Staying on Target with GRC Tools
There is a well-known metaphor from the football-obsessed Brits, âmoving the goalpostsâ, where it is much harder to score a goal if the net you are aiming for moves without forewarning. Governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) can feel a lot like this, especially in this rapidly evolving age of AI and global accountability.
Today, businesses face an increasing complexity of regulatory requirements, coupled with the changing nature of cyber threats and the sheer amount of data they are amassing. Unless you have the budget to 10x your compliance team, youâre going to need to adopt sophisticated tools to manage these risks effectively. GRC tools are designed to integrate and streamline the processes involved, providing a holistic approach to managing an organisationâs overall governance framework.
The âHands Offâ Approach
As well as being time-consuming, the manual management of risk and compliance is prone to human-error. Even in you have the focus of star-striker on the penalty spot, in the final seconds of the game, those goalposts keep on moving as regulatory requirements and the threat landscape are continuously changing. Keeping up with these changes manually and relying on humans to be 100% accurate all the time can lead to significant compliance gaps, potentially ending in hefty fines and a shattered reputation.
There are plenty of examples in recent history where really big companies fell afoul of human-error in this way. Yahoo, eBay, Sony Pictures, Twitter, Facebook to name but a few. In 2021 Microsoftâs Exchange Server software was targeted by multiple zero-day exploits. In just a few days more than 30,000 US businesses were attacked, the lack of timely patching being one of the primary causes for its spread.
GRC tools automate many of the processes where humans can fail, ensuring that compliance tasks are performed consistently and accurately, and you stay on target for a profitable year.
GRC tools can help with profitability too, optimising costs by eliminating the need for redundant systems and manual processes. This improves efficiency and reduces the overhead associated with managing these functions separately. As this Forbes article about GRC trends observes: âthe use of RPA (robotic process automation) and AI provides huge benefits in saving time and maintaining compliance more easily.â
By automating compliance processes, businesses can not only save on costs but also ensure that they remain compliant with all relevant regulations, thereby avoiding the financial penalties and reputation hit associated with non-compliance.
Battening Down the Hatches with GRC Tools
Staying with the metaphors, GRC Tools offer another valuable benefit when it comes to navigating the complexities of security and compliance with precision and agility. In the same way a sailor must secure all the deck hatches in the face of an oncoming storm, these tools come equipped with a plethora of features designed to enhance system maintenance and risk management, battening down the infosec hatches of your business in digital rough waters. Some of the key features you can benefit from include automated compliance management, identity management and agile access management, risk assessment modules, audit management, and GDPR coverage. Imagine all those time-consuming tasks being taken completely off your plate and knowing that as long as the power stays on, theyâll keep being done, day and night, in the most efficient way.
The Allure of AI
This is one of the reasons why the allure of AI is so appealing in this space. Yes, we still have some issues to weed out when you look at the big picture for the technology. As one researcher put it in this Science Daily article examining the risk of using AI badly in science: âWhen we graduate from traditional statistical methods to machine learning methods, there are a vastly greater number of ways to shoot oneself in the foot.â But functionally, day to day, AI is already more than capable of handling analytics, audits and multiple optimisation measures, with accuracy, ease and accountability.
It’s why a Forbes Advisor survey found that over half of business owners use AI for cybersecurity and fraud management, despite the fact over 40% respondents admitted to being concerned about an over-dependence on technology due to AI use.
Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting with GRC Tools
One of the most significant advantages of GRC tools is their real-time monitoring and reporting capabilities. With them, youâre able to demonstrate compliance to regulatory bodies and stakeholders promptly and effectively â which will always go down well if youâre being audited.
Real-time monitoring involves continuously tracking compliance metrics, risk indicators, and control effectiveness across the organisation. This proactive approach allows businesses to identify and address compliance issues as they come up, rather than reacting to them after the fact.
The real-time reporting capabilities of GRC tools provide businesses with instant access to critical data, facilitating quick and informed decision-making. For example, you can generate real-time reports on compliance status with industry standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management, providing assurance to stakeholders that youâre always adhering to best practices. These reports can also be used to demonstrate compliance during regulatory audits, reducing the time and effort required to prepare for these assessments.
Not only this, but access to real-time data allows businesses to act quickly against emerging threats and regulatory changes. So, if a new regulation is introduced, GRC tools can quickly assess your organisationâs current compliance status and identify any gaps that need to be plugged. This agility ensures that youâll remain compliant with minimal disruption to operations.
How Can We Help You?
Regular readers will know, this is the final part of our deep dive into the 5-step approach to managing risk we outlined back in March. Until now, weâve focused on sharing published best practise and independent data to shape our advice. But if you will indulge a little self-promotion, we want to talk briefly about our mesaforte.grc.suite of tools, which were designed specifically to handle all the aspects of modern governance, risk and compliance management weâve been writing about thus far.
The suite includes features to help shut down avenues of potential human-error significantly, like identity management, licence optimisation, compliance and segregation of duties. With agile access management and role-designer/tuner tools to make sure everyone is up-to-date, and AI enhanced auditing and reporting tools to help you really take control of your data.
What we believe sets mesaforte apart from its peers is its suite of 9 customisable and scalable modules for compliance SOD, IT security, and reporting. It really is an all-in-one solution that can fit any organisation and works independently of the controlled ERP system to enhance the security of the entire IT architecture. This independence allows it to provide robust GRC functions without impacting the operation of your ERP systems, offering flexibility, enhanced security, and cost savings, especially if your organisation operates across multiple ERPs.
We believe wikima4âs long-standing experience, innovative approach, expert team, and strong focus on secure and efficient solutions make us an excellent choice for businesses seeking reliable GRC tools. So why not get in touch? As we have discussed over the past 5 months, there is a lot at stake in this ever-evolving business landscape. And you need to make sure you explore every avenue when it comes to keeping your organisation on track.