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Manage system compliance overview

  • Article

Applies to: Dynamics 365

This article describes the importance of managing system compliance when you implement and operate Dynamics 365 products.

System compliance is vital for ensuring the stability, security, and ethical conduct of an organization. Ultimately, it contributes to the organization's long-term success and sustainability. Every organization must comply with the legal and regulatory standards of the industry and region that it operates in. Adherence to legal, regulatory, contractual, and corporate standards is crucial for maintaining trust with stakeholders, safeguarding sensitive data, and actively monitoring and reporting on compliance efforts. By adhering to these standards, organizations can effectively mitigate risks and ensure their long-term success and sustainability in an ethical and responsible manner.

Microsoft is committed to the highest levels of trust, transparency, standards conformance, and regulatory compliance. Dynamics 365 is a cloud offering from Microsoft. Therefore, you can access Dynamics 365 data and apps that Microsoft hosts over the internet. In this model, you own your data, but you share some control over the apps with Microsoft. Security, compliance, privacy, and data protection are shared responsibilities between you and Microsoft. Microsoft is committed to safeguarding your data, protecting your right to make decisions about it, and being transparent about what happens to it.

We empower you to achieve your vision on a trusted platform. The Microsoft Trusted Cloud is built on the foundational principles of security, privacy, compliance, and transparency. Like security and privacy, compliance with laws and regulations is a shared responsibility of cloud service providers and their customers. The Trust Center offers tools that help you comply with national, regional, and industry-specific requirements. These requirements govern data collection and use, and audit reports that help you verify technical compliance and control requirements. As a Microsoft customer, you must identify which controls apply to your business. You must also understand how to implement and configure those controls to manage security and compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements of your nation, region, and industry.

Stakeholders

Many people across the organization should contribute to the decision-making process and design of the manage system compliance area. The following list provides examples of such stakeholders:

  • Executive leadership: These stakeholders include chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and chief information officers (CIOs). Executive leaders provide strategic oversight to ensure that system compliance is aligned with broader organizational objectives and priorities. Their guidance is instrumental in resource allocation and decision-making, particularly during periods of crisis.
  • IT management: These stakeholders include CIOs, IT directors, and IT managers. IT management plays a crucial role in identifying critical systems and data, implementing technical aspects of compliance measures, and ensuring seamless integration of IT resources with the organization's overall resilience strategies.
  • Program management team: This team includes project managers from various streams, who collaborate under the direction of overall program managers. These stakeholders are accountable for overseeing the successful execution of compliance management processes in their projects. They lead project teams, manage project plans and schedules, and ensure that compliance initiatives adhere to defined scopes, timelines, and budgets.
  • Legal and compliance officers team: This team includes general counsel, compliance officers, and legal advisors. These professionals are responsible for interpreting and ensuring adherence to legal and regulatory requirements that are related to system compliance. They provide guidance about legal implications, manage compliance programs, and oversee the development of policies and procedures.
  • Data protection officers (DPOs)/privacy officers team: These stakeholders include DPOs and privacy managers. Because of the increasing focus on data privacy and protection, they are crucial for ensuring that Dynamics 365 compliance measures are aligned with applicable privacy laws and regulations. They oversee data protection strategies, manage privacy impact assessments, and serve as points of contact for data protection authorities.
  • Security officers/information security managers team: These stakeholders include chief information security officers (CISOs) and information security managers. Because of the importance of security in compliance management, they are tasked with safeguarding systems and data against potential threats and breaches. They develop and enforce security policies, conduct risk assessments, and oversee security incident response procedures.
  • Quality assurance (QA) and testing team: This team includes QA managers and test engineers. QA and testing teams play a vital role in validating compliance measures within Dynamics 365 implementations. They conduct thorough testing of system functionality, configurations, and integrations to ensure that compliance requirements are met, and that any issues are promptly identified and addressed.
  • Business process owners/functional leads team: These stakeholders include business process owners and functional leads. They are responsible for defining and managing business processes within Dynamics 365. They work closely with compliance teams to ensure that system configurations are aligned with regulatory requirements and organizational policies. They also provide insights into business needs and objectives that inform compliance decisions.
  • Internal auditors/audit committee team: These stakeholders include internal auditors and audit committee members. Internal audit functions provide independent assurance and advisory services about governance, risk management, and compliance matters. Internal auditors assess the effectiveness of compliance controls within Dynamics 365 implementations, identify areas for improvement, and provide recommendations to enhance compliance efforts.

Manage system compliance process flow

The following diagram illustrates the manage system compliance business process area.

Diagram illustrating the manage system compliance business process area showing the connection between multiple business process areas.

Each solid gray rectangle on the diagram represents an end-to-end business process. The solid blue rectangle represents the business process area. The diagram shows the subprocesses for the business process area. The arrows on the diagram show the flow of the business process in an organization. If a subprocess can lead to more than one other subprocess, the parallel subprocesses are shown as branches.

  1. Start

  2. Administer to operate

  3. Manage system compliance, which has seven substeps:

    1. Identify applicable regulations and compliance requirements: In the first substep, you must identify applicable business regulation and compliance requirements.
    2. Establish compliance policies and procedures: The second substep involves establishing compliance policies and procedures in your organization.
    3. Conduct a compliance risk assessment: The third substep involves conducting a compliance risk assessment.
    4. Implement compliance controls and measures: The fourth substep is focused on implementing compliance controls and measures.
    5. Monitor compliance: The fifth substep involves monitoring your organization's compliance.
    6. Report on compliance: The sixth substep highlights the importance of regular reporting on compliance.
    7. Respond to noncompliance: The seventh substep is focused on responding to any noncompliance.

  4. End

The diagram also includes business processes on each side.

  • On the left side:

    • Acquire to dispose
    • Case to resolution
    • Concept to market
    • Design to resolution
    • Forecast to plan
    • Hire to retire
    • Inventory to deliver

  • On the right side:

    • Order to cash
    • Plan to produce
    • Procure to pay
    • Project to profit
    • Prospect to quote
    • Record to report
    • Service to cash

These business processes are related to the steps for managing system compliance in the center of the diagram. However, they aren't directly part of the sequential flow that is described.

In addition, the two large, curved arrows indicate that the process is iterative.

All end-to-end business processes are shown on the left and right sides because management of system compliance can be an integral part of all business processes.

Manage system compliance benefits

There are many key benefits that can be used to monitor and measure the success of implementing technology to support the management of system compliance. The following sections outline the key benefits that an organization might monitor and measure for the manage system compliance business process area.

Enhanced trust, credibility, and reputation

By adhering to legal, regulatory, contractual, and corporate standards, organizations demonstrate their commitment to ethical conduct and responsibility. In this way, they foster trust among stakeholders, including customers, partners, and investors, and enhance the organization's reputation and credibility.

Enhanced data security and privacy

Dynamics 365 provides robust security features, including data encryption and access controls, to ensure that sensitive information is protected. These features help organizations comply with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). They also help safeguard customer data against breaches and unauthorized access.

Automated compliance tracking and reporting

Automation of compliance tracking and reporting in Dynamics 365 reduces manual processes. It ensures timely and accurate reporting, and minimizes human error.

Streamlined processes and workflow management

Integration of compliance management into everyday workflows in Dynamics 365 improves operational efficiency and ensures adherence to regulatory requirements across all business operations.

Real-time monitoring and alerts

Dynamics 365 provides real-time monitoring and alerts for potential compliance issues. Therefore, organizations can promptly address issues and reduce the likelihood of noncompliance and fines.

Comprehensive documentation and audit trails

Dynamics 365 maintains detailed records and audit trails of compliance-related activities. These features support audit readiness and transparency, and make it easier for organizations to demonstrate compliance to regulators and stakeholders.

Next steps

If you want to implement Dynamics 365 solutions to assist with your manage system compliance business processes, you can use the following resources and steps to learn more. (Links are added, when the articles are ready.)

  1. Define a business continuity plan
  2. Manage licensing and entitlements
  3. Administer system features
  4. Manage system access and security
  5. Train users and increase adoption
  6. Monitor systems, environments, and capacity
  7. Manage background jobs
  8. Manage notifications alerts
  9. Uptake software releases
  10. Manage data synchronization
  11. Manage system compliance (the article that you're currently reading)
  12. Support systems

You can use the following resources to learn more about the manage system compliance process in Dynamics 365.

Contributors

This article is maintained by Microsoft. It was originally written by the following contributors.

Principal author:

Other contributors: