There's a fine line when balancing your requirements for choosing the best GRC Software. From compliance requirements to system requirements, SaaS software vendors can leave you on cloud 9 or behind the eight ball.
When you finally get your business-case approved by your board of directors to implement a new GRC system, you need to know you’ve got the right vendor shortlists, capability statements, sandpits available and assurance that the software will be able to evolve with your business.
Having assurance that you’ve done your research, is just like backing yourself walking into a university exam after studying all your mandatory syllabus.
When you’re informed, you’re forearmed.
Below are ten questions to ask any GRC Software Vendor, to help you be forearmed in choosing the best software that will meet your business requirements.
1) Zero Coding
Can the entire application be modified or extended to meet the changing needs of your business over time, with zero coding?
Software providers who can provide innovative software that requires 0% coding, will empower you with flexibility. In turn, enabling your business to modify, extend or create business applications that extend as your business extends, helping make your business 100% future proof!
2) Software that writes software for you
Does the solution allow new applications to be built on the same platform to achieve a single source of truth and reduce future costs?
Having the ability to outpace your competition with innovative technology that has done the innovation for you, without the reliance on programmers, is critical in the digital age. Being enabled in-house to create new applications to your requirements, on the one platform, will not only help provide a competitive edge, it will save money and time.
3) Instant deployment in real-time
Does the software or platform design enable us to build mobile enterprise applications that are not reliant on the Vendor’s app store, Apple, IOS or Google Android restrictions?
With the pace of globalization quickening, businesses often require a new mobile app fast. Having the capability to automatically build mobile applications on the fly, with zero coding and is not reliant on the vendor or app stores, is a time-critical capability for businesses.
4) Inbuilt Business Process Modeler
Does the Software/Platform have an inbuilt Business Process Modeler, that is 100% flexible and can adapt as your business changes?
Having the capability to modify or create new workflows to automate any action or activity to suit your business, without coding and is included in your contractual costs, can save you thousands of dollars in service fees.
5) Business Intelligence (BI) with smart reporting
Does the platform/software have inbuilt intelligent business tools that can interrogate data across all applications?
Being able to use the software, in real-time to create smart forms, dashboards, surveys, screens, reports, charts and graphs with 'drill down' capabilities across your GRC applications, is a great capability. When this stems from your enterprise-wide applications on one platform, you can reduce silos and increase your single source of truth.
6) Smart and configurable APIs
Does the platform have inbuilt configurable APIs that can leverage intelligent workflows to connect with other applications easily?
Software that provides a streamlined application network that connects your company’s applications, data, and devices with smart APIs, helps you work smarter, not harder.
7) Upgrade cycles
How often are the upgrade cycles, what is the process and what costs are involved?
With traditional technologies, upgrades take considerable effort, time and cost for all parties. However, with Platform as a Service (PaaS) software, there are a selected few vendors, such as ReadiNow, that include regular, automatic and seamless upgrades. These help your business stay agile, resilient and increase your bottom line.
8) Bi-Directional mass communication
Does the software have inbuilt bi-directional communication via SMA, and emails to assist with your mass notification requirements?
Should a risk incident occur, being able to communicate with all staff and stakeholders, via multiple channels, is critical. Software that has a full bi-directional integrated communication capability can help you manage risk, by being able to raise tickets, issues, incidents mass notifications and approve actions via SMS and email, enables you to engage with staff across multiple channels.
9) Security access controls
Does the software/platform have the inbuilt intelligence to manage security access controls by automatically adapting to business changes to reduce the overhead for administrators in-house?
Inbuilt intelligence and 100% flexibility in software, enables you to dynamically adjust to changes in your business, therefore reducing overheads for full-time administrators.
10) Building your future
How can the software add value with innovation initiatives in-house?
Most businesses experience rapid change, expansion, and uncertainty. Deploying a software that can evolve with your business is critical to help future proof your business. Look for an intelligent technology that can empower you in-house to build prototypes with zero coding, help you solve complex problems and fundamentally disrupt your industry to gain a competitive edge.
Ultimately when you’re ready to engage a new software to help you manage tomorrow’s risks well, you need to ensure the software that you select can help future-proof your business.
Engaging a software that writes software for you, has bi-directional mass communication, in-built intelligence, and inclusive upgrade cycles will help position you as an industry leader. Other capabilities such as a flexible business process modeller, smart reporting, instant deployment in real-time, and requires zero coding, empowers you and reduces your costs; are all also critical when looking to engage the perfect GRC Software for your business.
Are you looking to remove silos and provide a single source of truth? One software that can integrate across your whole business; from your GRC to your CRM and produce smart reports for you, for board reporting on any device?
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