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What keeps GRC professionals like you awake at night?
If you’re anything like most of the other GRC professionals to whom we regularly speak, it’s a question with a very simple answer: the inadequacies of your organisation’s GRC platform.
Which matters, a lot.
Because to the modern organisation, solid capabilities in governance, risk management, and compliance are important. Across a wide range of risks, GRC teams must respond to regulators’ demands in a timely, complete, and competent manner.
And when they don’t—or can’t—then the consequences can be serious. Significant fines, certainly. But also significant reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and lost revenues.
Integrated risk management solutions aren’t enough
So how has this situation come about? Why are GRC professionals so down on their organisations’ GRC platforms?
For two reasons, essentially.
First, those GRC platforms are fairly simple affairs, usually requiring the manual inputting of risk management data.
Generally termed ‘integrated risk management solutions’, these systems are very capable of providing a consistent, organisation-wide view. Generally, too, they provide a useful ‘heads-up’ as to current status. And generally, too, they provide a clear visual mapping of how risk is overlaid on the organisation chart.
But beyond that, they’re limited. Flagging exceptions can be clumsy, and it can be difficult—or impossible—to drill down for real-time visibility of risk data and control status.
Rear-view mirror
The second weakness of organisations’ GRC platforms is that they’re static affairs, prone to bias and opinion.
Information is input into them at a point in time. It’s subjective information, judgemental information, and generally qualitative rather than quantitative.
Consequently, it is information that is subject to bias. It’s an opinion, rather than a proven, quantifiable fact. And an opinion that’s generally based on samples taken at a point in time, rather than anything more formal.
And if there are any supporting facts, it’s often the case that these aren’t input into the GRC platform, but simply recorded—that is, if they are recorded—in any supporting paper documentation.
In short, GRC professionals are expending a great deal of time and energy gathering sub-optimal information that is then out of date the moment that it is entered into the GRC platform.
In short, just when they need to be looking forward, the tool that GRC professionals have is a rear-view mirror.
No wonder, then, that GRC professionals are so down on their organisations’ GRC platforms.
Is there a better way?
Just as a thought experiment, let’s imagine what a better GRC platform might look like.
We’d want something that provided us with a continuous view of controls, too, rather than a snapshot at a moment in time. Preferably, too, we’d want it to be real-time, as well.
We’d probably want that continuous view to be delivered automatically, without any manual inputting—freeing up people’s time, and boosting productivity.
We’d probably want something that was good at flagging exceptions, and something that could help us to drill down into the underlying problems.
We’d probably want something a little more interactive, too, and able to highlight control status by category, or location within the organisation, or status—a single organisation-wide view of risk, together with the evidence to support that view.
And we’d want it to be based on higher-quality, factual, quantitative information—and not on judgements, opinions, and samples.
Introducing Continuous Controls Monitoring
Does such a solution exist? Absolutely.
Here at Quod Orbis, we call it Continuous Controls Monitoring—although you may have heard the IT security term ‘continuous compliance’ used, as well.
Either way, it’s a solution that meets the requirements of the thought experiment sketched out above.
Already in use within cutting-edge organisations, Continuous Control Monitoring technology gathers—continuously, and in real-time—all of the data and evidence that GRC professionals require, by continually monitoring all of a business’s risk management systems and internal controls, via telemetry.
It’s GRC data that is factual and objective. It’s GRC data that is real-time. It’s GRC data that is drawn from right across the organisation’s risk and vulnerability landscape. And it’s GRC data that’s delivered and compiled automatically.
Forget snapshots at a moment in time. Forget subjective, qualitative opinions. This is how we believe GRC platforms should operate—and this is how GRC professionals can finally sleep more soundly at night.
Contact us to schedule a demo of the Quod Orbis CCM managed platform.
See it for yourself – automated Continuous Controls Monitoring (CCM), with complete cyber controls visibility in a single pane of glass, continuance compliance, automated audits, our unique service wrap, and more.
Please complete your details and a member of the Quod Orbis team will be in touch soon.
To find out more about cyber security and Continuous Controls Monitoring, please call us or complete the form below with a short message and we’ll get right back to you:
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A very experienced and respected Senior Leadership Executive, with over 30 years’ experience in Information Technology, Information/CyberSecurity and Risk. Specialises in delivering business transformation, leading people through change and taking them on a journey to deliver and exceed company expectations. Highly regarded by his peers and colleagues across the globe. A very confident and effective communicator at CXO level, and valued as an expert presenter at numerous worldwide forums . Across his career been in Senior CISO and leadership positions in Banking, Telco, Network & Utilities, Several UK Government Departments,
Has extensive Cyber Security, Operational Risk, Compliance and Business Transformation expertise, gained across a broad range of industries. Former Director of Cybersecurity for CGI and CapGemini and Ex CISO for O2.
Will has spent the last 9-years embedded in Cyber Security working with global, household names and innovative start-ups.
Passionate about bringing people and technology together, Will has worked in various settings, helping build high-growth organisations across multiple sectors. During this time, he has built an extensive network with access to some of the best talent out there.
Outside of QO, his young daughter keeps him well on his toes!
Mark works with SMEs and charities to develop strategies to help them grow and access development capital. He is a NED, charity trustee and mentor to a wide range of people. His plural career started in 2017 after 16 years at pwc as a Deals partner working with large corporates and PE houses; at pwc he also ran the Retail and Consumer practice and was Chairman of the pwc UK Supervisory Board. Prior to pwc he was an executive director at Welcome Break and Iceland Group, and a partner at Bain and Company. He trained as an engineer at Imperial College and has an MBA from INSEAD.
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Eamon is a highly regarded and massively respected technology career professional as well as serial entrepreneur. He has started, grown and successfully taken to market three technology business.
Genuinely expert in technology, Eamon has enjoyed long-term working relationships with many of the world’s top companies and organisations in finance, banking, government, manufacturing, engineering, technology and the charities sector.
He draws on unparalleled contacts and experience and provides advice, solutions and recommendations, as well as helping respond to emergencies. Eamon has grown in-house and client teams and has a gift for hiring great people.
Peter has the ability to do what many fail to and that is to consistently bring together highly professional teams and build a business environment that is supportive, agile, professional and where everyone enjoys coming into the office.
Bringing a unique blend of business acumen and technical knowledge to the role of non-exec director, Peter has already demonstrated his ability to bring an exceptional flair for dealing with complex situations with a clear, considered approach.
Personally, Peter brings humility and a strong moral compass to the team. His disarming and self-deprecating approach wins everyone over.
Anwen has worked in B2B and B2C marketing for over 20 years. From transforming end-to-end customer journeys in retail with strategic customer-centric plans to target driven focused strategies for B2B sales. With extensive experience in digital marketing including SEO, as well as Brand development, she loves to develop a cohesive approach to brand image and communications to drive and develop the business proposition and perception.
Alice has worked in the IT industry for 20 years. Starting in Procurement, she moved into Software Asset Management before transitioning into Customer Success Management. Working across a variety of roles for different industries as both a customer and a service provider has given her a great understanding of what makes a great service. She has always been passionate about building and maintaining great customer relationships and helping her customers achieve their goals.
Owain has spent nearly a decade building software solutions and products within the cyber security sphere for the likes of government entities, large telecommunication companies, banks and card transaction companies.
This level of experience allows him to swiftly identify business and security processes that can be streamlined with automation, increase the efficiency of existing processes, as well as generate insightful data visualisations and models for members of an organisation at each different level.
Ami is a finance sector career professional, with many years’ experience working in financial services, both in London and throughout the UK. In addition to financial control, she looks after HR and legal for the company.
Being a mother of two also equips her with the basic skills required to manage a senior team of management and technology consultants.
Ami’s sense of balance and perspective is an essential ingredient of the Quod Orbis culture.
Alastair has spent the last 20 years working in Cyber Security and Risk Management. He is a passionate believer that security solutions should enable a business to take advantage of all the benefits of the digital world, while not putting the organisation’s data or productivity at risk.
Alastair has developed high-performing teams in some of the industry’s most competitive markets and launched new innovative technologies to market.
Being a rugby coach, and also having four sons at home, means he has lots of experience in keeping a passionate team in order but always has time for some fun!
Gary has 15 years’ experience in senior technology roles, and has already been closely involved in starting and taking two technology companies to market.
Totally comfortable with a fast-moving, state-of-the-art technical landscape, he helps his clients maintain and improve security and compliance.
He has a reputation for delivering pragmatic and easy to maintain solutions – business owners and managers enjoy knowing that the security and compliance is well managed and automated, properly instrumented and reported at a competitive cost point.
Honest, open, unflappable and very social, Gary is trusted by many household-name organisations to protect their, and their client’s data.
Martin is an experienced technology and organisational transformation specialist and an excellent, proven leader and communicator in mission-critical operations, particularly in security technology.
Over the past 20 years, multi-billion pound commercial organisations, including global banks, utilities and major investment funds have trusted Martin to transform their operations to meet financial, operational and compliance targets.
Martin optimises operations, managing and transforming operational teams of between 50 and 500 people, to deliver the highest levels of audit compliance, risk management and financial efficiency.
Often working with other major consultancies and suppliers for new global corporate owners or management teams, Martin will help integrate and streamline operations on a global basis.
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