Automated Compliance Tasks: Finding the Sweet Spot for Maximum Efficiency

“Automated compliance tasks” is a deceptive siren song for MSPs. Promised effortless plug-and-play solutions that rarely materialize, MSPs face a frustrating gap between vendor hype and compliance realities, which can lead to disillusionment and abandoned projects.

To navigate compliance effectively, embrace the “automation sweet spot,” a strategic approach that balances realistic automation with human oversight. This article explores why automation is not the answer to everything, while still being incredibly useful for certain processes.

The Harsh Truth: Limitations of Automated Compliance Tasks

Easy automation marketing doesn’t accurately represent the work your MSP puts into operationalizing compliance. Here are three primary reasons why compliance automation falls short:

# 1 Automation Challenges

To be frank, vendors overpromise automation capabilities, and the reality is that automation levels are far lower than advertised. You could potentially automate 30-50% of SOC 2, 20-30% of ISO 27001, and 15-25% of CMMC 2.0, based on our estimates. In all of these frameworks, numerous manual tasks are still required to ensure compliance is properly implemented and effective.

Let’s take, for example, risk assessments. These assessments are a vital component of compliance and are used to identify potential vulnerabilities and prioritize security controls based on the biggest risks. While some vendors offer automated risk assessments using AI and machine learning, human judgment is still required to evaluate the impact and likelihood of risks, especially in complex business scenarios.

#2 Integration Challenges

Even with a dedicated compliance platform, most MSPs rely on a patchwork of specialized software for various functions. Ultimately, the granular data required for compliance calls for a degree of manual work, with human oversight needed to ensure data accuracy, completeness, and relevance.

For example, while a compliance tool might offer basic asset tracking, your MSP probably keeps detailed hardware inventories in specialized systems, capturing lifecycle, warranty, and location data that the compliance tool may miss.

#3 Trust Challenges

As an MSP, you understand the high-stakes environment you operate in, and you’re well aware that unseen gaps can devastate your business and client relationships. Silent failures in scripts or integrations can lead to undetected non-compliance, resulting in fines, contract breaches, liability, and reputational damage.

A level of healthy skepticism, while understandable, hinders full automation adoption. Your need for certainty likely means you’re performing manual checks, slowing the full adoption of the program you’ve invested in, and creating redundant processes.

The Indispensable Human Element

Despite advancements in automation, compliance will always require some level of manual involvement, because some steps cannot be done without it, such as:

Intent and Judgment: Compliance is not a checklist. It demands understanding the “why” behind regulations. Automation operates on predefined rules, lacking the intuitive understanding and contextual awareness required for effective compliance.
Effectiveness Over Time: Compliance is not a static achievement. Environments evolve, and static automation fails in dynamic settings.
External Dependencies: Compliance is influenced by a range of external factors, including vendors, clients, and internal culture. Vendor updates can trigger control failures, client changes can alter security needs, and a lax internal culture can undermine even the most robust automation.

Finding the Compliance Automation Sweet Spot: Practical Strategies

And now, for the good news. Although the promise of fully automated compliance is unrealistic, MSPs can still achieve significant efficiency gains by focusing on the “automation sweet spot.” Here’s how to do it:

Focusing on Near 100% Tasks

Certain tasks can be highly automated, nearing 100% execution without human intervention, including:

Vulnerability Scanning: Scheduled automated vulnerability scanners run without human intervention, generating reports on known vulnerabilities.
Patch Deployment: Automated patch tools deploy security patches based on schedules, requiring minimal manual intervention beyond testing and approval.
Basic Alerting: Automated systems generate alerts based on predefined events, triggering incident response workflows with minimal human interaction.
Repetitive Tasks: Automation excels at consistent, high-volume tasks like log aggregation and report generation.

Keep in mind that human oversight is still necessary to configure these tools correctly, interpret results, and ensure everything functions as intended.

Integration Prioritization

Prioritize tools with robust APIs to minimize data silos and reduce the need for manual data mapping. When direct APIs are unavailable, middleware platforms, custom scripting, and webhooks can bridge integration gaps.

Implementing Safety Nets

Create safety nets for automation failures, with periodic manual reviews to validate control effectiveness and identify gaps. These reviews provide a layer of human oversight, allowing for the detection of subtle deviations or emerging risks that automated systems might miss.

Creating Hybrid Solutions

Blend automated alerts with human expertise for proactive threat detection. Automated systems flag anomalies, while analysts investigate and validate potential incidents. This synergy ensures rapid response to emerging threats, leveraging both machine speed and human judgment.

Due Diligence of Vendor Claims

Vetting vendor claims sets realistic expectations and ensures targeted investments. Doing your due diligence mitigates risks from misleading promises and identifies tools that align with specific needs.

Setting Expectations

Clearly communicate the limitations of automation and the ongoing need for human oversight to clients. Clear client communication builds trust and manages expectations, preventing unrealistic reliance on automation. It also fosters peer collaboration on compliance, strengthening client understanding and your partnership.

Embracing Realistic Automation

The automation sweet spot offers a balance between technological efficiency and indispensable human expertise. With this approach, MSPs can strategically deploy tools for tasks like vulnerability scanning and log aggregation, while maintaining vigilant oversight for areas requiring human judgment and dynamic adaptation.

Compliance Scorecard is designed to enhance your compliance process through intelligent automation while recognizing the value of human expertise in the compliance equation. Contact us or schedule your free live demo and discover your automation sweet spot with Compliance Scorecard.