Reducing compliance risk in your digital landscape

The workaround trap: how clunky systems create compliance gaps

Most compliance risks start as small, tactical workarounds. Someone is just trying to get their job done. The risks we often come across usually don't need a data security specialist. They're the everyday stuff:

• The system's clunky, so someone builds a separate spreadsheet.
• Two people need the same web service, so they share a login.
• The numbers for a report are a pain to pull, so they get stitched together by hand in a separate file and no one questions the source of that data.

These workarounds go unnoticed until there’s issues with privacy and data protections, cybersecurity exposure, or meeting ISO and industry standards. Once a compliance breach happens, dealing with the fallout usually outweighs the cost of the proactive effort to get it right.

Taking the time to map your digital landscape, systems, roles, and policies, and checking that it aligns with your compliance obligations is how you catch these risks before they catch you.
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If people can't use the system, they'll build their own

When you find the same data spread across a dozen spreadsheets and on people's own devices it might not seem like a big deal. But, the data on a personal drive may not be backed up, and isn't visible to anyone else. Furthermore, if it's personal or client information, keeping it there can fall short of your obligation to store it securely.

These risks aren't caused by malicious intent, there’s usually more to it:

• The system is genuinely hard to use and changes weren’t managed.
• The process it was meant to support was never mapped out, so it never quite fit how people actually work. (more on that here)
• Training never happened, or has only happened once:
  
  • You ran a one-hour session when the system went in.
  • Everyone who's joined since has learned it by copying how someone else has adapted to their own process.

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Compliance risk doesn't live inside one system.

Think about:

• Where your documents are kept
• Financial and accounting software
• HR and payroll systems
• Customer databases

Potential compliance risk sits across all of them and often the areas where you've got no digital tool at all. The processes behind those systems and the checks you run to make sure any of it's being followed all matter just as much.
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Getting it right starts with an honest picture of your digital landscape

When we partner with businesses we look at:

• What systems you're running
• What data sits in each, and where it's duplicated
• How each one's actually used , by who, and how they fit together
• Whether your processes are documented and followed
• Are the right policies are in place
• How legislation and reporting obligations apply

Making sure these areas lined up with your obligations is almost always easier than trying to find a quick fix once there’s been a compliance breach.
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Ready to get it right?

If you'd like to know how Davy Partners helps businesses get on top of their technology environment, get in touch with our team to book a free call with Michael our Director of Davy Partners Digital.

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