Are You Struggling to Manage Regulatory Compliance?

Are You Struggling to Manage Regulatory Compliance?

Nationwide Insurance just agreed to pay $5.5 million as part of a settlement following a major data breach. UCLA recently warned 30,000 current and former students that their personal data may have been compromised. HBO is investigating a breach in which hackers accessed unreleased episodes of upcoming shows. And this is just since the beginning of August.

As the breaches keep on coming, so do the regulatory compliance requirements across a broad range of industries. For example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which applies to any company that processes credit and debit card payments or handles cardholder data, has become far more stringent. Healthcare providers must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which has strict provisions regarding data security and privacy.

But it’s not just retail and healthcare. It’s not just the financial sector. The vast majority of businesses must follow an ever-changing array of regulations, laws and guidelines or else face potential fines and other penalties. And many of those regulations require ongoing management rather than just an annual audit or assessment.

Clearly, regulatory compliance is critical, but it’s not a core business function. Compliance can demand significant resources, but it doesn’t generate revenue or help deliver services to customers.

As a result, many organizations are struggling to implement new regulations. They just don’t have the in-house skill sets or resources to stay up to date on the latest requirements. Organizations tend to chase regulations instead of implementing a reliable, repeatable process for managing compliance. Even with a sound process, the sheer scope of compliance adds operational costs.

Outsourcing is becoming an increasingly popular option for relieving the compliance burden. By outsourcing, you gain access to valuable skill sets. You turn over compliance responsibilities to people whose job it is to stay up to speed on the regulatory landscape and follow best practices for compliance management. You also have the flexibility to add or remove services as needed instead of hiring full-time or part-time employees, which optimizes costs.

Of course, regulatory compliance is directly tied to IT. Data that is covered by regulations is constantly created, shared and stored in corporate networks. An organization can only achieve and maintain regulatory compliance if its security strategy is aligned with compliance strategy. Again, most companies don’t have the in-house expertise to effectively manage security and compliance.

Managed services can help you take control of regulatory compliance. A managed services provider (MSP) such as Verteks has the advanced technology and manpower to monitor your IT environment and enforce security and compliance policies. The MSP can proactively respond to potential issues instead of waiting for a problem to arise. MSPs know how to detect security threats and protect your data. As regulations change, the MSP can help you implement those changes with minimal business disruption. The MSP can also manage data backup processes to ensure your data is accessible if your network goes down for any reason.

Regulatory compliance requirements are only expected to grow in number and complexity. If you’re suspected of a violation, auditors won’t want to hear excuses about costs and limited resources. Consider partnering with Verteks to protect your sensitive data and reduce risk.


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