Going beyond the surface: Extending digital transformation to GRC strategies

In today's rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, the world of governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) cannot afford to be stagnant or reactive. Instead, it must take the helm and proactively guide organizations towards compliance, robust protection, effective communication, and, ultimately, driving business success.

The ongoing digital transformation has profoundly impacted various aspects of our world. We have witnessed significant changes in how we perform everyday tasks, such as cashing a check through a mobile app instead of going to the bank. Additionally, the software has become integral to critical business functions like sales and finance. The pervasive use of digital technology has become essential for both consumers and businesses, shaping our daily lives.

For businesses striving to attract new customers and enhance profitability, embracing digital transformation is a critical and necessary step. Many companies and teams are actively undertaking this journey. However, amidst this transformation, one crucial aspect of business operations often lags behind governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) programs. These programs are vital in ensuring security and facilitating new customer acquisition. Unfortunately, they often rely on slow, opaque, and manual processes. Many existing GRC software solutions offer only marginal improvements over traditional approaches, relying on spreadsheets, emails, and screenshots. Consequently, they fail to meet enterprises' and businesses' modern needs and expectations.

The speed and efficiency of current GRC workflows, or the lack thereof, remain a significant concern. An IBM report surveyed GRC and technology professionals worldwide, revealing that almost half of the respondents believed their GRC programs were still struggling to keep up with the pace of digital transformation. Similarly, a KPMG survey highlighted that more than half of senior-level executives considered risk and compliance the most significant challenge in the coming years.

These findings indicate a pressing need to address the shortcomings of current GRC processes. Organizations must prioritize the modernization of their GRC programs, leveraging advanced technologies and streamlined workflows. By doing so, they can effectively align their governance, risk management, and compliance practices with the demands of the digital era, ensuring security, regulatory compliance, and the ability to seize new opportunities.

Challenges of the traditional GRC process

With the increasing digitization of business functions, the storage and access of important information have shifted to virtual platforms, expanding the threat landscape. However, legacy governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) software are ill-equipped to keep pace with this accelerated activity. They suffer from several shortcomings, including:

Manual processes for collecting and sharing evidence for controls and policies: Legacy GRC software relies on labor-intensive manual procedures to gather and distribute evidence related to controls and policies. This inefficiency hampers productivity and increases the risk of errors or omissions.

Lack of integrations with other tools and systems: Legacy GRC software often lacks seamless integration capabilities with other essential tools and systems used within organizations. This siloed approach hinders efficient data exchange and coordination across various departments or functions.

Lack of "do once, apply many times" capabilities: Users of legacy GRC software are often burdened with repetitive tasks to meet multiple compliance frameworks. The absence of streamlined processes for applying controls across different frameworks leads to redundant efforts and increased workload.

Difficulty tracking and assigning tasks to stakeholders: Legacy GRC software lacks effective mechanisms for tracking and assigning tasks to relevant stakeholders. This deficiency makes it challenging to monitor progress, allocate responsibilities, and ensure accountability throughout the compliance process.

Limited holistic reporting and risk visibility: Legacy GRC software fails to provide comprehensive reporting capabilities or a holistic view of risk. This lack of visibility hampers identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities or gaps in compliance.

Reliance on retrospective data: Legacy GRC software often relies on historical or retrospective data, limiting its ability to provide real-time insights and proactive risk management. This reactive approach leaves organizations vulnerable to emerging threats and evolving compliance requirements.

Consequently, organizations utilizing such outdated GRC software must invest additional expertise and time to achieve compliance objectives. Moreover, they expose themselves to unnecessary risks due to the inherent limitations of these legacy systems. To overcome these challenges, organizations should consider adopting modern GRC solutions that address these shortcomings and provide robust capabilities for efficient, integrated, and proactive governance, risk management, and compliance practices.

The need for digital-first GRC

Transitioning from manual and siloed GRC workflows to automated and digital systems offer several benefits that organizations can realize:

By leveraging digital-first GRC solutions, teams can enhance their productivity. These tools provide clear guidance on the work required to meet compliance frameworks, enabling team members to accomplish their tasks efficiently. Moving away from a point-in-time view, digital GRC software enables real-time, always-on monitoring. This proactive approach helps organizations build trust with partners and enhances their ability to identify and respond to risks promptly.

GRC functions often face the challenge of being perceived as cost centers. However, in a digital-first environment, it becomes easier to demonstrate the connection between GRC workflows and revenue generation. Potential customers frequently require compliance with frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001, and digital GRC workflows enable organizations to showcase their adherence to such standards, thereby attracting new business and protecting existing relationships.

Digital GRC solutions provide a unified view of compliance and risks, offering holistic reporting capabilities. This empowers organizations to share cybersecurity information and compliance status with the entire organization, fostering transparency and alignment.

Building trust requires demonstrating the organization's commitment to fulfilling its promises. Technology-enabled GRC workflows simplify showcasing the current program status to customers, auditors, and leadership, ensuring transparent and accountable communication.

Modern GRC solutions leverage automation to flag issues such as failed controls or triggered risks at an early stage. This enables businesses to address these issues promptly, minimizing potential risks and their associated consequences.

Digital and automated GRC workflows leave less room for error, contributing to customer satisfaction. When customers perceive that a business is dedicated to maintaining compliance and protecting sensitive information, it enhances their confidence and strengthens the customer relationship. GRC solutions with automation capabilities lead to cost savings by improving team efficiency and streamlining processes. This allows the team to allocate less time to compliance-related activities and focus more on other areas of IT, optimizing resource allocation.

Traditional security questionnaires can slow down the sales process. Next-generation GRC solutions with comprehensive security and compliance status capabilities enable organizations to quickly prove their adherence to requirements and share the necessary information, expediting the sales cycle and closing deals faster.

By embracing automated and digital GRC workflows, organizations can reap these benefits, transforming their governance, risk management, and compliance practices to drive operational excellence, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance overall business performance.

Compliance as a competitive edge

Embarking on the journey to establish a new program can be daunting initially. Transitioning GRC into a digital-first approach will require effort and commitment. However, the rewards far outweigh the investment. By adopting a digital-first strategy, GRC can evolve from being a costly and resource-intensive program to one that fosters efficiency within teams strengthens system security, and adds value to the business.

The ability to effortlessly accomplish, demonstrate, and share compliance status with stakeholders transforms compliance frameworks from obstacles into evidence that the organization conducts its operations robustly and securely. This shift in perspective establishes confidence in how the business operates and instills trust in its processes.

The transformation of GRC into a digital-first approach streamlines operations and reinforces the organization's commitment to maintaining a sound and secure business environment. By embracing this approach, businesses can unlock significant benefits, enhance their overall performance, and position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly digital world.