Compliance. If you’re in healthcare, finance, working on government contracts or accepting credit cards you’re probably already sick of this word. You know the acronyms: IRS-1075, FISMA, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST, CSF, ISO 27000, FDA, SSAE16 — there are plenty more. If your company falls under any of these regulations, you already know that you need to be in compliance, but what if the auditor walked in today? Are you ready now? Does your company have an audit-ready data center?
Compliance is hard.
Full compliance is far more than we can cover in this article, but here’s a glimpse. When working with government agencies, FISMA requires:
- A plan for all identified critical data
- Documentation for all key artifacts, including budgets, plans and reports
- Continuous monitoring of all security controls and reporting activities, and strict change management controls
- Annual compliance testing with failure remedy (documented of course)
Healthcare companies can look forward to federal HIPAA regulations that can be superseded by stricter guidelines at the state and local level. Also, when the local laws at the location where the data is stored (data center) conflict with the laws where it emerges (user), there is an ongoing debate over which jurisdiction takes precedence. Finally, HIPAA data presents a rich target for hackers and phishers looking to steal this valuable information, so it must be more stringently protected from external breach attempts.
It should go without saying (but it won’t) that these regulatory environments require a trained, knowledgeable workforce with a strong security culture. Disgruntled employees can be their own threat—some guidelines, such as HIPAA, do not waive liability even in cases where the threat comes from employees that aren’t under the direct supervision of those responsible (like you!).
What’s an Audit-Ready Data Center?
On the surface, an audit-ready data center is exactly what it sounds like: a data center that is ready to pass an audit now. But, as you’ve seen, the reality goes much deeper than this. An audit-ready data center is one that is virtually and physically secure. It should be up-to-date with the best security solutions to meet today’s regulatory requirements and safeguard against tomorrow’s threats. The data center must also maintain a high level of availability—what good is storing secure data, if you can’t access it?
Doing it yourself is distracting.
Implementing an audit-ready data center demands focus. Frankly, if you’re trying to manage this level of compliance by yourself, you’re missing the bigger opportunity. It’s like playing the entire game on defense, and never trying to score. When run by a competent team, audit–ready data centers free you up to be proactive, and turn from a cost center to an innovation engine.
You need help.
Compliance is a tough game, and it’s constantly changing with new regulations, supplements, and conflicting legal requirements. Keeping up with all of the changes and staying audit-ready on your own can be overwhelming. Fortunately, our consultants are the best in the business. Did you know that there are only 3 Certified TIA-942 Internal Auditors in the USA, and one of them is an ADAPTURE partner? We also have one of only 4 Certified TIA-942 Design Consultants in the country partnered with us. Plus with ADAPTURE audit-ready infrastructure solutions, we’ll guarantee your compliance. Never fear an audit again. We’ve got you covered.
