Coalfire Releases Securealities 2023 Compliance Report Highlighting the Importance of Automation in Managing Compliance Frameworks
Coalfire, the leading provider of cybersecurity services, released its new Securealities 2023 Compliance Report in partnership with Informa’s Omdia research division. The report captures how more than 300 security leaders are addressing compliance investments, organization governance, framework updates, tooling, automation, and more in today’s world of compliance. One of the key findings of the report is that companies are struggling to manage multiple compliance frameworks within complex, hybrid-cloud environments, and are increasingly turning to automation to meet the challenge.
Automation Helps Companies Optimize Multiple Regulatory Frameworks
The report reveals that early adopters who embraced compliance automation are starting to see returns on their investments by optimizing multiple regulatory frameworks including NIST, SOC, ISO, HITRUST, PCI, FedRAMP, and CMMC. Today’s platform-driven solutions allow companies to continuously integrate, deploy, and monetize their compliance capabilities by entering new markets and engaging new customers, breaking away from the traditional audit cycles, according to the report.
Increasing Technical Options Bring Complexity and Costs
The report shows that technical options are increasing, as are complexities and costs, and companies should frequently demonstrate compliance to customers, regulators, and supply chain partners. Almost 70% manage at least six frameworks, and 59% have multiple systems now subject to compliance requirements. Interestingly, over half (58%) of the respondents report an increase in compliance costs since 2020, and over 40% claim 25%+ budget increases since then and believe their compliance spend will continue to grow. Fifty-six percent of large enterprise respondents report using automation software to manage compliance, and only 64% have embraced tools to support evidence mapping to manage costs within multi-framework environments.
Paradigm Shift and Positive Trend Expected in the Future
The report warns that many companies are introducing software without re-engineering for coordinated assessment processes, and as a result, the costs of compliance have risen for many. However, the report also suggests that organizations are slowly balancing workflows and starting to see investments pay off, signifying a change in momentum. Coalfire expects costs to come down in the future as improved platform and software capabilities help support evidence collection and maintenance.
Transition and Deadlines Ahead for Companies
Although 77% of organizations plan to migrate to updated frameworks, the report shows that nearly a quarter (23%) are unprepared for this impending series of transitions and deadlines. Failure to comply with more stringent guardrails in a timely manner can result in added corporate liability and potential personal legal exposure for executives, especially for cloud service and SaaS providers. The report confirms that privacy, commercial trade, and defense intelligence risks have arrived at a critical tipping point, and government cloud migration and regulatory maturity are transforming business processes and the entire economy.
Recommendations for Companies
The report recommends that companies should start thinking about automating compliance processes and embracing platform-driven solutions to better manage complex, hybrid-cloud environments. Companies should also start reengineering their assessment processes to reduce the costs of compliance, implement tools to support evidence mapping, and start balancing workflows. Additionally, businesses should start preparing for the impending series of transitions and deadlines to comply with updated frameworks, especially if they are cloud service and SaaS providers.
Conclusion
The Securealities 2023 Compliance Report highlights the importance of automation in managing compliance frameworks for companies. The growing complexities and costs of compliance are pushing companies to automate compliance processes, breaking away from traditional audit cycles and continuously integrating, deploying, and monetizing their compliance capabilities. Although many companies have seen an increase in compliance costs, organizations are slowly balancing workflows and starting to see investments pay off, signifying a change in momentum. Companies should start thinking about automating compliance processes and embracing platform-driven solutions to better manage complex, hybrid-cloud environments while reengineering their assessment processes to reduce compliance costs and balance workflows.
<< photo by K. Mitch Hodge >>
