(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Managed hosting provider GreenSoft Solutions (www.gsihosting.com) has successfully completed its annual Statement on Auditing Standards Number 70 Type II audit of its data centers and managed hosting service operations.
According to the company’s announcement this week, GSI met its specific physical security, environmental security, client provisioning, network services and monitoring, and system backup control objectives over the twelve month period that ended January 31, 2009. Its extensive examination was conducted by Tampa, Florida-based SAS 70 Solutions (www.sas70solutions.com), which specializes in SAS 70 audit services.
Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SAS 70 Type II audit is the part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that concerns data center operations and internal controls. While the Sarbanes-Oxley act was originally intended for the financial services industry (in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals such as those affecting Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom, and others), the SAS 70 has become known as a high standard for evaluating outsourced data center solutions.
“Our annual SAS 70 audit reassures our clients that our operational processes and controls meet high standards for the security and reliability of the systems that we manage for them” GSI compliance and security director Ed Welsh said in a statement. “Clients of GSI may use our SAS 70 Type II report as a substitute for performing first hand testing in conjunction with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, or other compliance obligations. Our SAS 70 review creates a strong sense of trust and offers peace of mind to our clients, validating that ‘we say what we do and do what we say’ and it reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence in service delivery.”
As data center accountability continues to be an important measure of a data center, many other companies have made internal audit announcements. Most recently, colocation and dedicated server provider Global Net Access (www.gnax.net) announced last week it is retaining the services of accounting and consulting firm Richter & Company (www.richterandco.com) to provide long-term maintenance on its SAS 70 certification.
Operational excellence is also a particular priority for GSI, which just last week announced its new “Matrix” virtualization platform, which is targeted at corporate IT buyers looking for an enterprise-class infrastructure that captures the full benefits of virtualization technologies.
