When pondering moving important confidential information contained within contract documents to the cloud, organizations sometimes cringe with fear.
Thankfully, the cloud is not really that big or scary. As with any other way of storing your documents and information, there are pros and cons with moving to the cloud. For the most part, companies want to ensure their company, client, and vendor information stays safe and secure. Those without permission should not be able to access their confidential information, documents, financial data, and other pertinent items. Still, if everything is online, how can security be guaranteed?
One of the main recommendations is to choose a reputable cloud hosting provider that highlights your security as one of their key features. Your provider should ensure that your infrastructure is secure and that your data and applications are protected.
There are various security controls that should be put into place, as with any storage and networking system. These include deterrent controls, preventative controls, corrective controls, and detective controls.
While setting up all these controls at the beginning may seem cumbersome, they will help to ensure your organization’s security and success for years to come.
Organizational contracts and counterparty information can often times have its own set of security measures due to the sensitive nature of the data. For further security and privacy, it is highly recommended to utilize an identity management system to control access to info. Additionally, application security to protect all items stored within your contract management system can offer additional security measures by implementing testing and acceptance procedures for outsourced or packaged application code.
Moving to the cloud may subject your organization, depending on business and nature, to further compliance requirements. Using a cloud service provider can often lead to additional security concerns around data ownership. Having a thorough discussion with legal and compliance groups before making the decision to move to the cloud may be required.
Though potentially big and scary from afar, once up and running in a cloud environment, contract storage, collaboration, and management may become simpler and more streamlined as certain users will be able to access the same information at the same time, instantly leave feedback and comments for review, and have all contracts in a single online repository along with associated documents and related information.
The counterparty database (list of suppliers, customers, and subcontractors) will also be more easily accessible and internally transparent. By enabling users to quickly search online for counterparty information such as key contacts, active agreements, internal manager(s), and documents or forms such as W-9s and insurance certificates, back and forth emails, excel spreadsheets, or cumbersome systems become mundane.
Though the cloud is not exactly heavenly, it may become close to it. Once firm security measures and controls are put into place, organizations can enjoy the benefits of migrating their information to the cloud.
Interested in learning more about a contract management system in the cloud? Contact us today to get started!
