Security and Compliance
While the use of Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have transformed work processes across organizations, it has also brought to the front new age problems of security vulnerabilities and access liabilities. To add to this, there is an emergent need to adhere to government and industry legislation.
The easiest way to manage this is to utilize a layer of technology across the ERP and other systems within the organization. Modern Security and Compliance systems provide the flexibility to grant user access and manage data control as well as address industry and government compliance requirements.
What is a Security and Compliance system?
Using Security and Compliance modules or systems provides you the ability to secure organizational information and access at every level. Not only are critical processes secure, but also there is a better definition of user access and a significantly lower chance of false positives.
If you are migrating to the cloud or are planning to deploy a cloud-based ERP, security should be your prime concern. Adding a Security and Compliance system ensures that industry best practices are used to provide you a reliable and trustworthy weapon to protect critical information and infrastructure.
Traditionally businesses track regulatory compliances in spreadsheets or use external independent applications. This creates an asymmetry of information and lack of transparency in the system. Using a Security and Compliance module that is fully integrated into your system can help you and your auditors track and identify challenges to compliance regulations on a real-time basis.
What does a Security and Compliance system do?
- Better visibility and control: Security and Compliance systems enhance the traceability of goods, services and information through a series of electronic signatures and digital footprints imprinted across the system. This provides business managers to improved control over their business processes and outcomes.
- Stricter Data Security and access control: By providing controls such as data encryption, tailored security measures, controlled user access and segregation of user duties, this feature forms the backbone of all Security and compliance systems. This also provides an electronic trail of access for inspection and audit. There are also provisions to create business continuity and proactively conduct risk assessments on the organization’s workflows, policies and framework.
- Improved Corporate and Regulatory Governance: Adding this layer ensures compliance with international accounting standards (IAS), international financial reporting standards (IFRS), generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as well as those prescribed by regional and national governments.
Functional areas of Security and Compliance systems
- Data Security: It is important to define access rights and permissions according to the requirements of a business. This feature allows the business managers to create relevant usage groups that provide appropriate usage access and maintaining audit logs.
- Data Protection and privacy: Adding necessary firewalls to data stored locally or to the cloud, providing two-factor authentication, specialized security features and regular security updates are pertinent features that help to eliminate threats of data theft.
- Compliance: Deep and automated auditing of stored data as per the latest data regulations for finance, accounting, IT and SOX along with a regulations-based management capability is also an important feature that ensures compliance.
- Risk Assessment and Management: Conducting a proactive risk assessment to identify and fix vulnerabilities is an essential feature that helps you proactively fix your troubled areas.
Trends and Industry Needs
- After the European Union declared General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that requires businesses that operate in the EU to protect the privacy and data of EU citizens, we can now expect other countries and international bodies to follow. Data privacy laws are growing increasingly stringent and the penalty for non-compliance is much stricter now. It is absolutely pertinent for enterprises to proactively incorporate security and compliance measures into their business and corporate strategy.With the advent of mobility and the addition of Internet of Things (IoT), there are a large number of managed and unmanaged devices within an organization’s framework. Regulating access and automating control is also need of the hour.
Top software vendors for Security and Compliance
- SAP: SAP’s GRC provides excellent risk management and compliance features, which are ideal for large enterprises, It also provides the ability to easily integrate with existing ERPs.
- LogicManager: A data-rich solution that provides the ability to aggregate and my data along with rich risk management, IT management, and compliance features, LogicManager is extremely popular across the industry.
- ACL: An intuitive user interface that integrates strategy, analytics and data management, ACL’s SaaS platform is popular amongst mid-sized companies for its ease-of-use.