A-LIGN Elevates Strategic Compliance With Launch Of A-SCEND 2.0

TAMPA, Fla., April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A-LIGN, a technology-enabled security and compliance partner trusted by more than 2,400 companies, today announced the launch of A-SCEND 2.0, its proprietary compliance management platform that enables an anytime, anywhere approach to compliance—for anyone. A-SCEND 2.0 centralizes evidence collection and standardizes compliance requests, making it possible to consolidate multiple audits at once. This streamlined approach to compliance enables corporations to establish trust faster, so they can win new business sooner. An additional ROI is achieved by cutting costs and saving time, which also enables businesses to focus on the more impactful work of digital transformation.

According to Gartner, "Consolidate audits when there is a need to obtain more than one certification or attestation. Consolidate audit planning, audit data gathering, interviews and evidence collection efforts to result in fewer audits with multiple security certifications/attestations, and leverage one certification provider."¹

Business leaders are facing a mandate to embrace digital transformation to remain competitive—an imperative that has only become more urgent in the midst of a global pandemic. This new reality requires enabling a remote workforce, introducing a new class of cybersecurity risks and compliance challenges into an already complex and changing landscape. The demand to demonstrate compliance to remain competitive has never been greater. Simultaneously, enterprise maturity models are pressuring organizations to improve their audit processes. Organizations that endorse a strategic approach to compliance and technology-enabled services are feeling less pain.

"Taking a strategic approach to compliance can save a lot of time and money, but you have to look at the big picture and plan ahead. Internally it's critical to create standard policies and procedures, and externally the key is to consolidate audits with a one-stop shop," said Nora Pan, VP, Products & Technology Standards & Compliance, PMO and Operations, TIBCO. "We picked A-LIGN because of its knowledge across multiple standards. Its technology-enabled service streamlines and standardizes the audit process, so our teams can get back to their day jobs. The end result improves our efficiency, our interoperability and our integration across products and services—basically, we can do more with less."

A-SCEND 2.0 Streamlines Compliance

A-LIGN's compliance management platform is purpose-built for assessment, and designed for the end user with minimal jargon and maximum performance. A-LIGN combines its depth of experience working for more than 2,400 clients on 6,000 audits, with the breadth of its expertise across SOC, ISO, HITRUST, FedRAMP, FISMA, PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, and others. A-LIGN has empowered its clients to collect more than 1.2 million pieces of evidence for their audits, informing the design of A-SCEND 2.0 to streamline the audit process.

"Some companies struggle with compliance because they manage audits with spreadsheets and emails, but with A-SCEND 2.0 the same tool used to collect evidence is the same tool used to conduct audits," said Gene Geiger, CTO, A-LIGN. "Compliance is complex and time-consuming, but it shouldn't have to be a full-time job—that's why A-LIGN is transforming compliance by enabling an anytime, anywhere approach to make audits accessible to anyone."

Key features and benefits of A-SCEND 2.0 include:

• Centralized Evidence Collection—Save time by centralizing evidence collection with one-click/batch uploading.
• Standardized Compliance Requests—Eliminate duplicate requests by automatically generating requests that apply evidence to multiple framework criteria.
• Consolidated Audit Process—Minimize capital and operational expenses by uploading evidence throughout the year to conduct a single annual audit.
• Modern UI/UX—Centralize project management, track workflows, enhance visibility, and integrate communication and collaboration. A-SCEND 2.0 is intuitive and easy-to-use.
• Security by Design—A-LIGN maintains its own independent SOC 2 Type 2 report and hosts A-SCEND 2.0 on the Google Cloud. A-SCEND 2.0 delivers additional security controls, including two-factor authentication and database encryption.

"Technology plays a critical role in compliance, but it is important not to overlook the human element. Just as you wouldn't complete your corporate taxes without an accountant, you need a qualified guide to help navigate the complexity of compliance," said Scott Price, CEO, A-LIGN. "A-LIGN is unifying technology and humanity with its end-to-end compliance management solution and best-in-class experience—it is more than a tech-enabled service, it is a human-enabled service. Together, we are equipping our clients with new efficiencies allowing them to elevate their business to new heights."

Learn more about A-LIGN A-SCEND 2.0

Read "2020 Vision: Strategic Compliance and the Future of Business"

¹Gartner "Market Guide for Organization Security Certification Services" by Khushbu Pratap and Sam Olyaei, 2 May 2019

About A-LIGN

A-LIGN is a technology-enabled security and compliance partner trusted by more than 2,400 global organizations to help mitigate cybersecurity risks. A-LIGN uniquely delivers a single-provider approach as a HITRUST CSF Assessor firm, Qualified Security Assessor Company, accredited ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 22301 and ISO 9001 Certification Body, accredited FedRAMP 3PAO and licensed CPA firm. Working with small businesses to global enterprises, A-LIGN experts and its proprietary compliance management platform are transforming the compliance experience enabling an anytime, anywhere approach to audits. For more information, visit www.A-LIGN.com.

SOURCE A-LIGN

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