Data Compliance: How an ECM Helps with Regulatory Data Requirements

Today’s businesses store and manage a massive amount of data. And keeping up with all of that data is a big task, hence the projected 10.5% annual growth rate of enterprise content management (ECM) platforms. 

But did you know that an ECM can do a whole lot more than just make it easy to organize the data your business creates? Top ECMs can take a ton of the guesswork out of data compliance too, ensuring that you’re always meeting relevant requirements around data use and efficiency. 

With built-in features for adhering to data regulatory requirements, ECMs help businesses of all sizes stay compliant throughout the document lifecycle. Learn how below, including how Systemware’s expertise in ECM and data compliance can make life a whole lot simpler for your IT team. 

What is data compliance?

Data compliance refers to the regulations, laws, and guidelines around how a business uses and handles data within their organization. These are the minimal requirements for data protection, and provide a framework for how you should manage your own proprietary data and the data of your clients and stakeholders. 

Data compliance regulations serve a number of key purposes, among them data security, transparency, and efficiency. They are often intended to protect consumers, corporations, or both, and have the added benefit of forcing businesses to be alert to how their data is stored and accessed.

Why data compliance is so important

Following data compliance regulations isn’t just about being a law-abiding citizen. Businesses that fail to meet legal and industry-specific data compliance regulations are subject to costly fines and penalties. A lack of data compliance can also have far-reaching consequences for an organization’s reputation, particularly when it comes to building trust with consumers. 

There’s also the matter of data integrity and security. A lot of data regulatory requirements overlap with general data security best practices, which means that when you prioritize data compliance, you make sure you have appropriate safeguards in place to protect your company’s data from nefarious actors. 

Key data compliance regulations for businesses

The laws surrounding data compliance come from a variety of regulatory bodies. Which ones you have to meet depends on your customer base and your industry, plus the type of data you work with. 

Major data compliance laws that your organization may need to keep top of mind include (but are not limited to):

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – Regulations by the European Union governing the use and privacy of personal consumer data. 
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – U.S. federal law that sets out protections for personal health information and medical records. 
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)– U.S. data compliance regulations for financial reporting and accountability.
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – State law regulating use of the private data of California citizens. 
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)– Non-legal industry standards that help protect the personal information of cash and debit cardholders. 
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act – U.S. federal law governing protections of non-public personal financial information for financial institutions. 

There are also more general data compliance regulations to be aware of. For example, failure to efficiently guard against data breaches could result in steep fines and/or criminal charges from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The role of an ECM in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements

The job of an ECM is to streamline the way a business manages its digital content. This is done through a few notable tools and technologies, each of which contributes in its own way toward the meeting of data compliance regulations and industry expectations. 

Document management

An ECM helps businesses store, organize, and retrieve documents with increased efficiency. This ensures ongoing document accuracy and accessibility, and connects components from multiple pieces of content so you can easily pull up what you need when you need it. 

Records management

ECMs maintain and secure records to meet regulatory requirements. ECM compliance efforts are further achieved by the implementation of retention schedules that automatically archive and dispose of documents in a timely manner. 

Workflow automation

Companies rely on ECMs to reduce human error in data management and increase process efficiency – two tasks that are seamlessly achieved through workflow automation. And in utilizing ECM’s workflow tools, businesses can also target the sorts of administrative tasks that are integral to complying with data regulations. 

Tracking and auditing

Targeted tracking and auditing tools simplify the task of keeping detailed logs of document access and modifications. In doing so, they also provide audit trails to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection. 

Access controls and security

With an ECM, businesses can implement role-based access controls to restrict document access to authorized personnel. Further protections are achieved by encrypting sensitive data to protect it from unauthorized access and breaches. 

ECM compliance features

ECMs enforce processes for data storage, management, and processing that amplify compliance efforts on multiple fronts. Some of the most relevant features here include automated reminders and notifications for compliance-related tasks, version control to quickly pull up document history and changes, and integration with compliance management tools for enhanced oversight. 

Master data compliance regulations with Systemware’s enterprise content management services

Systemware is a cloud-based ECM that can be expertly tailored to your business’s needs. Integrate our platform with various repositories and enterprise systems, and make it easy to achieve compliance with all your digital data – minimal manual inputs required. Core features include:

• Automated business processes – Leverage AI and machine learning to automate compliance-related workflows throughout processes such as document classification, retention scheduling, and compliance checks. 
• Optimized performance across cloud environments – Get support for public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments, plus protection for all of your data thanks to seamless integration with AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud. 
• Information governance and cost optimization – Our content management platform ensures comprehensive information governance to meet compliance needs. It also optimizes associated costs by leveraging cloud resources and reducing the need for on-premises infrastructure. 
• Tailored user experience – Build the system you need with customizable interfaces and dashboards for different user roles, as well as intuitive compliance management tools for non-technical users. 
  

At Systemware, we are dedicated to helping organizations meet their data compliance requirements. Get the resources and support you need to maintain compliance and avoid costly missteps – and don’t let key regulatory requirements fall through the cracks. For more information on our ECM solutions and compliance tools, contact us today for a one-on-one chat to see how your company can benefit from Systemware.