Ways To Choose The Best Compliance Management Solution

Companies must comply with certain laws and regulations because failure to do so can result in serious penalties. It is not something to joke about. In fact, penalties are based on the severity of the OSHA violation and may reach a maximum of $14,502 for each one. Most enterprises are no longer able to ignore the need for a compliance management system as governments around the world continue to implement new data privacy regulations or update their existing ones.

These solutions help organizations ensure they remain compliant with all applicable laws and regulations, while also minimizing the risk of non-compliance. By using a reliable compliance management solution, companies can have peace of mind. This can help to protect their reputation, minimize legal risks, and ensure their business remains successful.

Many software developers have capitalized on this and are now offering regulatory compliance solutions that they claim can solve compliance problems. So, how do you choose the best compliance management solution for your business needs? 

The tips in this article will help you find the best solution for your company to ensure you’ve complied with all local, state, federal, and industry regulatory requirements.

Determine The Needs Of Your Organization

Before choosing the right compliance management solution, it’s important to identify the specific needs of your business. Companies must identify the risk they will be facing and determine the most important requirements when selecting an advanced compliance management system for their business. Understanding compliance activities in an organization helps managers determine which regulations they are subject to and how best to comply with them.

You can begin to evaluate technology solutions once you've documented the features you require. There are both generic and industry-specific compliance solutions. Although the latter may be the obvious option in most cases, you shouldn’t overlook more versatile solutions that could provide a better user experience. 

Cloud-based, modern software often comes with API integrations that allow users to share their data with other management tools. If your business uses IoT sensors, for example, API integration with your compliance solution can initiate corrective action when necessary.

Reliable Compliance Resources

You are probably searching for a system to manage compliance because you want to improve your business efficiency. If you're forced to use a solution that is difficult to understand, how can you do that?

When choosing compliance solutions, you should choose software that has an intuitive interface. This will make it easier for your team to understand. You’ll need a solution with a pleasant user experience, which includes the overall look of the software, its packaging, functionality, and importance for the end users.

Simplicity is the key to productivity. It doesn't matter how many advanced features your software offers if you don't focus on its usability.

Examine Reporting Features

Detailed reporting is a key component of any compliance software. Good compliance software may track daily activities or identify system problems, but these data are only useful if it reports them. Quality compliance management software eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone manual reporting and provides managers with clear reports on task completion, and data about potential risks.

Compliance management systems are important for document control. When choosing this type of solution, make sure you get one that provides an all-inclusive and independently verified solution.

Real-Time Alerts

Auditors are usually on the lookout for real-time notifications of important changes to sensitive data. These changes could include unusual access to sensitive files when information is sent outside of the company, when a new user has access to sensitive data, or when sensitive documents are accessed after office hours. 

Some more sophisticated solutions can also detect and react to events that meet a predefined threshold condition, a technique called threshold alarming. As we all know, ransomware works by encrypting files. 

If a certain number of files are encrypted within a specified period, the software can run a script to disable the user account, change the firewall settings or shut down the server. Threshold alerts can be used for identifying anomalous failed log-in attempts or when a specific amount of files has been copied, removed, modified, or moved.

Simple User Account & Password Management

A compliance management solution may be required to detect and manage inactive accounts. This will help you not only ensure that redundant information is not held on your system but it will also prevent attackers from targeting inactive accounts to try to gain access to the network.

You also need a solution that automates the management of passwords. This includes rotating passwords and deactivating or activating user accounts whose passwords have expired.

Final Thoughts

Finding a good compliance management system is not rocket science. You just have to make sure you understand your specific needs and find the right compliance management solutions that have the features we mentioned above. This way, you’ll be able to minimize risks, meet ever-rising compliance standards, maintain continuity, and achieve business success.