4 Perks of Putting Your Risk Program on Autopilot

Inspired by the efficiency gains and cost reduction in other industries, the demand for automation in risk management has increased significantly over the past few years. The benefits of automating manual processes are well documented. However, many fail to recognize that automating risk management activities also leads to more robust and accurate assessments and enables ongoing risk oversight.

This is due, in part, to the fact that risk management programs are still playing catch-up from the accelerated digital transformation that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why now is an excellent time to develop a proactive risk management strategy that automates compliance, cybersecurity and risk management activities to provide always-on risk monitoring.

Taking the time to understand the business objectives, identify measures of success and create a multi-phase plan enables risk professionals to communicate real-time risk information in the context the business can understand.

Benefits of Automating Risk Management

1. Efficiency gains
2. Cost reduction
3. More robust/accurate assessments
4. Enables ongoing risk oversight

Automation is a broad term to describe processes that don’t require manual work. In it’s simplest form, the mapping of risks, controls and requirements is automation. The interconnectivity enables evidence to be reused across frameworks and reduces the amount of testing. If you’re using ZenGRC or the Reciprocity^® ROAR Platform, you’ve probably already experienced the efficiency gains associated with the “test once, satisfy many” concept.

Extrapolating on that success, further efficiency gains can be achieved by utilizing direct connections to tertiary systems to automate evidence collection. Collecting information related to risk-reducing activities straight from the source, such as your hosting provider or source control application, reduces reliance on an individual to provide it. This dramatically reduces the impact on the organization while increasing the frequency with which evidence is collected.

It’s easy to recognize the resource time and cost savings associated with automation. However, automation can also increase the accuracy of a risk management program. Automated evidence collection ensures data can’t be manipulated or excluded. Additionally, it enables more frequent risk assessments, which demonstrates more accurate risk reduction metrics. In some cases, the evidence may be automatically assessed as well, allowing for complete population analysis vs. sample testing. An automated risk management program demonstrates a commitment to accurate and timely risk monitoring.

Automation With ROAR

The Reciprocity ROAR Platform is the first always-on risk management application focused on the interconnectivity of risk and compliance objects. Leveraging a structured risk management model, threats, vulnerabilities, findings and third parties are connected to risks. As objects are added or remediated, evidence is collected and control implementation methods are assessed, the residual risk automatically updates to reflect the most up-to-date risk score.

To get started, download our best practice guide: Using Automation to Transform Risk Management. Then register for a FREE live demo to see ROAR in action.