Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) policies that include regulations, laws, and business risk factors have been ingrained into the business DNA for decades. Traditionally, it was seen as a set of business processes put in place through bookkeeping and organizational rules. However, as we move towards a digital-first way of living, the number of technological advancements has exposed enterprises worldwide to a wide array of risk factors like cyberattacks and cloud security challenges. There is an urgent need to leave behind conventional strategies and step towards digital transformation on GRC to prepare businesses for future disruption.
What is the need for the digital transformation of the existing GRC framework?
- GRC components often operate in silos and fail to utilize the data available across various functions.
- The existing framework is often inflexible and resistant to any modifications
- GRC does not play a crucial role in organizational-level decision making
- Most GRC frameworks are unable to detect breaches, which can lead to huge losses within the organization.
These bottlenecks cause an increase in risk incidents, cybersecurity breaches, higher open costs, and sub-par customer experiences.
A recent GRC survey by KPMG concludes that more than 50% of CXOs believe risk and compliance is one of the main challenges that must be tackled in the next few years.
Let us look at some of the fundamental principles that are essential to GRC and digital transformation:
Future-ready technology: With the rapid evolution of technology, GRC must digitize and optimize all of the organization’s risk and compliance activities. It should also be scalable to perform to the growing business needs of the enterprise.
People-first approach: GRC framework decisions should not be limited to the top-tier executives of any organization. All employees should be enabled to put forth their opinions and talk about their experiences with potential threats and loopholes that they may know of.
Predictive models: GRC strategies cannot merely be reactive once a breach has occurred. It must be capable of analyzing data and gain relevant insights that would help them make timely decisions.
Multiple stakeholders: Organizations must enable all employees to be a part of the GRC process by investigating and tracking breach incidents at all levels within the organization.
An ideal GRC strategy allows cybersecurity leaders of the organization to reduce risks in a real-time, cohesive manner. Organizations must establish a future-proof, digitally transformed GRC model with cognitive capabilities that can serve today’s evolving business needs.
Netlabs Global offers GRC-as-a-Service that helps you build a unified program through continuous monitoring and automation. It also provides real-time assessments of the effect of legal and regulatory issues. Watch an overview of our cyber resilience solutions here.
