Last updated on June 23rd, 2023 at 08:25 am
INTRODUCTION
Due to the pandemic ISO Audit has become much easier. Normally auditors would hang around in your office for days at end, but with the pandemic they have now started doing it online. And VDR’s are the most preferred platform. Virtual Data Rooms are a fantastic tool if you want to securely store confidential documents online, as well as share them. High levels of physical security are one of the major benefits of storing assets in a data centre. Whether it’s concern over unauthorized access, human error, or malicious attack, many companies turn to data centres to protect their valuable data and IT infrastructure.
Electronic Repository
This electronic repository can be set up so users can review content, but with restrictions – like ‘do not copy this’, or ‘do not print’. They are ideal for supporting complex projects and business processes that require the secure disclosure and sharing of documents with third parties outside your business, really for any documents that is needed for financial, legal and tax matters, HR information, intellectual property, or any material that needs to be retained and stored securely, and only accessed by people who have permission.
First, set up or upload your content for the ISO audit into the right folders. This is because the files everyone needs to share will vary. They are usually a mix of process documents and evidence. The documents in a VDR will always in the cloud, with the latest version ready for whoever needs it. Then you need to decide what the auditors need to see. Ideally, they should have full access to most of the documents, except may be sensitive details like staff names/addresses, Risk and Asset Registers. Here their permissions can be reduced to view on screen only. Then, during the ISO audit we share files in real-time and chat. When the auditor wants to look into individual documents, we just send them a read-only link. Some clear benefits of this are that your important and often sensitive documents are not being sent externally, the auditor is just reviewing Read-only.
Secondly, if the auditor wants to drill deeper into a document, they can do so on their own time without having to hold you into the screen share. This saves time for both parties involved.
Thirdly, all your documents will be in the right place before the ISO audit, so you will save time preparing. Most document management systems will also track versions, dates and changes – which is something auditors always want to see.
For the evidence part of the ISO audit a VDR tends to track all of the activities and keeps a record of the same as proof. This way nothing gets forgotten, and when the auditors come to look, they can see when the tasks were done.
The Confiex team specializes in providing premium virtual data room solutions tailored for businesses. With their vast experience in working with document sharing platforms, they have been actively supporting the Virtual Data Room community since 2015 by offering valuable information to users free of charge.