How to Use Document Usage Analytics for Compliance Reporting
As businesses grow and expand, document usage and tracking have become important for organizations to ensure compliance. With the ever-increasing amount of data flowing through organizations, it has become difficult to manage, control, and track the usage of documents. This leads to risks such as data breaches, noncompliance with regulations, and potential legal issues.
Document usage analytics (DUA) is a tool that can help organizations monitor and track document usage, making it easier for them to maintain compliance. In this article, we will provide insights on how to use document usage analytics for compliance reporting.
What is Document Usage Analytics (DUA)?
Document usage analytics is a tool that tracks and analyzes the usage of documents in ongoing operations. DUA technologies help organizations monitor and track the usage of documents in real-time, enabling them to better understand how documents are being used within the organization.
The Information Management Journal describes DUA as "the tracking and measuring of how documents are used within an organization." It enables organizations to identify who accessed a document, the type of document, when it was accessed, how it was accessed, and the actions performed on the document.
What are the Benefits of Document Usage Analytics for Compliance Reporting?
Document usage analytics can benefit organizations in several ways, including:
1. Improved Compliance Reporting
Document usage analytics help organizations to produce more accurate, reliable, and comprehensive compliance reports. Compliance reports are essential for organizations to confirm that they are complying with relevant legal and regulatory requirements. Without DUA, it can be challenging to track who has accessed what information, when, and from where. DUA fills these gaps, enabling organizations to produce more comprehensive and accurate compliance reports.
2. Reduce Compliance Risk
When it comes to data breaches and noncompliance, document usage analytics can help identify risks early on, decreasing the chance that an organization will run afoul of regulations. DUA can reveal patterns of document use and assess whether those patterns are compliant or not with company policies or regulations. In the absence of these tools, noncompliance risks can be substantial.
3. Increased Workplace Productivity
Document usage analytics can also help employees to work more efficiently. By tracking who accesses documents, DUA can help employees locate the documents they need more quickly and avoid duplication of effort. They can also identify whether there are any compliance issues that need to be addressed in advance and avoid errors that can cause expensive mistakes, saving money in the long run.
4. Better Collaboration
Better tracking of document usage helps improve collaboration among departments and employees. If data is spread across multiple systems, it can be challenging to know where documents are and who has access to them. Document usage analytics can provide a comprehensive view of data so that all employees have access to the same information.
How to Use Document Usage Analytics for Compliance Reporting?
1. Monitor Usage Patterns
Document usage analytics helps organizations to monitor document usage patterns across the organization. Companies can use these tools to identify document usage patterns that indicate noncompliance with policies. For instance, employees may be accessing sensitive data outside of approved systems or sharing documents with non-authorized parties. Monitoring usage patterns can help organizations identify security threats before they become larger issues.
2. Set Up Alerts
Document usage analytics can also help organizations to set up alerts for any suspicious activity that might indicate noncompliance with company policies, regulations, or lapses in security. Alerts enable compliance teams to respond quickly to incidents of misuse and take necessary actions to mitigate the risks.
3. Improve Document Security
Document usage analytics tracks user behavior and helps organizations identify critical documents that require additional security. It is easy to track how users access sensitive documents, allowing companies to assess whether security measures are enough or need to be improved to protect against unauthorized access or tampering.
4. Educate Employees
Document usage analytics can also be used to educate employees on proper document usage and policy guidelines. DUA can help identify departments or employees struggling with compliance or those that require additional training to improve their behavior. Using this data, companies can develop an effective training program that reduces noncompliance risks. Education helps employees understand company policies and procedures and how their actions can impact the compliance and security of the organization.
5. Integrate Document Usage Analytics into Governance Framework
Integrating document usage analytics into governance frameworks drives compliance and helps businesses stay on top of regulatory compliance requirements. The result is a comprehensive system that is centrally maintained and adjusted based on real-time analytics.
Conclusion
Document usage analytics is a valuable tool that organizations can use to improve compliance reporting, reduce compliance risk, increase productivity, and improve collaboration in the workplace. By monitoring document usage patterns, setting up alerts, improving document security, educating employees, and integrating DUA into governance framework, companies can leverage these technologies to minimize noncompliance risks and achieve improved business outcomes.
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