Compliance Teams Need a Data-Driven Approach

Running an effective compliance program requires precise knowledge of the customer state of the world as well as the state of laws and regulations (current and historical). Compliance teams that use periodic, static methods of reporting and analysis struggle to keep up with changes, resulting in delays, inefficiencies, and potential risks. A dynamic, data-driven approach is necessary to meet the demands of modern compliance.

Why Traditional Compliance Methods Fall Short

Historically, compliance teams have relied on static reports and manual processes to gather the information they need. These methods involve collecting and combing through spreadsheets, reviewing documents, and cross-referencing legal texts. Teams spend weeks collecting data and then several more weeks analyzing it. The result is usually the discovery of many compliance issues long after those issues occurred. When these issues are discovered, the damage may already be significant, and addressing it becomes far more complex and costly.

This historical approach is also slow in enabling compliance teams to ask important questions about their data, as they often face significant delays just gaining access to the necessary information. As the organization grows and becomes more complex, the communication required to gain access becomes even more burdensome.

Introducing the Data-Driven Approach to Compliance

A data-driven compliance strategy turns this model on its head. Rather than waiting for problems to emerge, teams can proactively use data to monitor their organization's compliance status. By leveraging technology, compliance professionals gain visibility into their organization's activities as they happen, allowing them to catch potential issues early and respond quickly.

This approach mirrors the benefits of developer observability tools, which provide engineers with real-time insights into software performance and errors. Just as observability practices enable engineers to maintain high standards in development, a data-driven approach enables compliance teams to stay ahead of regulatory requirements.

Real-Time Data: Supporting Agile Compliance and Product Teams

Compliance teams need real-time insights to stay effective in today's fast-paced regulatory environment. Relying on data days, weeks, or even months old can expose teams to risks, as they may respond to problems too late. Modern compliance requires a dynamic approach, continuously monitoring up-to-date information to catch potential issues early and prevent them from escalating.

However, it's not just the compliance team that benefits from real-time data—agile product teams do as well. Agile methodologies depend on quick iterations and feedback loops, and compliance needs to keep pace with that development speed. Without timely compliance insights, product teams risk delays as compliance becomes a bottleneck. By integrating real-time compliance data into the development process, product teams can confidently release updates, knowing compliance requirements are monitored and addressed continuously.

This synchronization between compliance and product development minimizes risk and fosters innovation. When compliance teams can provide real-time insights, product teams can move faster, iterate more frequently, and introduce new features without the fear of missing regulatory requirements. In this way, real-time data becomes the foundation for compliance and product agility, ensuring that both teams can stay ahead of regulatory demands while driving business growth.

A System That Adapts to Change

Laws and regulations are not static; they change frequently and often in complicated ways. Moreover, change doesn't only come from external regulations—organizations themselves evolve. New products, partnerships, and internal processes all contribute to the shifting data landscape that compliance teams must manage. These changes impact the data that must be collected and the analysis that must be performed.

Therefore, compliance tools must be flexible and adaptable, capable of incorporating these changes as they happen. Static models, which depend on manual updates and rigid structures, fall short in this regard. Compliance teams need systems designed to evolve alongside the regulations applicable to their organization.

From Data Collection to Actionable Insights

Collecting data is only part of the solution. Gathering insights based on relevant laws and regulations is also a challenge. While collecting real-time data is a crucial first step, it's only part of the solution. Without the right tools to analyze that data within a legal framework, teams will find themselves only slightly better off than when using static reports.

The key is to bridge the gap between data and legal analysis by defining fields within the data. This process is known as defining your ontology. This is an involved process, but you can start small, allowing you to deliver a couple of easy insights early on. From there, you can grow your data collection and insight generation, growing your ontology as you go.

This is a real-time view of application activity and computed insights.

The Road Ahead for Compliance Teams

Transitioning to a data-driven compliance model is no small feat, but the benefits outweigh the challenges. By adopting this approach, teams can move from a reactive stance to a proactive one, catching potential issues before they become costly mistakes. Real-time data empowers teams to act quickly and confidently, while flexible systems ensure they remain agile in the face of regulatory changes and agile product development.

For compliance teams seeking to stay ahead of regulatory changes and organizational shifts, a data-driven approach represents the future of effective compliance management. Those who embrace data-driven strategies will improve efficiency and accuracy and be better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern regulations. The question is no longer if compliance teams should adopt a data-driven approach but when.

Ready to Embrace the Future of Compliance?

At ComplyCo, we've built a real-time compliance observability tool to help teams easily navigate the evolving regulatory landscape. Our platform captures critical compliance data from user experiences and backend processes and analyzes it against our up-to-date knowledge of laws and regulations. This functionality enables your compliance team to act in real-time, ensuring you're always one step ahead of potential risks.

If you're ready to transform your compliance operations and embrace a data-driven future, contact us today to learn more or request a demo of ComplyCo's observability platform.