Your security and compliance glossary

All the terms you need to know when you’re trying to get compliance audit ready, fast.

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What is compliance software?

Compliance software describes the software tools an organization employs to monitor its internal systems and controls, in order to comply with required standards and regulations. Compliance software integrates with an organization’s compliance risk management strategy to provide continuous tracking, monitoring, and tools for review of the organization’s compliance with relevant rules and regulations, in addition to the standards and expectations of its customers.

Compliance software can streamline the process of becoming and staying compliant with required regulations — and its continuous monitoring can support the improvement of an organization’s overall security posture.

What features does compliance software include?

Every compliance management software tool is unique in its specialty and features, but there are certain features you can expect to see in most of these tools and apps. The most common features you can expect in compliance review software include:

  • Compliance tracking and alerts - Monitor business operations and protocols to ensure that they comply with your necessary standards and alert appropriate personnel of any action items.
  • Audit management - Plan, complete, and track audits to ensure you never miss a compliance-necessary system audit.
  • Risk management - Assess your risk level and security gaps to mitigate future risks.
  • Incident management - Identify potential breaches, system failures, and service disruptions and carry out a planned response to minimize risks and fortify your security.
  • Process automation - Design custom workflows for ongoing compliance tasks.
  • Compliance reporting - Preparing detailed reports verifying your compliance with the necessary security standards to use as documentation.
  • Version control - Track updates to security tools and documents to ensure proper updates are installed.

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Business benefits of using compliance software

Why should your business be using compliance maintenance software? This specialized type of tool offers a variety of benefits for your business and its bottom line:

  • Reduced legal risks - Complying with certain security protocols is a critical legal concern for businesses; most notably, healthcare businesses’s need to comply with HIPAA regulations. Compliance review software assists in ensuring you remain compliant and providing you with documentation of your compliance.
  • Heightened customer trust and buy-in - Security protocols and standards give customers confidence in your business’s safety and make you a low-risk choice, making you a more desirable option for potential and existing customers.
  • More efficient decision-making - Compliance software provides comprehensive information about security protocols and a compliance checklist of necessary action items in one streamlined platform, allowing leadership to make more informed decisions about productive steps to take.
  • Reduced resources for compliance monitoring - Compliance monitoring software automates your compliance tracking and evaluation, saving resources by reducing the need to manually monitor your systems.

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