How To Achieve Compliance In A Multi-Cloud Data Center Environment

Organizations that leverage hybrid IT not only have to ensure data center compliance but also ensure all their other environments are compliant. In particular, organizations that use multiple clouds, need to ensure multi-cloud compliance. With that in mind, here is a straightforward guide to achieving compliance in a multi-cloud data center environment.

The basics of compliance

Compliance relates to measures taken to ensure that data is managed in accordance with data security standards laid down by governing bodies. In the past, these governing bodies tended to be industry authorities. This means that compliance was governed by contractual obligations and, hence, civil law.

A lot of data security standards are still laid down by industry bodies. Increasingly, however, governments are creating laws regarding the management of their residents’ data. These laws can be backed by criminal sanctions.

The result of this development is that compliance requirements are no longer necessarily based purely on data type. They are now also likely to need to take location into consideration.

The basics of data center compliance

If a data center is owned by the organization that uses it, then that organization is responsible for all aspects of data center compliance. This approach is, however, relatively unusual these days.

Now, it’s more common for data center facilities to be owned and run by third-party vendors and used by organizations as suits their needs, wants, and budgets. In these cases, the responsibility for data center compliance is shared between the vendor and the client.

Generally, the vendor handles everything related to the data center facility itself. The client handles their own equipment and data.

Most colocation vendors will actively support some data center security standards. At a minimum, they’ll support the main global standards. They can therefore provide proof of this to assist their client in demonstrating data center compliance

The basics of cloud and multi-cloud compliance

Similarly, if a cloud is owned by the organization that uses it (i.e. private), then that organization is fully responsible for its compliance. Again, however, this is relatively unusual, particularly in multi-cloud environments.

Multi-cloud environments may contain a private cloud but most, if not all, of the clouds are generally public. That means responsibility for multi-cloud compliance will almost always be shared between the cloud vendor and the organization using the cloud.

As multi-cloud environments often involve multiple cloud vendors, ensuring multi-cloud compliance is generally much more complex than ensuring compliance in a single cloud. It therefore requires very robust data governance from organizations.

Best practices for compliance

Although all compliance programs have their own individual requirements, they all cover much the same ground. Following these five best practices will, therefore, facilitate your path to compliance with any program.

Develop a data governance strategy

A robust data governance strategy defines how data is managed, stored, and accessed. It establishes policies for data classification, retention, and handling, which are critical for regulatory compliance.

Clear data governance helps organizations understand where sensitive data is stored and how it should be protected, particularly in multi-cloud environments where data is spread across various providers.

Regular training and policy updates are also essential to ensure all employees understand and follow data governance rules.

Invest in a centralized compliance management system

Centralized compliance management consolidates compliance oversight, making it easier to enforce policies consistently across data centers and clouds. Such systems can integrate with different cloud providers and monitor compliance requirements across multiple environments.

Centralized management tools provide a single dashboard to track, report, and manage compliance risks, reducing the complexity of overseeing compliance across varied platforms.

Implement strong access controls

Access control is essential for data security in both data centers and cloud environments. By enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC), organizations can ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data and systems.

Limiting access based on job roles minimizes the risk of unauthorized access and makes it easier to monitor who is accessing critical resources.

Use encryption for data protection

Data encryption, both in transit and at rest, is a crucial best practice for maintaining compliance across environments. Encrypting data ensures that, even if unauthorized access occurs, the data is unreadable and remains secure. Most regulations, including GDPR and HIPAA, mandate encryption for sensitive data.

Organizations should utilize advanced encryption standards (AES-256) and manage encryption keys securely to protect data assets across multi-cloud and data center platforms.

Conduct regular compliance audits and monitoring

Frequent audits and continuous monitoring help organizations detect and address potential compliance gaps before they escalate into significant issues. By auditing data access, security controls, and user activity, companies can ensure that they are following internal policies and regulatory requirements.

Automated monitoring tools can also flag suspicious activities, helping teams respond quickly to potential threats.