Datastream Hosting Operation Completes SAS 70 Audit
22 December 2004
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dec. 22, 2004 -- Datastream Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTM) today announced that its hosting operation has completed the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) no. 70 type II audit. SAS 70 is an internationally recognized audit for validating the internal controls of service providers and other businesses.
Customers including Canon Virginia, General Cable, Hi-Lex, Honeywell Sensor & Guidance Products, MasterBrand Cabinets Inc., and Maritz currently use Datastream's flagship Datastream 7i Asset Performance Management solution through the hosted deployment model. Customers frequently choose a hosted deployment model where Datastream hosts the application at its data center facilities. As a result, these customers can achieve a lower total cost of ownership by eliminating many personnel and hardware costs associated with deploying and maintaining an application in-house.
Federal regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act require corporations to audit the internal controls of their suppliers, including those that provide hosting services. By undergoing the SAS 70 audit, Datastream can provide its customers with a comprehensive audit report that facilitates compliance with these and other regulations.
For this initiative, Datastream retained the services of SAS 70 Solutions, Inc., a national leader in SAS 70 auditing. During the audit, SAS 70 Solutions benchmarked key functional elements of Datastream's hosting operation against best practices defined by Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT), the IT Governance Institute's generally accepted standard for good information-technology security and control practices. These elements include technology infrastructure, backup processes, system reliability, internal controls and security.
"Our hosting business is strategic to Datastream, and our recent success in passing this voluntary SAS 70 annual audit demonstrates the strength of this business unit and our commitment to the hosting strategy," said Datastream President and CEO Larry Blackwell." The success of this review will make it easier for our hosted customers to comply with various state and federal regulations as it ensures that Datastream maintains the highest standards for quality and consistency in hosted processes and data management."
About Datastream Systems, Inc.
Datastream Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTM) provides Asset Performance Management software and services to enterprises worldwide, including more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500. Datastream's solutions combine world-class asset management functionality with advanced analytics to deliver a powerful platform for optimizing enterprise asset performance.
