Compliance

Compliance typically refers to adhering to legal, regulatory, and internal standards. For example. Europe’s GDPR compliance has been a common use case for us at many customers. However, compliance requirements are not limited to just GDPR. Here’s how SAMU can play a crucial role in ensuring compliance:

1. Centralized Repository for EA data which is typically an essential aspect for compliance:
SAMU can serve as a centralized repository for EA data that can have information that is essential in meeting regulatory and/or compliance requirements. Attributes related to compliance can be created on any object in the SAMU repository.

2. Impact Analysis:
Use SAMU to perform impact analysis on existing architecture to identify potential areas of non-compliance.
Assess how changes to systems or processes may affect compliance, enabling proactive adjustments.

3. Mapping Regulations or Compliance to Architectural Components:
Establish a clear mapping between regulatory requirements and architectural components within SAMU.
For example, for GDPR compliance personal data categories (i.e.: First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Address) can be defined and then mapped out for each object in the repository. The following can be addressed:
• Where is personal data collected? – Is personal consent / opt-out available?
• Where is personal data stored?
• Where is personal data transferred?
• Where is personal data processed?
• Who is the data owner of data entities?
• Is personal data anonymized? (meaning that personal data is transformed in a way that the resulting data cannot be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information)

Develop guidelines that meet the principles of data protection by design and by default. Similar mappings can be easily created for other Compliance or Regulatory requirements.

4. Risk Management:
Integrate risk management capabilities within SAMU to assess and mitigate compliance-related risks.
Identify dependencies and assess the impact of changes on compliance.

5. Automated Auditing and Reporting:
Implement automated auditing features to regularly assess compliance against established standards.
Generate customizable reports within SAMU for internal and external audits.

6. Monitoring and Alerting:
Set up monitoring mechanisms within SAMU to track real-time compliance status.
Implement alerts for potential compliance violations or deviations.

7. Integration with Governance Frameworks:
Integrate the EA tool with broader governance frameworks to align compliance efforts with organizational governance.
This can include frameworks like COBIT, ITIL, or industry-specific standards such as BIAN (Banking) or eTom (Telecommunications).

By incorporating these features and practices, SAMU can serve as a comprehensive platform to enhance and support compliance initiatives within an organization.