As businesses scale and explore new markets, global cloud compliance becomes essential yet increasingly complex. It has become a formidable task for companies as new regulations continue to reshape the landscape. From GDPR and FedRAMP to the EU Cyber Resiliency Act, these regulations are increasingly essential for businesses aiming to expand their cloud services.
I’m Gagandeep Singh, Global Head of Cloud Compliance at Cisco, here to provide insights on navigating this complex landscape to help businesses remain secure, compliant, and agile in the face of changing requirements.
Understanding the Global Cloud Compliance Challenge
With compliance, one size rarely fits all. Each jurisdiction—be it Europe, the U.S., or specific countries within each—enforces its own regulations that can complicate cloud operations. Today, however, achieving and maintaining compliance means meeting a myriad of international regulations that vary significantly in scope and enforcement.
For example, European frameworks like the EUCS (European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services) and the Spanish ENS (Esquema Nacional de Seguridad) have added layers of complexity that U.S.-based cloud providers must navigate to access European markets. Compliance has effectively become a gateway to global expansion, but one that requires careful planning and strategic execution.
This shift calls for a comprehensive, global approach to compliance—an approach that considers not only meeting baseline security but also adapting to local requirements without straining resources.
Solution: Building a Flexible Compliance Foundation
Addressing this complexity requires a proactive, adaptable compliance framework. Implementing a robust compliance model, like a Cloud Controls Framework (CCF), allows companies to create a compliance foundation that adapts to various market needs while maintaining a baseline of security and efficiency. This approach enables businesses to:
- Standardize Core Practices: The CCF’s baseline requirements support all major standards, helping reduce redundancies.
- Facilitate Market Entry: By adapting specific regional compliance standards within the CCF, companies can ensure that core security measures are consistent.
- Streamline Updates: The framework allows for swift adjustments as compliance evolves without requiring entire overhauls.
This approach enables businesses to manage multiple regulatory requirements more seamlessly and avoid the redundancy that often comes with separate compliance efforts for each region.
Centralizing Compliance with a Platform-Based Approach
Managing multiple compliance standards can quickly become chaotic, resulting in inefficiencies that divert resources from strategic priorities. A platform-based approach simplifies compliance by integrating essential tools, providing shared processes, and creating a unified compliance model that increases operational efficiency and regulatory agility.
The Power of a Centralized Platform
A centralized compliance platform effectively addresses ongoing compliance needs, particularly in highly regulated industries, by offering adaptable, shared resources that save time, cost, and effort.
Key features include secure identity and access management for controlled access, security testing and continuous monitoring to consistently meet compliance protocols, and centralized access to compliance resources, allowing teams to work from a unified hub and reducing redundant efforts across jurisdictions.
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Compliance
Compliance demands are dynamic, and managing them manually can be not only overwhelming but costly. As compliance regulations become more complex, AI offers a way to manage these demands efficiently without the exhaustive manpower traditionally needed. In my experience, automated compliance checks, powered by AI, significantly reduce audit preparation time and enhance regulatory adherence across regions.
Rather than manually tracking and adjusting for every regulation, businesses can deploy machine learning algorithms and AI-powered monitoring tools that identify potential risks, assess changing standards, and flag discrepancies in real time. The following applications of AI are particularly valuable:
- Continuous Compliance Monitoring: AI ensures that compliance status is tracked continuously, catching lapses or potential issues before they become costly problems.
- Predictive Analytics: Machine learning can analyze past data trends to forecast potential compliance risks, helping companies stay ahead of regulatory changes.
- Anomaly Detection: AI can quickly identify and flag unusual behaviors that indicate non-compliance, helping companies correct issues before they escalate.
With these capabilities, AI not only ensures compliance but also allows compliance teams to dedicate more time to strategic initiatives, avoiding the costly cycle of audits and manual checks that often strain resources.
Tackling Regional Compliance Standards without Losing Agility
As organizations expand internationally, they are met with the need to meet unique compliance standards specific to each jurisdiction. Requirements like SOC2 (System and Organization Controls 2) in the U.S., GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and EU-CRA (European Union, Cyber Resiliency Act) in Europe, and the Spanish ENS are designed to strengthen cybersecurity but may overlap or conflict with each other, leading to excessive administrative burdens and operational challenges.
To address these challenges, many companies are adopting a modular compliance model. This approach allows organizations to add region-specific compliance modules (like GDPR or ENS) without altering their core compliance protocols, ensuring consistency across locations. Modular compliance enables businesses to efficiently adapt to new standards as they enter different markets, maintaining agility while meeting local requirements.
For example, a business that uses a modular model can meet GDPR and EUCS standards for data protection and cybersecurity when entering Europe while retaining U.S.-focused standards such as SOC2 and FedRAMP back home. This approach not only ensures full compliance but also accelerates market entry by addressing unique regional standards in a structured, efficient manner.
Reducing Time and Costs in Compliance Implementation
Compliance often comes with significant expenses, from costly audits to the resources needed for continuous adaptation. Many organizations struggle with the perception that compliance is a resource drain, as funds and staff are diverted away from innovation to meet regulatory requirements. However, strategic approaches can manage compliance in both cost-effective and time-efficient ways.
Phased Rollouts for Cost Efficiency
Rather than implementing every regulatory requirement at once, phased rollouts allow companies to gradually introduce compliance measures. This method not only eases resource strain but also reduces the potential for costly errors.
Phased rollouts work particularly well in complex regulatory environments, where adapting incrementally allows teams to refine processes over time. Additionally, phased rollouts provide flexibility for organizations entering multiple regions, helping them to address region-specific demands as they emerge.
Automating Routine Audits to Save Resources
By automating routine audits—especially in lower-risk areas—companies can save both time and manpower, enabling compliance teams to focus on high-stakes areas where human oversight is essential. Automation reduces the risk of human error and accelerates audit cycles, ensuring that compliance stays current without exhausting resources.
Balancing Efficiency with Strategic Compliance Priorities
This balanced approach of phased rollouts and selective automation allows organizations to maintain compliance with less financial strain. By freeing up resources, compliance teams can shift their focus toward strategic initiatives, ensuring that the company’s compliance efforts not only meet regulatory standards but also support broader business goals.
Taking Action for Sustainable Compliance Success
Global cloud compliance presents challenges, but the right strategy can turn compliance from a burden to an asset. By embracing platform-based solutions, leveraging AI, and implementing modular models, businesses can streamline compliance to support growth and agility.
For companies looking to refine their compliance approach, engaging a compliance expert or exploring centralized platforms tailored to specific needs is a practical first step. By embracing these modern compliance tools and frameworks, companies can achieve regulatory success in a way that’s efficient, cost-effective, and scalable.
As cloud compliance continues to evolve, staying ahead will depend on proactive, structured approaches that address both current and future requirements.
