Evidence & Badges
Understand how IOA Cloud generates evidence bundles and governance badges for compliance, audit, and transparency.
What are Evidence and Badges?
Evidence bundles and governance badges are IOA Cloud's way of providing transparency, auditability, and compliance verification for your AI applications. They create a tamper-evident record of your governance decisions and runtime posture.
Key Benefits
- Transparency: Clear visibility into AI decision-making processes
- Compliance: Tamper-evident records for regulatory requirements
- Audit Trail: Complete history of governance decisions and policy enforcement
- Trust: Verifiable proof of governance posture and compliance
Evidence Bundles
Evidence bundles are cryptographically signed records that document every governance decision made by IOA Cloud. They provide a complete audit trail of your AI application's behavior and compliance.
Request Evidence
Individual request documentation - Captures every AI request and response with full context.
- Request timestamp and metadata
- Input and output data
- Policy decisions and reasoning
- Compliance status and violations
Example Use Case:
Documenting a loan approval decision with bias detection results and fairness metrics.
Policy Evidence
Policy enforcement records - Documents how policies were applied and what decisions were made.
- Policy version and configuration
- Rule evaluation results
- Decision rationale and confidence
- Exception handling and overrides
Example Use Case:
Recording how a bias detection policy flagged and corrected a discriminatory decision.
Consensus Evidence
Multi-LLM consensus records - Documents how multiple AI models collaborated on decisions.
- Model responses and confidence scores
- Consensus algorithm results
- Dissent and disagreement tracking
- Final decision rationale
Example Use Case:
Recording how three different AI models reached consensus on a medical diagnosis decision.
Governance Badges
Governance badges are visual indicators of your runtime governance posture. They represent the highest level of governance enforcement currently active in your system.
Bronze Badge
Shadow Mode
Policies observe and log activity without blocking requests.
- Full logging and monitoring
- No request blocking
- Evidence generation
- Perfect for development
Silver Badge
Enforce Mode
Policies actively block or allow requests based on compliance rules.
- Active policy enforcement
- Request blocking and allowing
- Signed evidence bundles
- Production-ready governance
Gold Badge
Consensus Mode
Multiple AI models collaborate to make decisions with quorum validation.
- Multi-LLM orchestration
- Quorum-based decisions
- Dissent recording
- Enhanced reliability
Platinum Badge
Federated Mode
Cross-organization governance with distributed decision-making.
- Cross-org governance
- Jurisdictional compliance
- Federated evidence
- Enterprise-grade security
Badges vs Plans: Important Distinction
It's crucial to understand that governance badges represent your runtime posture, not your subscription tier. Your badge reflects what governance mode is currently active, not what you're paying for.
Key Points:
- Badges show runtime posture: What governance mode is currently active
- Plans unlock capabilities: What governance modes you can enable
- Enterprise can show Bronze: If running in Shadow mode for testing
- Launch can only show Bronze: Cannot enable higher governance modes
Example 1: Enterprise Testing
Plan: Enterprise (Trust)
Badge: Bronze (Shadow mode)
Why: Testing new policies in Shadow mode before production deployment.
Example 2: Scale Production
Plan: Scale
Badge: Silver (Enforce mode)
Why: Production application with active policy enforcement.
Example 3: Critical Application
Plan: Scale + Consensus Pack
Badge: Gold (Consensus mode)
Why: High-stakes decisions requiring multi-LLM consensus.
Using Evidence for Compliance
Evidence bundles are designed to meet regulatory and compliance requirements. Here's how to use them effectively:
Generate Evidence
IOA Cloud automatically generates evidence bundles for every governance decision. No manual intervention required.
Store Securely
Evidence bundles are cryptographically signed and stored in your evidence vault with configurable retention periods.
Export for Audit
Export evidence bundles for external audit systems, compliance reporting, and regulatory submissions.
Verify Integrity
Use cryptographic signatures to verify evidence bundle integrity and detect any tampering.
Displaying Your Badge
Your governance badge can be displayed publicly or privately, depending on your configuration and compliance requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my badge color by upgrading my plan?
No, badges reflect runtime posture, not subscription tier. You need to enable the appropriate governance mode to change your badge.
How long are evidence bundles stored?
Evidence retention depends on your plan: Launch (30 days), Scale (90 days), Trust (365 days). You can configure longer retention with add-ons.
Can I export evidence bundles for external systems?
Yes, evidence bundles can be exported in multiple formats (JSON, XML, PDF) for integration with external audit and compliance systems.
What happens if my badge changes?
Badge changes are logged and included in evidence bundles. You'll receive notifications when your governance posture changes.
Ready to Implement Evidence & Badges?
Start generating evidence bundles and displaying governance badges for your AI applications.