With the advancement of technology has come a new wave of security threats. Software as a Service (SaaS) technology offers an extra bit of security. As SaaS means outsourcing responsibility for hardware and software to a specialist provider, the opponent the hackers face is much more versed with technology than a normal IT department can ever be. There are a few key IT security considerations you should make when choosing the right technology partner.
Systems Audits
Your SaaS provider should periodically perform audits and system checkpoints to ensure that the application is operating properly at all times. To guarantee that the protocols are being completed correctly there are Service Organization Control (SOC) reports that detail the findings of the audit or program examination.
Availability of Services
Your need an application that´s up and running at any time. As such, you want to check your SaaS provider commits to defined service levels. You contract should include:
- Service Level Agreement (SLA): availability time of the server
- Recovery Point Objectives (RPO): acceptable data loss amount and the point to which data must be restored
- Recovery Time Objectives (RTO): time it takes to be available for use of clients after recovery
Any system that you consider should have these elements in place and be within appropriate parameters. For instance, a standard RPO is 30 minutes and a standard RTO is no more than four hours.
Security Components
In addition to the aforementioned considerations, application, there are a few specific security components that should be in place within the application itself. The main components to check are as follows:
- Strong identity authentication features
- A firewall with an intrusion prevention system
- Intrusion audits
- Vulnerability assessments
Making sure that your sensitive data is secure is essential in selecting the right SaaS provider. To aid in the process, make sure that you weigh in the considerations above. If you do, you will be sure to select a strong partner to support your business.
Dana Davis
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I liked the article, but i think you need some stronger security components. Don’t you think?