When you hear the term “audit,” images of taxes and the IRS may come to mind, as a cold sense of dread fills your chest. But audits aren’t all bad; audits can help a company to avoid some major and costly pitfalls. But as an organization is developing or selecting enterprise software, auditing capabilities are frequently overlooked, resulting in potentially negative consequences down the road. That may leave you wondering, “What would I audit? And Why would I need auditing capabilities in the first place?”
Audit Capabilities in Enterprise Software and Mobile Apps
Auditing is essential for regulatory compliance, which is an increasingly important point of focus in the realm of risk management and mitigation.
When it comes to regulatory compliance, auditing capabilities are essential for proving that you have achieved and maintained compliance. Companies invest lots of resources into achieving compliance, yet they give little thought to how they can prove that they are compliant.
Regulations such as the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) hold the potential to affect virtually any and every business. Companies are paying more attention to these regulations because the fines and penalties can be devastating in terms of the amounts – up to 4% of the prior fiscal year’s revenue or up to $20 million — whatever figure is greater — for GDPR fines. In the case of GDPR, auditing is necessary for proving a company has complied with an individual’s “right to be forgotten” by deleting their data. There are other aspects of GDPR that can require an audit, but the right to be forgotten is one that cannot effectively be addressed without auditing tools.
There are also countless industry-specific regulatory bodies that enforce strict rules and regulations surrounding data management, personal information and communications records (amongst other things.) Think HIPAA and the exacting requirements surrounding personal health information (PHI) collection and access. Auditing capabilities are instrumental in proving what information has been accessed and by whom, allowing you to prove compliance if the need arises. An audit could also reveal non-compliance, providing an opportunity to address the issue with employee education or even new policies and procedures.
Financial sector companies are also subject to stringent regulatory oversight. Take the case of JPMorgan, which was handed down $200 million in fines because it allowed its employees to use WhatsApp to communicate with clients. This broke federal record keeping laws and it constituted a violation of regulations with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They key issue: JPMorgan was required to keep a record of all communications with clients, yet it was unable to do so on a platform such as WhatsApp.
Auditing Features in Enterprise Software and Mobile Apps
Auditing tools can take a few different forms, depending upon the exact nature of the software and the information, processes or actions / events that you are auditing. These capabilities can include the following.
- Access Audits – Track when a file, website, app, software platform, tool or other digital asset is accessed, including logins, logouts and views.
- Revision Audits – Track changes, including when they were performed, the nature of the revision and the user who made the modification.
- Addition / Deletion Audits – Track deletions and additions of files, content, folders and anything else that can potentially be added or deleted.
- Behavior Audits – Track user actions, such as logins, calls, messages, file creation and other user behaviors that can be performed within the software or app interface.
- Message Audits – Track the history of a message, including the time it was sent, who sent it, the device used to send the message, IP address of the sender, recipient name, the time the message was received and other data related to a messaging thread.
- File Audits – Track the history of a file, including time of creation, the user who created it, modifications to the file, when those modifications were made, file location and time of deletion in the event that the file is deleted.
These are just a few of the auditing capabilities that you may find in a well-architected software platform or mobile app. An investigation of the many messaging apps will reveal that this is one area where auditing capabilities are desperately lacking. This poses a problem for enterprise messaging, whereby record keeping can be a matter of regulatory compliance.
SayHey Messenger® provides an enterprise messaging solution with auditing capabilities that will allow a company to maintain and achieve compliance with the many regulations that exist. Users have the ability to perform comprehensive audits and data exports, among other capabilities. Plus, the SayHey Messenger® platform is available as a stand-alone application or as an enterprise deployment that dwells within your existing enterprise software platform.
Seeking a Messaging App or Enterprise Software With Auditing Capabilities?
SayHey Messenger® is an enterprise messaging platform that includes robust auditing capabilities, but our talented development team can integrate this functionality in virtually any enterprise software platform, whether it is an ERP, CRM or data management platform.
At 7T, our development team works with company leaders who are seeking to solve problems and drive ROI through digital transformation. As an innovative Dallas software and mobile app development company, 7T offers collaborative, multi-phased software development services to clients in all business sectors.
Our offices are situated in Dallas, Houston and Austin, but our clientele spans the globe. If you’re ready to learn more about developing enterprise software, a mobile app or another solution for your organization, contact 7T today.
