To deliver this anticipated integrated GRC visibility, software vendors provide their clients with a "Swiss army knife" type of functional capabilities that includes enterprise risk management, compliance management, audit management, IT governance, vendor risk management, and business continuity management.
And just like Swiss army knives help survive in hostile territories, GRC solutions help organizations navigate a world full of hazards and perils.
Governance risk and compliance management software: the essential technology to manage uncertainties
It is an understatement, to say that the last two years have been a roller-coaster ride for all organizations, and the enduring rippling impacts of the sanitary crisis coupled with the recent geopolitical turmoil are clear indicators that the end of the ride is nowhere in sight. Disruptions seem to have become the new normal, stressing and testing organizations' resilience to the limit of breaking points, sometimes even beyond.
To survive in this frantic milieu, having complete situational awareness of its risk environment is vital, Organizations need tools that give them real-time monitoring of their risks, as well as early warnings of potential disruptions that could impact their business strategy. Very similar to the indicators and warnings on your car dashboard that continuously monitor your vehicle status.
Now could be the perfect time for organizations to consider purchasing a GRC software.
SPARK Matrix Feedback: Key factors that are driving the adoption of GRC tools
The compliance convolution challenge
Even though Forrester recently reported that risk now surpasses compliance as the main driver for GRC tool purchasing, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions reports that managing regulatory complexity still continues to fuel most of the growth of the market. Indeed, as if dealing with the myriad of regulatory standards (GDPR, PCI-DSS, FISMA, ISO 27001, ...) wasn't enough, the upcoming Resiliency and ESG legislations are sure to continue to keep Compliance Officers awake at night. The regulatory pressure is not going away.
For organizations seeking to manage this regulatory burden, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions recognizes that GRC software can be a very powerful ally. Designed to manage regulatory complexity with the welcoming use of artificial intelligence, analytics and workflows, compliance platforms help organizations streamline their regulatory change management process.
The importance of a user-friendly GRC platforms
Ease of use, configurability, and usability continues to rank as the most important factors when selecting a GRC solution according to Quadrant Knowledge Solutions. This is no surprise, as those tools require strong employee engagement to be efficient, as they can only be as insightful as the data they hold. Therefore, GRC software needs to be simple, intuitive, contextual, and mobile for the current and new generation of users.
On that same note, organizations typically favor tools that have a quick time to value and provide them with intelligent risk insights leveraging analytics and clever visualization reporting. Those capabilities enrich the decision-making process, improving the overall risk governance, as stated by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.
Side Benefits: protect and improve the brand
With the increasing public and investor scrutiny on ESG-related topics, GRC solutions have become instrumental in helping organizations cement stakeholder trust, which is essential to protect brand integrity and build long-lasting public confidence - especially at a time when social sentiment can change so quickly.
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions notes that by helping companies achieve their efficiency objectives as part of their ESG program, and fostering a culture of integrity based on corporate social responsibilities and ethical business practices, GRC solutions benefit the overall brand image.
Cloud: The rise of SaaS
The democratization of SaaS offering is now well accepted and continues to grow. It has become in a few years the preferred deployment option for a majority of vendors according to Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.
Technology advances, especially in cloud security and the use of hybrid cloud will continue to push the SaaS adoption even further, especially among highly regulated organizations, which are often reluctant to switch for security reasons.
AI: The rise of the intelligent machine
Managing an ever-evolving threat landscape in a highly distributed environment among an ocean of business complexities often prompts organizations to resort to the wonders of innovations such as AI, machine learning, RPA, etc... to help them address this challenge.
Therefore, this is no surprise that Quadrant Knowledge Solutions reports that GRC vendors are now leveraging automation, ML, and AI to improve risk management in organizations. Usually, this starts with the automation of financial controls testing through RPA, a guarantee for a quick ROI. Bolder endeavors include harnessing the power of AI and ML to automatically capture weak signals or unusual patterns for early risk detection.
The next stage in this evolution, according to Quadrant Knowledge Solutions will be the emergence in 4 to 5 years' time, of a self-governance platform for automatic risk identification, assessment, prioritization, and remediation. This is the beginning of a profound trend that is likely to influence the markets for the years to come.
The future of GRC is almost here!
