Over 90% of the world’s data has been generated in the last few years. Accompanying this rapid growth in data comes exponential risks, as witnessed by the spike in cyber attacks of which no organization seems immune. The financial rewards gained by the perpetuators of cyber attacks is blatant, and this is driving continued attacks on companies containing massive amounts of consumer data. For these companies securing data is only half the battle. The risks can be greater when data is transmitted externally, hence it is critical that organizations know where sensitive data is going, how it is being transmitted, and how it is being handled and stored.

High-Profile Data Breaches have placed a spotlight on the risk of cyber security breaches with vendors and subcontractors, expanding the need to have greater rigor in third-party risk management and ongoing risk assessments. By integrating third-party risk management systems with other enterprise systems, external data sources, and analysis and reporting applications, and organization can deliver significant benefits and centralize processes into a single, automated platform that standardizes workflows and reduces manual effort.

GRC is neither a project nor a technology, but a corporate objective for improving governance through more effective compliance and a better understanding of the impact of risk on business performance. GRC can vary dramatically depending on the businesses vertical market, and even further complexity can be found from one business unit to another.