It is very common for business owners to see everything about compliance as very intimidating at first. If it wasn’t already super complicated, federal and international regulations are always being altered or added. This has left many organizations with the challenging task of keeping up. However, this could leave you and your business facing steep fees and other consequences that you shouldn’t have to worry about on top of everything else.

However, with some foresight and planning, your business can anticipate potential compliance roadblocks and figure out a way to steer clear of them. You can learn about common problems that organizations face regarding HIPPA, PCI, SOX and other regulations, so your business will be in a better position to identify and avert them going forward.

Consider the Top Five Compliance Challenges:

  1. Handling Mobile Devices: Mobile devices are very common amongst society and something that is becoming more and more common. So it is very clear that maintaining compliance is going to involve more than just securing the technology in your brick-and-mortar buildings and the communication that comes in and out of it. You not only have to think about protecting your work-issued devices like phones, laptops, tablets and other work devices, but it is critical to manage every mobile device that accesses your network remotely. Failing to do so could lead to a very costly consequence for businesses especially if you are already struggling to maintain compliance.
  2. Protecting Sensitive Data: Patients and customers count on you to keep their private information safe from any prying eyes and/or hackers. There are federal regulations that are designed to keep records where they belong. They can prevent cyber crimes and data breaches from wreaking havoc on businesses and individuals. Now the key to staying compliant is thinking about everything that could go wrong beforehand. It should be noted that this is much easier with a solid IT infrastructure.
  3. New Technology: Because everything is connected through the Internet of things (IoT), your business has to find ways to accommodate.  You also have to secure new, interconnected technology and the data that is generated with it. While new technical innovations can be good thing, they also have the potential to introduce new roadblocks to compliance. So it’s important not to forget about IoT security standards when it comes to future planning.
  4. Keeping Software Up to Date: Now a days almost all software is being automatically updated. But the truth is that you don’t have to go too many days without restarting your machines to experience gaps in protection. In most cases, once an alert has been issued, it is up to user to take action and install the patch or update themselves. It is necessary to educate your workforce about the importance of alerts as this is another way to ensure your business is adhering to regulations.
  5. Managing Electronic Data Interchanges (EDI): Now as more business is being conducted online and more organizations migrate to the cloud, it is becoming necessary for organizations to take action to protect customer information that is being transferred between computers. This applies whether you’re transmitting healthcare records or sensitive financial data, protecting electronic data is the only way to stay compliant. EDI compliance can be best managed by professionals and software that can help you avoid receiving hefty fines, losing valuable customers, and even suffering from potential legal action.

While it is nearly impossible to anticipate every compliance obstacle that may come your way, you should be prepared to handle as many of them as possible. Being proactive now means that you’ll enjoy peace of mind later. If you have any questions on compliance or need any assistance CB Tech Group is here for you. Like we said earlier it is better to be prepared beforehand then later.