Compliance can be complex and time-consuming, especially as regulations grow more detailed and demanding. Meeting these compliance requirements is mandatory for businesses handling customer data, managing employee privacy, or dealing with sensitive information. Many times, these businesses have to meet the requirements of more than one standard like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR. Yet, many companies still rely on manual compliance checks, which are slow, labor-intensive, and prone to errors. Also, they find it difficult to meet the timelines associated with each standard, which could in turn lead to fines and penalties.
To handle these challenges, companies are turning to compliance automation platforms like Drata. These platforms are built to handle the bulk of compliance work automatically, making it faster and easier for businesses to stay compliant. From gathering audit evidence to tracking data access in real-time, Drata’s features help teams focus on what really matters.
This article explores how Drata’s features work together to automate compliance tasks, making them easier, faster, and more reliable.
Key Features of Drata’s Compliance Automation
Drata offers a set of tools to automate the most tedious aspects of compliance. Below, we break down Drata’s main features and explain how they help businesses stay on top of compliance without the usual hassle.
Real-Time Compliance Monitoring
Drata’s real-time monitoring gives you up-to-the-minute visibility on your compliance status. Most compliance processes only check for issues periodically, which means potential gaps can go unnoticed. Drata monitors your systems continuously, from user permissions to software updates, flagging anything that doesn’t meet compliance standards.
A highlight of this tool is its real-time monitoring feature, which catches issues as they arise, so you don’t get blindsided by problems during an audit. This ongoing tracking is especially useful for standards like SOC 2, which requires continuous security practices. With Drata, you’re always in the know, reducing the chance of non-compliance.
Automated Evidence Collection
Gathering evidence for audits, whether it’s screenshots, logs, or access records, can take weeks if done manually. Drata takes care of this by automating evidence collection. Moreover, it connects to tools like AWS, Google Workspace, and GitHub to collect the necessary information automatically. Also, the collected information is segregated and organized for audits.
Automated evidence collection means your compliance data is always ready when you need it. It cuts out time-consuming searches and ensures nothing gets overlooked. For example, if an auditor requests information on data access, Drata’s automation has already compiled it for you, making the entire audit smoother.
Integrations with Your Tech Stack
Compliance data exists across different systems: cloud providers, HR software, project management tools, and more. It is time-consuming to gather data from these different sources, not to mention the chances of errors.
With a tool like Drata, this process of gathering data from different platforms becomes automated. It integrates with over 75 widely used platforms, allowing it to pull compliance data from wherever it’s stored.
As a result, you get a single source of truth for compliance information. Instead of manually tracking data across platforms, Drata also centralizes everything, making it easier to keep up with compliance requirements and reducing the risk of missed details.
Customizable Controls and Templates
Every industry and business has different compliance needs. Drata offers pre-built templates for common standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA. These templates can be customized to meet the specific needs of any business. If you’re subject to niche regulations or have unique requirements, you can adjust Drata’s controls to match.
The biggest advantage of customizable templates is that they speed up the compliance setup process, so you can align your systems with the right standards without starting from scratch. For example, a healthcare company working with HIPAA can use Drata’s HIPAA templates and make adjustments to fit their operations exactly, saving both time and resources.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Limiting access to sensitive data is vital to keep your records secure. Drata’s Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) lets you control who can access specific data based on their job role. This way, only authorized users have access to sensitive information, and you reduce the risk of unauthorized data exposure.
Besides boosting security, RBAC is essential for frameworks that focus on data protection, such as GDPR and HIPAA. With Drata’s RBAC, you can set restrictions that meet these standards, ensuring compliance without needing to manage permissions manually. This built-in security also keeps data safe and compliant.
Compliance Documentation Automation
Creating and maintaining compliance documentation can be tedious. Drata’s compliance documentation feature automates this process, keeping records of compliance-related activities, changes, and updates in real time. With this feature, you don’t need to worry about remembering each compliance action; Drata logs it all. When it’s time for an audit, you have everything you need on hand, with minimal manual work.
Now that we looked at the features, let’s see how they translate to benefits across different compliance frameworks.
How Drata Simplifies Major Compliance Frameworks
Drata’s automation features apply to a wide range of compliance frameworks, helping businesses meet multiple standards simultaneously. Here’s how it supports some of the most common frameworks.
SOC 2
SOC 2 ensures that companies handle data responsibly. Drata eases SOC 2 compliance in the following ways.
- Continuous monitoring of security policies with real-time alerts for non-compliant actions.
- Automated evidence gathering, from data access logs to security practices.
- Customizable SOC 2 templates that align with standard requirements.
With Drata, SOC 2 compliance is streamlined, making it faster and simpler to maintain adherence over time.
ISO 27001
ISO 27001 sets standards for information security management and you can use the following Drata features to comply with it.
- Templates for essential controls, like access management and data encryption.
- Automated risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities in real time.
- Continuous monitoring to ensure systems stay secure and compliant.
Drata makes ISO 27001 compliance more efficient, allowing companies to focus on improving their security rather than getting bogged down in manual tasks.
GDPR
GDPR governs data protection in the EU, and to comply with this stringent regulation, the following features will come in handy.
- Data inventory tracking to locate and monitor personal data across systems.
- Automated controls for data access, ensuring that only necessary personnel can view private data.
- Real-time tracking of data access to quickly identify unauthorized attempts.
These features help organizations meet GDPR’s strict standards for data privacy, avoiding costly fines and protecting customer trust.
HIPAA
HIPAA is essential for healthcare providers, requiring stringent controls around patient data. Drata supports HIPAA compliance by:
- Limiting access to sensitive data through RBAC.
- Automating activity logs for all data access points, as required by HIPAA.
- Offering templates that align with HIPAA standards, so healthcare organizations can implement compliant controls quickly.
Drata’s HIPAA capabilities are particularly valuable in healthcare, where both patient privacy and regulatory fines are on the line.
CCPA
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires businesses to protect California residents’ data. Drata assists with CCPA compliance in the following ways.
- Enables data mapping to track where customer information is stored.
- Offers access control settings that align with CCPA’s privacy requirements.
- Automates data access logs to keep records of who has viewed or used personal information.
With Drata, companies can confidently handle CCPA requirements without needing to create complex tracking processes from scratch.
Many of the above-mentioned features apply to other regulations too, making Drata a convenient compliance platform for organizations of all sizes.
Bottom Line
In today’s compliance-heavy environment, automation can be the game-changer for staying compliant efficiently. Drata offers companies a way to streamline their compliance processes, from evidence collection and monitoring to data access control. With built-in features for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, Drata reduces the time, cost, and risk involved in manual compliance work.
Try Drata today.