The "new normal" is just around the corner and companies need to prepare for what lies ahead- and it's not just on an organisational level anymore: employees, compliance with legal and best practice requirements, and communication are all factors to be considered in the revival of face-to-face and hybrid work. The "new normal" is going to require businesses to face a new way of acting and managing their assets. Are you ready to comply on your return to the office?
The return of employees will be a challenge in terms of their safety and the ability to cope with new health control regulations. Have you thought about the need your workers are going to have for personal protective equipment? Do you have safety protocols in place in the offices or meeting rooms? Can you automate them or measure them? The impact of non-compliance no longer solely implies that you are breaking established rules, but also that your employees feel stressed and are not productive due to exposure to Covid-19. This is why these controls must be in place before returning to the office. Do you know the health status of your staff and their needs? And are you able to monitor and prioritise them?
Companies also cannot forget that communication channels are one way to achieve compliance. In many companies there is no centralisation, which leads to difficulty in transmitting important information, such as prohibited practices, risks and recommendations. Therefore, there is no capacity to provide clear rules and answers to current risks, which means a lack of understanding of regulations and an inability to provide a rapid response. If you do not act, your business will be impacted by possible litigation and unforeseen expenses.
Moreover, the structure of your company's IT function is not immune to compliance needs either. The rush to organise work from home, when the spread of the pandemic required it, necessitated the mobilisation of employees from workplaces to their homes, a situation that is temporary and will change in the short term. However, it is still possible to find that there are different devices, with different versions of software installed, the appearance of the IT shadow, etc. These are increasingly relevant factors that lead to an increase in the cost of maintenance and security risks for your business. A case in point: a North American company discovered that 35% of its remote workers used non-approved tools to hold meetings and exchange documents.
And what about governance, risk and compliance (GRC) enforcement? How do you ensure the right people get the right information at the right time? Perhaps you have noticed that risk management is inefficient because information is siloed and there are too many manual processes. Without a unified audit format, even hybrid work environments, those that combine teleworking and face-to-face work, increase the chances of non-compliance and the absence of a complete view of the security of the equipment. The consequences are not minor: undetected risks, GDPR, PCI-DSS and ISO certifications at risk, and uncontrolled software licenses, in addition to the work overload for those responsible for this area.
The same goes for designing the compliance policy in the business. Failure to establish where this information is stored and how, as well as not having defined the risk key index (KRI) or the future of the "new normal", has certain consequences with a high impact. For example, loss and duplication of sensitive data, theft of information, penalties, lack of visibility, poorly defined procedures, and impact on resources that lead to progress.
Finally, there is also the risk of suppliers as they, too, may not be complying with the recent required standards, or there may be difficulties in controlling them in a hybrid and new regulatory work environment- all this in a critical scenario where everything changes and where it is essential to have everything under control.
SilverStorm is the ally you need. With over 17 years of experience in technology consulting, it holds the keys to facing the challenges of the "new normal". With the help of Nexthink and ServiceNow technology and the SilverStorm consulting service, your company will be ready for this new and demanding scenario with solutions based on automation and implemented at the speed of light.