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The Benefits of Integrating GRC Software with Business Intelligence Tools

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Companies face

growing risks⁠

and rules they must follow. Handling them all is hard using old ways like paper and spreadsheets. A new idea is bringing together GRC software with BI tools. This makes managing risks and compliance much easier. It also gives leaders better data to steer the company.

What is GRC Software?

GRC stands for governance, risk, and compliance.

GRC software solutions⁠

helps with:

Finding risks before they become big issues

Making sure people follow important rules

Keeping leaders up to date on what is happening

GRC software does this by pulling data from all over the company into one tool. It tracks things like safety problems, cyber threats, audit issues and more.

How Do BI Tools Help?

BI stands for business intelligence. BI tools take data and turn it into helpful insights. These tools create visually appealing dashboards, enabling leaders to identify trends and issues. BI tools also predict future problems.

Examples of BI tools include Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik. These make data easy to understand using charts, graphs, and visuals.

Why Integrate GRC Software with BI Tools?

The synergy of GRC software and BI tools enhances their overall value. Here are the top reasons to connect them:

Complete Data Picture

GRC software stores risk data from audits, incidents,

compliance surveys⁠

, and more. BI tools take this data and combine it with HR, sales, finance, and operational data. This gives leaders a single source of truth to make decisions with.

Advanced-Data Modeling

BI tools use smart methods like machine learning to uncover patterns and meanings in massive data. This finds insights GRC software would miss on its own. Models predict risk likelihood in different situations.

Customizable Visualizations

BI tools turn abstract data into easy-to-grasp visuals like scorecards, maps, and graphs. Leaders can visualize risk and compliance data in whatever formats illuminate insights best.

Proactive Monitoring

Linking GRC software and BI enables real-time monitoring of metrics using digital dashboards. Instead of stale quarterly reports, issues are caught as they arise for quick response.

Enhanced Benchmarking

BI analytics enable the comparison of internal risk and compliance performance over time or against industry peers. Leaders can set improvement goals based on concrete benchmarks.

Centralized Reporting

Disconnected reports from across the business can be brought together for unified risk reporting. Scheduling ensures critical reports reach stakeholders consistently without gaps.

Increased Adoption

Many users already utilize familiar BI tools regularly. Integrating risk data into existing platforms makes adoption easier versus learning entirely new systems.

Key Steps for Integration

Connecting GRC software and BI platforms requires careful planning but yields significant benefits. Follow these steps:

Choose a starting point - Connect BI to either internal GRC systems or specialized external platforms like Galvanize and RSA Archer for expanded capabilities.

Assess data gaps - Determine what risk data resides where and how to pull it into BI for consolidation. Involve IT and security teams.

Model data relationships - Map how data correlates between systems. Good data models are key for converting raw data into meaningful insights.

Design metrics and KPIs - Define the vital risk, policy, and audit factors that leaders should track through digital dashboards.

Develop dashboards - Prioritize dashboard designs that clearly illuminate data model insights for quick pattern recognition and trend monitoring.

Test and iterate - Pilot with user feedback to refine. Complex integrations take time to optimize so expectations are set properly.

Train users - Demonstrate value to users upfront through training. Include playbooks guiding how to interpret and act on new analytics.

Update workflows - Adjust supporting risk management processes to leverage new integration capabilities and data visibility.

Real-World Examples

Let’s look at two examples where linking GRC and BI tools improved risk programs:

Large US Bank

Historical data in RSA Archer GRC platform integrated into Tableau BI using APIs.

An audit issue tracker dashboard was created displaying high-risk items by location and age.

Helped prioritize remediation, and reduce repeat audit findings by 58% in one year.

Leading Hospital System

Compliance survey data combined with patient safety incident reports using Power BI.

dashboards relating staff certification gaps, safety errors, and patient complaints by the department.

Improved correlation insights between compliance and care risks. Guided more targeted mitigations.

Integrating BI analytics into risk and compliance management delivers the full picture leaders need to safeguard companies in today’s uncertain environment. With a data-driven focus, teams achieve higher reliability, resilience, and growth.

Overcoming Integration Challenges

Linking GRC software and BI tools faces hurdles like technical issues and change resistance. Addressing these challenges pays off.

Data complexity - GRC data spans formats like text, video, and table schemas. Cleaning and shaping data for BI consistency takes work. Plan testing cycles.

Legacy systems - Older platforms lack APIs for easy connections. Updates or custom integration may be needed. Know your start-state.

Adoption lag - Users stick with familiar tools and ways of operating. Highlight benefits through demos and training. Incentivize usage.

Uncertain ROI - Linking systems requires investment before payoff. Set realistic expectations on returns and timelines. Achieving quick wins builds support.

Guiding users through changes, allowing time for learning, and targeting high-impact use cases ensures integration success overcoming initial hurdles.

FAQs:

How does linking GRC software and BI tools help IT teams?

It gives IT fuller data to enhance security and tech risk management. Unified data aids compliance like SOX and CCPA too.

What should I do if my company uses multiple GRC platforms?

BI can aggregate data across platforms for single dashboard visibility. But limit the number of GRC sources when possible.

How much does implementation cost?

Costs vary based on integration complexity. Some connectors are free but extensive custom development or outside help is more expensive.

Does BI integration increase cyber risks?

Proper security controls during implementation and testing are crucial to prevent new vulnerabilities when linking systems and data.

Conclusion

Integrating GRC software with business intelligence tools unlocks immense value for risk and compliance programs. Bringing together these critical systems provides leadership with a comprehensive view of risks in easy-to-understand visual formats.

Advanced analytics and modeling empower teams to achieve true predictive governance and risk management. Issues can be anticipated before they escalate or trigger violations. The organization becomes more resilient, agile, and prepared for uncertainty.

Although connecting platforms requires planning and resources, the payoff is immense. Leaders gain unified visibility and insights to guide decisions and strategy with eyes wide open to risks. Teams can transition from a reactive to a proactive approach. Compliance becomes integrated into processes through automation.

With strong change management and training, adoption hurdles are surmountable to realize benefits. Overall, integrating GRC software and BI is becoming imperative for any organization seeking to digitally transform risk and compliance. This provides the informational advantage needed to succeed amid growing uncertainty.

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