Getting Started with IT Compliance

Your business likely needs to meet specific criteria to remain compliant with various regulations associated with your chosen industry, but it can be overwhelming to consider everything that must be addressed to maintain compliance—particularly with data storage, privacy, and other such regulations. Let’s go over IT’s role in how your business secures and maintains compliance.

What All Businesses Should Know About Regulations

You can’t have a discussion about compliance without first understanding the requirements that are being asked for. These requirements, or regulations, are specific things that your organization needs to comply with, and they can often feel intrusive and difficult to follow, especially if you’re not necessarily a trained IT administrator or professional. Things like customer data security and payment card security might feel foreign to you, especially if you’re not the one handling these particular parts of your organization. If you fail to adhere to standards, you could be at a considerable security risk.

From a regulator’s standpoint, the first thing that you should do is ensure that your business has cybersecurity control policies and procedures in place to ensure that the environment your company conducts business in is secure and hospitable to sensitive consumer information. With better IT security, you can achieve better compliance and more favorable outcomes for your business.

There is a Difference Between IT Security and IT Compliance

It’s also important to note that IT security and IT compliance are not necessarily the same thing. In fact, IT security plays a big part in IT compliance. IT security means that you’re doing what must be done to prevent things such as unauthorized access, patch vulnerabilities, and so on, all while maintaining appropriate oversight over your IT systems. IT compliance, on the other hand, is more a question of whether or not your business meets the needs of regulatory mandates. They are not the same, yet they do contribute to one another.

Make Sure You’re Paying Attention

Compliance is very important for businesses of all industries and sizes. Whether you’re a larger enterprise with millions of customers, a healthcare provider routinely handling sensitive private patient data, or a small business just trying to sell your wares and get by, IT security and IT compliance will be incredibly important to know. It could make all the difference when an audit rears its ugly head and you’re looking at the potential for compliance fines.

BNMC knows what technology is required to maintain regulatory compliance in a business environment. To learn more about how we can help you use technology in an effective, safe, and compliance-driven way, reach out to us at (978) 482-2020.