A privately-owned financial services firm had relied on us for managed IT services for more than six years when they requested additional assistance in securing sensitive data and complying with industry-specific requirements. Because of the highly sensitive nature of the records they handle, the firm needed to follow SEC regulations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as well as certain parts of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
A lack of compliance or any sort of security breach could prove disastrous for this company, tarnishing their reputation and driving away clients and business partners. That’s why they rely on our team to act as an extension of their compliance department, collaborating with the department’s director and the company’s owner to customize and continually refresh their security policy to adhere to the recommendations the SEC releases each year.
With knowledge from SEC audit reports, our compliance and security staff proactively adjust the firm’s approach to cybersecurity so that they’re always prepared for an audit. You can read the full case study here for additional details.
This is just one example of the advantages of leveraging managed compliance services or Compliance as a Service (CaaS). For companies in industries such as financial services that must follow strict regulations meant to safeguard sensitive information, relying on a third-party managed service provider (MSP) like us to simplify and streamline the process can save a considerable amount of time and money as well as reduce stress.
If you’re a business leader thinking about seeking assistance in this area, here’s some helpful information about Compliance as a Service and how it can potentially benefit your organization.
How Compliance as a Service Works: What’s Included in Managed Compliance Services?
In general, CaaS offerings help businesses in industries such as financial services, retail and healthcare comply with regulations related to IT and cybersecurity (e.g., HIPAA and PCI-DSS), according to XaaS Journal. MSPs usually offer solutions such as backup and disaster recovery, physical security, IT security, encryption and more as part of CaaS.
At Stratosphere Networks, our team is extensively trained in handling personally identifiable information (PII) in accordance with various regulations. Similar to the situation described at the beginning of this article with the financial services firm, we can either work with your internal compliance team or serve as your entire compliance department in the absence of in-house staff – delivering compliance manager, IT director and security officer services, among others.
We have experience assisting companies with compliance in healthcare, finance and manufacturing. Our team leverages next-gen software with native cybersecurity assessment capabilities in addition to current controls for various frameworks such as the following:
- SOC 2
- HIPAA
- SEC
- NIST 800-171
- NIST CSF
- NIST 800-53
- CCPA
- CMMC
- 23 NYCRR 500
- PCI DSS
- CIS V7
- ISO 27001
Business Benefits of Managed Compliance Services
As technology and cybersecurity evolve and increase in complexity, achieving and maintaining compliance has also become more complicated. Maintaining a compliance department is a considerable investment in terms of the time and funds needed to hire and retain talent. Without advanced tools and automation, it can also take hours to manually maintain spreadsheets and conduct the necessary research to ensure ongoing adherence to regulations.
Our CaaS offering can benefit your organization in the following ways:
- Reduced admin work (with potentially hundreds of hours saved via our advanced compliance software)
- Lower spending related to labor, data breaches, reputation repair after incidents, regulatory penalties and so on
- Improved cybersecurity posture
- Greater appeal to current and prospective clients as well as business partners
At the end of the day, relying on an MSP for Compliance as a Service can make a huge difference for your business. If compliance-related concerns keep you up at night, consider working with an MSP to lower your stress level and ensure you’re always prepared for an audit.
To learn more about Compliance as a Service in general or our managed compliance services specifically, feel free to give us a call at 877-599-3999 or email sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
