Reasons Your Company Needs Cloud Compliance

What is Cloud Compliance?

Cloud Compliance is complying with regulatory standards set forth by the local governing body in the usage of cloud-based solutions. Remaining within compliance and providing the necessary documentation is the responsibility of the company. Companies making a move to the cloud need to keep this in mind when choosing their solutions and how it will affect their regulatory compliance goals. Achieving cloud computing regulatory compliance is not only an external endeavor but an internal one as well. Adhering to company policies within the cloud is vital in having accurate documentation. 

What is Policy Compliance in Cloud Computing?

Policy Compliance is adhering to the policies and standards placed on the company by regulatory bodies and the company itself to meet internal compliance goals. These policies are usually put in place to avoid regulatory fines, increase cloud security, or other budgetary reasons. Having a clear policy regarding regulatory compliance with cloud computing is vital for maintaining a secure and validated cloud solution.

What are the Main Areas of Cloud Security?

When assessing Cloud Security, four main areas need to be considered:

Insight & Compliance
Having visibility into your company’s vast network is extremely valuable. A correctly implemented cloud will have access to assets like servers, cloud-based solutions, and user bases. A cloud with an inventoried asset list can provide insight to management and eliminate any unnecessary overhead. Having a plan and means to organize your cloud system is paramount to the success of the solution. The importance of having a cloud compliance framework cannot be understated. These usually come in the form of a cloud security solution that helps your company meet these requirements. 

Compute-Based Security
Companies must employ computer-based security for end systems, managed services, and various workloads and applications in the cloud. The first key component to consider is automated vulnerability management which identifies and eliminates any security loopholes automatically. The second is providing ongoing security to anything considered a computer engine or workload. Maintaining cloud regulatory compliance relies heavily upon these components. 

Network Security
Network Security for cloud-based networks is typically different from an on-premises network. For this, there are two major components. The first is setting up micro-segmentation/isolation zones for workloads and applications. The second is network security for traffic flow all the way down to the user level. Having control of these environments through these components provides tighter security.

Identity Security
Having a robust identity and authorization system is essential to your cloud’s security. It is usually done through a cloud solution that gives you the ability to manage users and authorizations.

Why is Cloud Compliance so Important in the Life Sciences Industry?

The life sciences industry is no stranger to strict regulations and regular audits. Staying within and maintaining compliance in the cloud needs to be an operational process within an organization. The following industry-standard policies impact how companies operate in the cloud, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), specifically ISO 27001, and regulatory bodies like the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medical Agency (EMA).

Reasons Why Your Life Sciences Company Needs Cloud Compliance

Below are many benefits to maintaining cloud compliance, especially in the life sciences industry. Implementing a cloud solution in your organization can reveal opportunities in improving your business that you might not have previously considered. 

Regulatory Compliance
Remaining in compliance with regulatory requirements almost always falls on the shoulders of the organization or company. Having the necessary team, framework, and solutions ensures that you meet these requirements and helps you exceed them to the goals of your organization. 

Business Insight
Having a collective of all business operations, workflows, users, systems, and servers allows for visibility across the board. Validating your cloud can help detect anomalies and unnecessary overhead. 

Reducing Costs
The ability to detect anomalies and cut waste from a company’s technical load is possible through cloud compliance. Cloud compliance is an ongoing operation. Being able to get ahead of technical issues saves money and resources in the long run.

Data Governance
Protecting company and personal data is one of the most critical aspects of the cloud. Validating these solutions and ensuring data protection is an integral part of cloud compliance. 

Reducing Risk
By utilizing cloud solutions and sticking to a cloud compliance framework, an organization can reduce the risk of an internal and external threat. The threat can come in many forms, whether it’s a system failure or a type of data attack; keeping your organization’s cloud compliance and security operations helps prevent these types of disasters. 

What are the Challenges of Cloud Compliance?

Maintaining cloud and regulatory compliance is a good amount of work for an organization. A comprehensive cloud compliance checklist can be simplified by maintaining a competent framework, cloud storage, and working with knowledgeable compliance partners. Whether a private cloud or hybrid, businesses will nonetheless find themselves facing many challenges. These include adhering to regulatory cloud compliance requirements, cyber-threats, and data security. 

An example of the necessity of cloud compliance is when your Life Sciences company is migrating data to the cloud, initiating the issue of maintaining cloud governance and compliance. Many incorrectly hold the notion that the cloud host vendor is responsible for maintaining data security and compliance. However, the Life Sciences organization is culpable for the standards set by regulatory agencies. 

Why Arbour Group for Cloud Compliance?

Arbour Group partners with major cloud service providers and combines our solutions and expertise to help you meet your Cloud Compliance goals. Cloud customers have the responsibility to remain within regulatory compliance. Arbour Group can help alleviate the stress of meeting regulatory requirements through a sound cloud compliance strategy that elevates your business requirements and opens the door to new goals. Learn more about Cloud Compliance offerings.

To find out how Arbour Group can further assist in your Cloud Compliance strategy, contact us today.