI-scoped environment, or if your customers operate in regulated industries, PCI DSS alignment is often a procurement requirement regardless of whether your tool directly handles cardholder data.
What you get with a PCI DSS-certified Argo CD and Kargo Platform
Akuity is the only PCI DSS certified provider offering both Argo CD and Kargo as fully managed services. Whether you are using Argo CD today or adopting Kargo for progressive delivery, the same PCI-aligned controls apply.
What this means for our customers
PCI certification has real, practical benefits for teams operating in regulated environments:
Reduced audit scope: Customers can rely on Akuity’s validated controls instead of building and proving everything themselves.
Faster vendor reviews: Security and procurement teams can move more quickly with an independently validated ROC. PCI DSS certification gives your reviewers a concrete artifact to work from, which shortens the back-and-forth that typically slows down vendor approval in regulated industries.
Lower engineering overhead: Designing, documenting, and maintaining PCI-aligned controls takes significant time and effort. Access controls, logging, monitoring, vulnerability management, and change management — all of it has already been independently assessed. You inherit that validation rather than build and prove it yourself.
Stronger security posture by default: PCI requirements reinforce disciplined access controls, logging, monitoring, vulnerability management, and change management. These improvements benefit all customers, not just those with PCI obligations.
What self-hosting Argo CD in a PCI environment actually costs
For platform and security teams evaluating managed Argo CD versus self-hosting: running Argo CD in a PCI-scoped environment means your team owns every control. From network segmentation to access logging to vulnerability management, to change management documentation, and the ongoing evidence collection that goes with it. With Akuity, those controls are already assessed and independently validated.
That is often the difference between months of security work and inheriting compliance on day one.
Akuity Platform: Security & compliance built in
Security, privacy, and compliance are design inputs at Akuity, not afterthoughts. PCI builds on the same foundations we already operate on, alongside SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, CSA STAR alignment, and GDPR principles.
This milestone supports our continued expansion into regulated industries and global markets.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Does Akuity's PCI certification cover both Argo CD and Kargo?
A. Yes. Both Argo CD and Kargo managed services were in scope for the assessment.
Q. What level is Akuity certified at?
Akuity is certified as a Level 1 Service Provider under PCI DSS v4.0.1, which requires an independently conducted Report on Compliance.
Q. How do I access Akuity's AOC or ROC documentation?
A. PCI documentation is available through our Trust Center. Customers and prospects can request access directly.
Learn more
PCI documentation and Akuity’s attestation of compliance are available through our Trust Center.
👉If you want to discuss what PCI-scoped deployments look like with Akuity, or have questions about how our controls map to your environment, schedule a meeting today with one of our solutions engineers.
This blog was written by Ken Cochrane, Head of Engineering at Akuity
