Compliance without compromise: Why BCDR is key in regulated industries

Regulators are raising the bar. Across industries, compliance frameworks are becoming stricter, with updated rules coming into effect or being implemented in phases regarding data protection, retention and recovery. For MSPs and IT teams working with regulated sectors — including government, health care, finance, energy and education — meeting these evolving demands is no longer optional. It’s critical to earn trust, avoid regulatory penalties and ensure uninterrupted business operations.

In this article, we’ll explore the key compliance requirements across industries and how a reliable business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solution can help MSPs and IT teams meet those standards. From data retention policies to backup encryption, we’ll break down how the right BCDR strategy can support compliance while strengthening overall business resilience.

Understanding regulatory compliance in today’s data-driven world

Regulatory compliance refers to the laws, policies and industry-specific standards organizations must follow to protect sensitive data and operate responsibly. These requirements encompass everything from the duration of data retention to its storage, encryption and recovery in the event of an incident.

Globally, industries are reinforcing compliance frameworks to keep pace with escalating cyberthreats. Whether it’s broad regulations, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or sector-specific standards, such as the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) for the legal sector, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for defense or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for health care, the message is clear: organizations must take data protection seriously. Regulatory bodies are increasing audits, tightening enforcement and expanding requirements to reflect the growing complexity of today’s digital environments.

For MSPs and IT teams supporting clients in regulated sectors, understanding these frameworks is critical. However, beyond understanding, they also need the right tools in place to demonstrate compliance and respond quickly when data is at risk.

Why regulatory compliance matters for businesses

At its core, compliance is about trust. Customers, users and stakeholders expect organizations to handle data with care — and regulators hold them accountable when they don’t. Failing to meet compliance requirements can result in costly fines, legal consequences and long-term reputational damage.

More importantly, compliance is a signal to clients that the business is secure, transparent and credible. In competitive markets, that trust can be a major differentiator. For MSPs and IT providers, being able to support clients with compliance-ready solutions builds confidence and strengthens long-term relationships.

Navigating compliance across industries: What MSPs and IT teams need to know

Compliance requirements vary by industry, reflecting the type of data they handle and the risks involved. For MSPs and IT pros supporting clients in these sectors, understanding the landscape is critical to ensuring compliance, avoiding penalties and delivering lasting value.

Let’s break down the key regulations that apply across major regulated industries and how they impact data protection and continuity requirements.

Government: Federal, state and local

Government agencies handle highly sensitive data, including citizen records, criminal justice information and national security systems. As a result, their compliance requirements are among the most stringent.

Key frameworks include:

• Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS): Enforced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
  (FBI), CJIS sets strict security and access control standards for agencies handling criminal justice data.
• Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC): Required for Department of Defense (DoD) contractors, CMMC ensures that defense-related data is protected through verified cybersecurity practices.
• Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA): FISMA mandates security standards for federal agencies and contractors, emphasizing the importance of risk management and continuous monitoring.
• NIST 800-171: This framework outlines how non-federal organizations should protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) — critical for any business working with government contracts.

Together, these standards require robust data protection, access controls, auditing capabilities and business continuity solutions to meet compliance requirements and maintain eligibility for government work.

Health care

The health care industry is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which regulates how protected health information (PHI) is stored, accessed and shared.

HIPAA requires:

• Data retention policies that ensure the preservation of PHI for a minimum period.
• Encryption of data both in transit and at rest.
• Access controls and audit trails in place to ensure that only authorized users can view sensitive records.
• Disaster recovery and backup plans to ensure continuity of care, even in the face of ransomware or data loss.

Non-compliance can lead to severe financial penalties and erosion of patient trust.

Finance

Financial organizations operate under multiple regulations, with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)being among the most widely enforced.

PCI DSS applies to any business that processes, stores or transmits credit card information. Key requirements include:

• Data encryption and secure storage of payment information.
• Access controls to limit who can view sensitive data.
• Regular monitoring and testing of networks and systems.
• Incident response plans and reliable data backups to ensure swift recovery from breaches.

Financial firms also often adhere to other frameworks, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) for protecting consumer financial information and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) for ensuring financial reporting accuracy.

Energy and utilities

The energy sector is considered critical infrastructure and is held to strict cybersecurity and continuity standards.

Key frameworks include:

• North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP): A set of standards designed to secure the assets required for operating North America’s bulk electric system.
• NIST cybersecurity framework: Frequently referenced across the sector for implementing risk-based cybersecurity programs.

These regulations prioritize system uptime, threat detection and recovery readiness.

Education

Educational institutions — from K-12 schools to universities — manage large volumes of sensitive student and staff data. The primary regulation governing this sector is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This federal law protects the privacy of student education records and applies to all schools receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA compliance requires:

• Strict access controls to prevent unauthorized access to student records.
• Data retention policies to manage how long records are stored.
• Disaster recovery plans to ensure that education records remain accessible, even in the event of system failure or cyberattack.

With the growing digitization and rising cyberthreats, schools must take proactive steps to protect student data and remain compliant — even with limited internal IT resources.

How Datto BCDR helps businesses stay operational and compliant

Maintaining operational continuity is non-negotiable, especially in industries governed by strict compliance frameworks. Whether you or your clients manage patient records, financial data or criminal justice information, you need a data protection solution that does more than just back up files. It must help you recover fast, minimize risk and meet regulatory expectations without compromise.

Datto BCDR delivers a reliable, scalable and easy-to-manage business continuity and disaster recovery platform designed to keep critical systems running — no matter the threat. By combining advanced, immutable backup capabilities with instant virtualization and flexible recovery capabilities, Datto empowers MSPs and IT teams to reduce downtime, maintain data integrity and operate with confidence in the face of any disruption.

Some of the security features Datto BCDR provides for regulatory compliance include:

• Hardened appliances: Datto’s Linux-based appliances significantly reduce the attack surface compared to Windows-based software. This limits common vulnerabilities and strengthens security across environments.
• Immutable cloud storage: Backups stored in the Datto Cloud utilize write-once, read-many (WORM) formats, ensuring data cannot be modified or deleted once written. Combined with FIPS validated encryption for data both at rest and in transit, this provides a secure foundation for meeting data protection requirements.
• Geographically distributed data centers: Datto’s cloud infrastructure is backed by multiple data centers across different regions. This ensures redundancy, availability and compliance with data sovereignty requirements.

Together, these security-first features enable MSPs and IT professionals to confidently support clients with stringent regulatory mandates.

Datto has also introduced FIPS Mode in its latest SIRIS 6 appliances, offering FIPS 140-3 validated encryption at no additional cost. This optional mode helps organizations meet federal and industry-level encryption standards. With FIPS Mode enabled, MSPs and IT teams can achieve higher levels of compliance without sacrificing the performance, simplicity or seamless continuity Datto BCDR is known for.

Discover how Datto BCDR can help your organization or clients meet compliance requirements while maintaining uninterrupted operations.