17a-4 now offers a Compliance Suite for Microsoft’s Azure. The combination of software and services lets financial institutions cost effectively bring records into Azure to leverage Blob storage policies and stay in compliance with SEC Rule 17a-4.
Millbrook, NY – 17a-4, LLC, the leader in Rule 17a-4 compliance now offers a Compliance Suite for Microsoft’s Azure storage. The Azure Compliance Suite provides an integrated offering for financial institutions to comply with Rule 17a-4. SEC Rule 17a-4 requires electronic compliance records be retained in non-erasable storage and available to a Designated 3rd Party for regulatory production.
The Suite consists of 3 offerings, including:
- License for DataParser for Azure which simplifies the transfer, retention and preservation of compliance records into Microsoft’s Azure cloud;
- Letters of Notification and Undertaking as required by SEC Rules 17a-4(f)(2)(i) and Rule 17a-4(f)(3)(vii). These letters are filed with FINRA and indicate that the financial institution will be using Microsoft’s Azure storage for compliance records;
- Designated 3rd Party services which requires 17a-4, LLC to respond to regulatory requests for compliance records.
“Our Azure Compliance Suite is based on working with hundreds of financial institutions on challenges with respect to electronic compliance records,” offers Douglas Weeden, General Counsel, 17a-4, LLC. “For instance, if a firm has a fileshare they use for compliance records such as financial, HR, registrations or other records, they often have to spend considerably sums to bring in necessary non-erasable storage and have IT maintain those records. Instead, for fees starting at $2,800 per year, a firm can replicate those records onto Microsoft’s Azure cloud which provides all of the requirements of SEC Rule 17a-4(f).”
To streamline the process of sending data into Azure Blob Storage, DataParser has been designed to automatically collect data from various sources and deliver to a specific Container within an Azure Blob Storage Account. This integration with Azure allows users to easily bring regulated data into Azure Blob storage and take advantage of the WORM/immutable policies offered. The DataParser for Azure is offered in on-premise server and hosted cloud plans.
“Our goal is to provide cost-effective solutions which solve the oft-challenging requirements of SEC Rule 17a-4,” adds Mr. Weeden.