The constantly evolving IT compliance landscape is challenging for many organizations. Regulators continually scrutinize organizations for noncompliance, and customers increasingly insist that their data and information remains secure.
In addition, with advances in technology leading some hardware companies to become software companies – and vice versa – and startups quickly globalizing their operations, a host of new compliance standards and regulatory demands have been introduced.
The end result? A complex, confusing environment and compliance fatigue that cause a frustrating bottleneck for organizations trying to grow with speed and agility.
Short-term solutions won’t resolve compliance fatigue
Compliance fatigue can vary by industry, but it’s often driven by new products and services that need to be aligned with current and evolving regulations, including common “big C” compliance requirements that focus on industry-specific regulations, payment card industry mandates for credit card processing, or Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements for financial reporting. But compliance fatigue also can include “little C” compliance issues related to your control framework and how you mitigate risk.
Many organizations attempt to solve compliance fatigue by repeatedly throwing money and resources at issues as they arise, but that reactive approach can turn into a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. As soon as you solve one compliance issue, a new regulation is introduced or an existing one changes.
Instead, a proactive approach to compliance that breaks down siloed information and implements a consistent framework for managing risk can help disperse the responsibilities of compliance and risk management throughout the organization and ease the burden on any one individual or department.
