What is the best control an IS auditor can recommend to monitor availability in a SaaS model?

Monitoring availability in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model is crucial for ensuring that services are consistently operational and meet the agreed-upon service level agreements (SLAs). The selection of an online polling tool for outages serves as an effective control because it provides real-time insights into system availability. This means potential outages can be detected almost immediately, allowing for quicker response and resolution.

Using an online polling tool means that the monitoring is automated, reducing reliance on manual reporting during specific intervals. This proactive approach allows for continuous and immediate assessment of service availability instead of depending on retrospective reports that may not capture transient outages.

In contrast, the other options, while possibly contributing to overall service assessments, do not offer the same level of immediacy or continuous monitoring that an online polling tool does. For instance, merely requesting weekly uptime reports limits visibility to past performance and may not reflect current or real-time status. Similarly, aggregating user-reported outages can lead to delays in response time and may not encompass all service issues, especially those that users may not report. Hiring a third party could provide an external perspective, but it may not yield the same immediacy and integration that a dedicated online monitoring tool offers.