Larger organizations sense more urgency.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: COMPLIANCE - Brief article

Today's regulatory environment--as defined by regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Basel II (financial services) and HIPAA (healthcare)--doesn't differentiate between data center and remote office data. Regulations require companies to secure remote office/branch office (ROBO) data, and non-compliance can result in penalties (including, potentially, jail time) levied against the company and individuals in the organization responsible for compliance.

Larger corporations with more moving parts and more potential cracks are more concerned about making sure compliance policies are working. According to research conducted earlier this year by the Enterprise Strategy Group, entitled Branch Office Optimization, 46 percent of organizations with 20,000 or more employees ranked ensuring compliance with government, industry or...