What compliance certifications do you need to be enterprise-ready?

To be enterprise-ready, software companies need to adhere to a wide range of compliance certifications, each serving different aspects of software security, data protection, and operational integrity. The specific industry and where you’re operating also matters, with requirements differing from country to country, and even at the state level in the US.

Different industries will also have different compliance requirements, and the necessity for those certifications will differ depending on whether the industry is a regulated one or not.
Here’s a look at some of the crucial certifications, ranked by their importance, to guide your compliance journey.

Must have certifications to be enterprise-ready

These certifications are the ones most commonly on enterprise procurement teams’ must-have list. It’s very unlikely you’d find enterprise organizations that would buy a software tool that didn’t comply with most of these standards.

• ISO/IEC 27001 – A global standard for information security management systems (ISMS), crucial for protecting your systems from security threats.
• SOC 2 – Ideal for service providers storing customer data in the cloud, it ensures your information security measures are in line with industry standards.
• GDPR compliance – For companies operating in or serving customers in the EU, adherence to the General Data Protection Regulation is mandatory for data protection and privacy.
• ISO/IEC 27017 – Pertaining to cloud security, an important standard for organizations operating in the cloud, providing guidelines on information security controls.
• ISO/IEC 27018 – This standard is vital for cloud service providers handling personal data.

Important international certifications to be enterprise-ready

Depending on where you are operating, the following certifications could be highly important to your organization’s certification process.

• Cyber Essentials – A UK government-backed scheme that provides a foundation of cybersecurity measures for all industries.
• CCPA compliance – For companies operating in California, the California Consumer Privacy Act sets a benchmark for privacy and data protection.
• EUCC – For European companies, following the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity guidelines helps align with EU standards for network and information security.

Important industry-specific certifications to be enterprise-ready

If your product serves more highly regulated industries, such as the Healthcare or Financial sectors, or you work with government agencies, then there will be some very specific certifications that you will need to achieve.

• HIPAA – For software companies in the healthcare sector, complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is crucial for protecting patient data.
• PCI DSS – If you handle credit card transactions, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a must-have for securing payment information.
• FISMA – The Federal Information Security Management Act is important for companies working with US federal agencies to ensure data security and privacy.
• FedRAMP – Mandatory for cloud service providers serving US federal agencies, ensuring cloud products and services are secure.
• HITRUST CSF – In healthcare, HITRUST certification combines HIPAA requirements with other standards, providing comprehensive security and privacy measures.

Good-to-have certifications to be enterprise-ready

While these certifications are less vital to have, they can be both important hygiene factors for your business, and useful differentiators in a crowded or competitive market.

• ISO/IEC 27701 – As an extension to ISO/IEC 27001, focusing on privacy information management, it’s beneficial for enhancing privacy protocols beyond the basics.
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework – While not strictly speaking a certification, adhering to the NIST guidelines can significantly bolster your cybersecurity posture and is highly regarded in the industry.
• CMMC – The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification is becoming increasingly important for companies in the defense industrial base but is not universally required.
• ISO 22301 – Business continuity management, ensuring your business can continue operating during disruptions.
• ISO/IEC 20000 – IT service management, showing commitment to quality of service and customer satisfaction.
• CSA STAR certification – The Security Trust Assurance and Risk (STAR) Program for cloud environments, integrating key principles of transparency and trust.

Prioritizing your enterprise-ready compliance efforts

What is a priority for you largely depends on your industry, the nature of the data you handle, and the markets your product serves. For most software companies, starting with ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 certifications is a smart move, as they lay a solid foundation for information security management and operational integrity. GDPR and PCI DSS become critical based on geographic operation and transaction handling, respectively.

HIPAA and FISMA are indispensable for those in healthcare and government contracting, while ISO/IEC 27701 and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework are excellent for bolstering your security and privacy measures further. Industry-specific certifications like FedRAMP and HITRUST CSF should be pursued based on the specific market segments you are targeting.

The landscape of compliance certifications can seem complex (and it is!), but focusing on the “must-haves” first will allow you to build a robust compliance framework. From there, adding “good-to-haves” and industry- and location-specific certifications can enhance your competitive edge and help you ensure that your software is enterprise-ready for customers worldwide.

Who should be responsible for achieving enterprise-ready compliance?

Achieving enterprise-ready compliance is a multifarious endeavor that will require coordination and collaboration across several roles within your organization. The Product Manager often takes the day-to-day lead in navigating the compliance landscape. However, your efforts need to be supported and complemented by a diverse and cross-functional team, each contributing their expertise to ensure comprehensive compliance.

Product Managers are at the forefront, responsible for overseeing the product’s strategy and roadmap, and ensuring that compliance requirements are prioritized appropriately and given the right strategic importance. As a PM, you coordinate with various departments, translate legal requirements into technical specifications, and monitor the progress toward compliance goals.

IT and Security Teams are the people you’ll need to implement the technical aspects of compliance. This includes securing data, managing cybersecurity risks, ensuring the integrity of information systems, and deploying necessary infrastructure upgrades. Their expertise is central to addressing the technical requirements of various compliance standards.

Legal Advisors can clue you in on the important details relating to the legal implications of your compliance decisions. They’ll help you navigate the complexities of international laws and regulations to ensure you’re enterprise-ready. They assist in contract management, intellectual property issues, and ensuring that all aspects of your product and its development adhere to applicable laws.

Human Resources (HR) also plays a vital role, especially in ensuring compliance with regulations related to employee data and privacy. You’ll need these folks training everyone on compliance-related matters, managing personnel records in compliance with legal standards, and ensuring that company policies reflect the latest regulatory requirements.

If you can bring these teams together and get everyone working in harmony, you’ll have formed yourself a compliance A-Team, each bringing their own unique perspective and expertise to ensure your plan comes together.

If you collaborate in this way, you’ll not only ensure that your products meet the necessary compliance standards, but you’ll also help to foster a culture of compliance and ethical behavior within the organization.

What are the steps for getting enterprise-ready?

To get your software enterprise-ready, we’ve compiled a structured path you can follow – it involves detailed planning, rigorous testing, and continuous improvement.

Here’s a step-by-step guide showing you what you need to do to achieve compliance and prepare your software for enterprise customers:

1. Conduct a gap analysis

Start with an in-depth audit of your current software against the compliance standards you aim to meet. This involves evaluating your software’s security features, data handling processes, and operational procedures.

Tools and frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework can be useful here. The outcome is a Gap Report that highlights discrepancies between your current state and the compliance requirements.

2. Develop a strategic compliance plan

Based on the Gap Report, craft a detailed plan that outlines the necessary actions to bridge the compliance gaps. This plan should include:

• Software adjustments: Specify the changes needed in your software’s architecture, coding practices, and features to enhance security and privacy.
• Infrastructure upgrades: Detail the infrastructural improvements required, such as server security enhancements and secure data storage solutions.
• Policy and procedural updates: Outline the revisions needed in your internal policies and procedures to align with compliance standards. This includes training programs for staff on compliance best practices.

It’s a good idea to make sure your compliance plan has its rightful place on your roadmap rather than being squeezed in as someone’s side project. After all, if it’s strategically important that you make in-roads in the enterprise market, then that importance needs to be reflected in your product priorities. That will help ensure the initiative is given the right level of resource and investment.

If done right, compliance to these standards should unlock sales opportunities and directly impact revenue. That’s why you need to get this on your roadmap, set a nice target outcome of increasing revenue or growing enterprise market share – and then measure the results post-release and celebrate the wins!

3. Implement the compliance measures

With the plan in place, start putting it into practice. This step is iterative and involves:

• Software development: Update your software according to the plan, incorporating enhanced security features and compliance-specific functionalities.
• Infrastructure modifications: Upgrade your IT infrastructure to support the necessary security and compliance measures.
• Policy enforcement: Update your internal policies and procedures, and ensure all staff are trained and aware of their responsibilities under the new guidelines.

4. Conduct internal audits and pre-certification assessments

Before seeking official certification, conduct thorough internal audits to test the effectiveness of your enterprise-ready compliance measures. This might involve simulated security breaches, data privacy audits, and other stress tests.

Pre-certification assessments by third-party organizations can also offer valuable insights and identify any remaining gaps before you apply for certification.

5. Obtain official certification

Once you’re confident in your compliance status, it’s time to obtain your official certification from the relevant authorities. This process will vary depending on the specific certifications you’re pursuing but generally involves extensive documentation and an official audit by the certifying body.

There are companies you could call on to help you manage this stage of getting enterprise-ready. Organizations such as Trust Assurance Platform, Vanta, Drata, or Strikegraph can help you gather all the evidence and documentation that you need to present to the auditors. Known as compliance platforms, these tools and services can help you speed up the process and get you over the final hurdle.

These platforms can be used to automatically collect (where the integration exists) the evidence needed to prove you meet the controls on a regular basis. In addition, these platforms allow you to upload evidence manually again on a regular basis. This way the auditors can review the evidence without needing to talk to you directly.

6. Implement continuous monitoring and improvement

You’re not done yet! Compliance is not a one-off achievement but an ongoing process. Implement systems for continuous monitoring of your compliance status, including regular software updates, periodic audits, and ongoing staff training.

Stay informed about changes in compliance standards and adjust your practices accordingly to maintain your certifications. Don’t take your eye off the compliance ball! 

7. Customer transparency and support

Finally, ensure that your efforts toward compliance are visible and transparent to your customers. Provide them with detailed information about your compliance status and how it protects their data and interests. This is a good news story and it’s worth shouting about.

Offer support for any compliance-related queries they may have, and demonstrate how your software facilitates their own compliance efforts, such as through audit trails, security features, and data management tools.

8. Secure new enterprise customers!

Don’t go through all the work to get your compliance badges and then not shout it from the rooftops! The whole reason behind this initiative was to secure enterprise customers, or remove sales objections that might have blocked deals in the past. 

So, now you are compliant, make sure the Sales and Marketing Team are all over it. Here are some things you could do to drive awareness of your enterprise-readiness…

• Add the compliance badges to your website (the footer is a nice place, have a look below to see ours).
• Reach out to any ‘Closed Lost’ prospects where not having the compliance certification was the deal breaker, and see if you can win them over now.
• Try some Account Based Marketing and target a list of relevant, enterprise organizations that match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Consider contacting their procurement teams (the people who will care about compliance the most) to get on their radar as a possible software solution.

Achieving enterprise readiness through compliance is a meticulous and ongoing process, but it’s worth it to enhance your software’s market appeal and build trust with your enterprise customers.

By following these steps, you can ensure your software meets the rigorous demands of enterprise-level deployment, which will give you a solid foundation for growth and success in the competitive software market.

What’s the newest compliance requirement to be enterprise-ready? 

The EU AI Act! 

As the European Union prepares to implement the AI Act, a pioneering piece of legislation designed to regulate the use of artificial intelligence across its member states, software enterprises and Product Managers should take note!

The act introduces a risk-based classification system for AI applications, setting out requirements and compliance standards from minimal to unacceptable risks. Understanding and adhering to these classifications will be critical, not just to avoid hefty fines, but also to ensure your products meet the EU’s rigorous safety and ethical standards.

The implications of the EU AI Act go further than mere legal compliance, though. If you proactively align your AI deployments with the act’s requirements early on, you could gain a competitive edge, fostering trust and credibility among European consumers and businesses.

This alignment will go a long way to emphasize your company’s commitment to principles that are increasingly valued in the global marketplace, such as ethical AI development, focusing on transparency, accountability, and the safeguarding of fundamental rights. This will help ensure you’re enterprise-ready going forward into the AI age, as large businesses adjust to the growing regulatory frameworks.

For companies aiming to penetrate or expand within the European market, compliance with the EU AI Act will be, to put a fine point on it, non-negotiable. Early adaptation to its requirements will ensure a smoother market entry and operations generally. And you can be sure that other regulations will follow worldwide, which you’ll already be geared up to address.

It just goes to show how important it is to stay informed and responsive to the evolving regulatory landscape, both in AI technologies and in the tech field as a whole. Ensuring a proactive approach not only mitigates risk but will help position your company as a leader in the responsible use and development of AI.

SOC it 2 them

It’s important to remember that achieving enterprise-ready compliance is more than a regulatory hurdle; it’s a commitment to excellence and an opportunity to set your software apart in a crowded marketplace. Plus, if you manage it, pulling in enterprise customers is sure to do wonders for your revenue .

By fostering a culture of compliance, embracing the roles each team member plays, and staying informed about regulations like the EU AI Act, you’re not just getting your software enterprise ready – you’re preparing your company for future success.

So let’s turn this compliance journey into a stepping stone for building better, safer, and more reliable software. Your grandkids will thank you for it when they’re not being riddled with lazers by Terminators.

The post How to Get Enterprise-Ready: Making Your Software Compliant appeared first on ProdPad.

Product Management Problems Solved

From our Slack Community to our publicly available customer feedback portal, we’ve listened to your feedback and solved the following problems for you in 2020.

1) Measuring Outcomes by Tracking Objectives & Key Results

While we previously offered the ability to link initiatives to objectives, this year we stepped up our OKR tracking game. 

The first change came with the separation of portfolio and product objectives, meaning teams can add more definition to their objectives, particularly for those product managers with larger portfolios. 

We also introduced key result tracking, giving teams more powerful visibility over how their initiatives are having an impact on their outcomes. With the ability to link initiatives to both objectives and key results, you can keep track of status changes as well as final success outcomes. Absolute game-changer.

2) Getting Teams Involved via Slack

Great ideas can crop up anywhere, and it’s likely your Slack workspace has been busier than ever. So you never miss out on a conversation, our beloved Slack bot is all grown up and repackaged as a new Slack App, providing extensive functionality and interactions all from your Slack workspace. 

In addition to submitting ideas and feedback directly from Slack, teams can also now respond and keep track of threads that sync to ProdPad automatically. With dedicated channel notifications and backlog search, our Slack App is a great solution for solving this classic product management problem.

For information and details on all functionality, please refer to our Slack set up guide.

3) Advanced Security Features for Larger Organizations

ProdPad is Enterprise-ready and prepared to help organizations with complex security and compliance regulations. 

Our SAML configuration is ready to provide access to ProdPad through your favorite identity provider, and we’ve expanded safety measures to allow you to manage inactivity timers and logging in to multiple accounts.

We also increased security through the introduction of data classification labels. 

These allow admins to highlight levels of sensitive information within their accounts, and ensure everyone in the team is made aware of the sensitivity of the information that is being worked on.

This is your IT team’s dream come true.

4) Publishing Roadmaps Anytime, Anywhere, for Anyone

With collaboration and transparency in mind, we recently revamped our roadmap publishing feature to give you greater management control. We understand that a common product management problem is the need to share and create roadmaps for multiple target audiences, as well as ensuring that your roadmaps are always secure wherever you share them.

• The ability to create and track an unlimited number of roadmaps with different views. From your executive board to your development team, create multiple roadmaps based on your master version. All updates are pushed automatically, so you never have to worry about them being out of date.
• Extended administration over created shares, including the ability to expire URLs and embed codes as needed. 
• Added password protection to roadmaps, providing more safety over roadmaps you share.

5) Improved Stakeholder Management for your Atlassian Products

Our support for Atlassian products was also expanded in 2020 with a brand new Confluence plugin.

Available in the Atlassian Marketplace, our plugin allows you to embed roadmaps, feedback forms and portals directly into any Confluence page. Combined with our Trello and JIRA integrations, you can now introduce ProdPad as a complement to your product development workflows, and make sure you’re keeping your stakeholders up to date with every step of the process. 

And what’s more? It’s available for both Server and Cloud versions.

6) Improving Your Day to Day Activities

This year we focused on making ProdPad easier to use for everyone. We introduced new and improved navigation, as well as the ability to favorite products and product lines. Product managers who oversee large portfolios can now cut through the noise of the products they’re not working on and focus on those that are part of their remit.

Our improvements didn’t stop there, of course. We also improved our search capabilities in the app. Finding those important ideas in your backlog can be majorly time-consuming. But now you can search through actual idea content – including files, designs and your archive. This is perfect if you can’t quite remember the name of an idea but know the gist of what’s in there.

7) Integrating ProdPad With Other Tools 

We understand the importance in having an app that is flexible and can easily be integrated with your existing tools. While there are plenty of integrations you can use, we still want *you* to have the ease to plug ProdPad into anything. 

As such, we’ve moved our API documentation over to Swagger.

Swagger allows the easy specification of the API methods using a standard. By adding your ProdPad API key to Swagger, you can actually test the calls directly from the platform, making it easy to get started and integrate with our API.

• Find all our API documentation in a single place
• Test API methods live
• You can create SDKs in various languages
• API is specified using OAS making for easier adoption

8) Supporting your Product Journey

This year we committed ourselves to ensuring you have all the necessary resources and information to make the right decision for your and your team. Introducing a new tool, after all, is never an easy feat. Whether you’re still getting to know us, just about to purchase or are already on ProdPad, we’re ready to support you on your journey to better product management. 

Sandbox

If you want to see what a good setup looks like, or what product management problems ProdPad might solve for you, our brand new Sandbox is the place to be. We’ve set up a free account for you to play with. How cool is that? Play in our Sandbox right now.

ProdPad Glossary

We understand it can be difficult moving to a new tool, particularly if you aren’t familiar with some of the lingo. Luckily, we’ve set up a glossary of terms ready for you to hit the ground running. Check out our Glossary to learn more about ProdPad’s product lingo.

How ProdPad Fits

Every organization is unique – you have your own structure, ways of working and existing frameworks. Find out how ProdPad fits with your processes and methodology of choice (with many more coming soon). Find out how ProdPad fits.

Training and Sales Support

You know you need a product tool, but how can you convince everyone else investing in one is the way forward? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our new Considering ProdPad resource.

If you’re already purchased ProdPad and need help with training, support and additional services, we’ve also got resources for you. Never fear, ProdPad is here.

Help, Improved

We’ve made big changes to our support system, now offering improved self-service and a more unified and robust setup. Improvements include:

• Contextual documentation as you navigate through ProdPad
• Documentation search from the support widget
• Email and chat support via the support widget, setting proper expectations for available support hours
• A brand new Help Center

Product Management Problems We’re Solving in 2021

While we can’t give you exact release dates or specifics on features (see what we did there?), we’re looking ahead at the new year and exploring the possibilities of solving more problems for our customers. We’ve mentioned a few highlights below, but do check out our public product roadmap to get the full picture for 2021. 

• How to help new users acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors in order to become effective ProdPad users.
• How can we make it easier for the wider team to contribute to and reduce the barrier to entry for them to enable and support wider team contribution and engagement.
• Can we utilize the power of automation and intelligence to help reduce the burden on our users?
• How can we improve and expand our integrations to support cross team collaboration and make ProdPad the hub for all product knowledge.
• Enhancing existing features and infrastructure so ProdPad can continue to help large teams with lots of data solve the right customer problems.

If you’d like to know more, jump over to our portal and give us some feedback. Or if you now want a slice of the ProdPad action for your own product management teams and want to see how it can solve your product management problems, sign up for a free trial. 

The post Eight Product Management Problems ProdPad Solved in 2020 appeared first on ProdPad.

What is PSD2?

PSD2 is the second iteration for Payment Services Directive, originally adopted by the European Union in 2007. Consequently, payments will be more secure after this roll-out on September 14th.

The two-factor authentication (think 3D Secure) will be used for certain transactions to be processed successfully. This applies to all card payments, including B2B, B2C, and any form of ongoing subscription.

More security and transparency will be added to purchases, reducing the chances of unauthorized transactions.

Will this this affect payments?

It’s not scary; it’s just about ensuring that the user authorizes the transaction.

This only applies to those that have banks located in Europe. Remember, each bank will choose their own authentication method. Consequently, there is little control as to what the process looks like yet. 

The two-factor authorization could happen in a number of ways. This includes; PIN or password, SMS confirmation, or even fingerprint confirmation are just some of the possibilities.

Make sure your company is PSD2 compliant and ready to make payments as of September 14th, by contacting your payment processor.

Is this affecting ProdPad users?

ProdPad is becoming PSD2 compliant, to make sure the payment process is as easy as possible. Although, existing subscribers might be asked to re-authenticate. 

Banks haven’t said which options they’re planning to select. However, we’re working to reduce any subscription issues to make it more straightforward. Ideally, try contacting your bank or payment provider to learn about the processes they’ll be setting in place. You can also whitelist ProdPad to approve your ongoing subscription payments.

Please contact hello@prodpad.com to discuss this further. 

The post PSD2: Do you know what it is, and is your company ready? appeared first on ProdPad.

ProdPad has been accepted onto the UK Government’s G-Cloud Framework. As a result, this makes us the first product management solution tool on the list.

Ok, we’ll tell you what this means

ProdPad will now be the approved product management tool for UK Government organizations. Thanks to this G-Cloud framework, government bodies (including central, local and public sector) can use ProdPad as their trusted product management tool. So, they’ll now feel secure knowing ProdPad has been given the green light from various executive boards.

Janna Bastow, CEO and Co-founder, of ProdPad is looking forward to seeing ProdPad make a real difference in the public sector:

“This is great news. It’s now easier for the Government to take advantage of ProdPad’s benefits, via the G-Cloud gateway. Firstly, ProdPad’s features will help government organizations deliver products, that will, indirectly, allow the sector to reach its full potential – in whatever capacity.”

This is a great opportunity. Above all, we’re super happy to be part of this framework. Janna Bastow, believes this accreditation is going to be great for ProdPad’s own development too:

“As product experts, we are always asking questions to make sure our products are the best they can be. Naturally, this is no different at ProdPad. Our acceptance onto the UK Government’s G-Cloud Framework will see more people, in a variety of roles, using our tool. This will provide us with more insight and feedback (from asking questions), we can develop ProdPad further to make it the very best it can be.”

ProdPad has helped businesses around the world to deliver value to stakeholders, by providing transparency into product management and development processes. Also, it prevents wastage by making sure teams build the right products the first time. Here are just a few snippets of what ProdPad will do for your business. 

ProdPad will keep your product work centralized

With your list of tools growing day by day; across emails, social media, and support, it is no mean feat in admitting that things can get a little bit confusing. ProdPad integrates with over 1000 apps to make life easier. These apps include Jira, Slack, Trello, GSuite, and Salesforce. Why not learn more about ProdPad’s vast integration capabilities?

ProdPad will keep you customer-focused

ProdPad puts customer feedback at the front of the product strategy. Government departments will need to communicate both internally and externally. The feedback portal in ProdPad allows you to align customer feedback with potential ideas, making it more straightforward to ensure your product developments are based on what your customers actually want.

ProdPad will keep you goal-oriented

Our lean roadmaps allow users to focus on outcomes and objectives, which is ideal for making sure you and your teams are putting your product strategy first. Roadmaps are key for showing transparency and maximizing communication. Roadmaps are not just for use within the product team, they are for the company as a whole. Embrace a lean roadmap to show clearly what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and communicate this across your organization clearly and with full transparency.

Contact us today to learn more – or start a free trial now!

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