What Is Compliance Software?

Navigating the complex system of regulatory frameworks is challenging for many companies, but meeting legal, industry, and government regulations is more important than ever. Non-compliance can greatly impact your operations, with GDPR fines reaching a staggering $22.8 million or 4% of global annual revenue. Fortunately, state-of-the-art compliance software offers powerful tools for meeting GDPR, ISO, and similar standards. What is compliance software and how does it work?

What Compliance Software Is

Compliance software is a suite of tools that help organizations create, manage, and track compliance tasks. This type of software-as-a-service platform simplifies the process of setting up, scaling, and verifying compliance with the appropriate regulatory framework within your organization. Compliance platforms offer robust data security protections with features such as access control, event monitoring, workflow automation, and user logs.

What Does Compliance Software Mean for Your Company?

A compliance management system is similar to a virtual chief information security officer. It gathers the necessary data in a single place, keeping tabs on what areas of your organization are meeting compliance goals and which are falling short. CMS software can also help you identify areas where the risks of non-compliance are greatest so you can prioritize corrective actions.

Put simply, compliance software shows you where you are versus where you need to be. It’s easier to achieve compliance when you have a clear roadmap with measurable objectives and the right priorities for your entire business.

Think of compliance SaaS as the frame for an automobile. Once you have a precise regulatory framework in place that is customized to your business, you can start bolting on the body and assembling the completed vehicle. At every step, you can measure current compliance against a dependable standard.

How Compliance Software Platforms Help Your Organization

SaaS compliance systems make life easier for CISOs and provide the necessary tools so businesses without a CISO can meet regulatory requirements, implement data security best practices, and prepare effectively for certification. Look for these key features:

• Compliance framework: Establishing the baseline compliance framework for your objectives and helping you tailor its scope to your needs
• System evaluation and gap analysis: Analyzing your current compliance level and identifying areas of non-compliance 
• Compliance tracking: Setting up controls and monitoring compliance performance for each area
• Alerts:Automatically forwarding task reminders and non-compliance alerts to the correct stakeholders
• Automated workflows: Automating processes so they adhere to regulatory standards, such as generating necessary forms for stakeholders to complete and storing reports securely
• Reports and evidence mapping: Generating the required documentation for audit prep automatically
• Incident response: Helping you build playbooks for security incidents and triggers for implementation
• Endpoint management: Monitoring access controls, activity logs, and endpoint security for the platform

Keep in mind that the right platform for your business should provide adaptive solutions. Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit is different from implementing PCI DSS controls. To be effective, compliance software should support all the frameworks your organization has to follow, from the California Consumer Privacy Act to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.

What CMS Platforms Look Like in Practice

Consider a few examples of how a CMS platform helps businesses of different sizes.

Hospitals and Private Practices

Problem: A hospital wants to comply with HIPAA regulations, but there’s no centralized plan for compliance and no way to check if individual staff members follow correct practices with patient data.

Solution: Compliance software establishes a secure platform for monitoring controls, workflows, and assets. Administrators can see how users access and share files, flagging potential HIPAA violations quickly.

Small-to-Medium Investment Firms

Problem: The business understands data security and has policies in place, but management doesn’t know how to prepare for costly ISO 27001 audits. Without clear guidance, the company’s compliance certification plans are on hold.

Solution: Investment firms can benefit from a compliance platform that offers infosec consultations. The compliance framework streamlines audit preparation and offers the tools to see it through. An infosec expert provides custom recommendations and roadmaps to overcome implementation challenges.

Large-Scale Enterprises

Problem: The enterprise already has regulatory frameworks in place, including GRC policies. As it scales, though, data is becoming siloed. This increases the risk of non-compliance, regulatory violations, and overspending.

Solution: In this situation, compliance software improves data sharing, management, and process efficiency. Automation tools help CISOs build compliance into the organization’s workflow. Instead of requiring manual log checks for violations, the software highlights risks and compliance issues automatically, triggering appropriate response playbooks.

Which Industries and Businesses Benefit Most From Compliance Software

What compliance software is depends on your company and industry. Some businesses that use Compyl for compliance management include:

• Banks and financial institutions: PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO 27001:2022, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SSAE-16 
• Investment companies: ESG regulations, CIS controls, SOX, SSAE-16, and GLBA
• Healthcare businesses: HIPAA, HITECH, and PCI DSS
• Manufacturers and defense contractors: NIST SP 800-53, CMMC, and NIST SP 800-171
• E-commerce businesses: CCPA, GDPR, and PCI DSS

Compliance software is especially useful for organizations that are preparing for audits, looking for ways to improve their compliance workflow, or struggling to keep up to date with current data security needs for their industry or clients.

Why Compliance Solutions Are Valuable for Your Business

Is the time and money spent on compliance worth it? Absolutely. Cutting-edge compliance software provides many benefits, including:

• Streamlined tasks: Automated tools simplify compliance and data security across the organization.
• Less room for human error:Workflow automation ensures better document handling.
• Shorter road to certification: Clear standards, reporting tools, and metrics help organizations get in scope more quickly.
• Reduced legal liability: The cost of a single data breach in the U.S. is over $9.3 million on average, to say nothing of litigation costs and class action suits.
• Greater visibility into organizational processes: Company management and cybersecurity benefit from a cohesive infosec platform.

The costs of non-compliance far outweigh the capital you spend on compliance solutions.

The Best Way To Learn What Compliance Software Is

Even though CMS tools are useful for companies in every industry, they nearly always require some customization. It’s easier to understand what compliance software is and what it can do for your business by using it. Request a demonstration of Compyl’s powerful tools for finance, fintech, healthcare, and many other industries.