Risk & Compliance – The Build Versus Buy Debate

2 minute read

December 2017

We’re not seeing it as much as we used to, but some companies are still wrestling with the “build versus buy” debate when it comes to risk and compliance automation. We saw it recently with a prospect looking to streamline their Vendor Risk Management program.

Obviously, I’m biased. I work for a software company, so naturally I’m going to say that buying a solution is better than trying to develop one on your own. For me, the biggest advantage to taking the “buy” route is ProcessUnity’s customer community.

Think about it. Every ProcessUnity customer is on an annual subscription plan. As a company, we must continuously offer the best solution in the marketplace or our customers will switch vendors when their contracts end. (Let’s face it – it’s not very hard to switch vendors these days.) Ultimately, our customers force us to be better.

As a result, our Product and Engineering team is constantly adding new features and capabilities to our platform. We typically introduce two major releases each year with many minor releases in between. Our most recent release introduced more than 70 new enhancements. Even better, nearly 40 percent of those new capabilities were proposed by our customers. So, we’re incorporating ideas and best practices from our customer experts to make our solution even stronger.

In concert with our customer community, our team is constantly monitoring the regulatory landscape to make sure our solutions evolve with changing legislation. If our software isn’t up-to-date, we’ll lose customers. It’s that simple.

Is there a scenario in which you should build? Absolutely. You build when it gives you a competitive advantage, when you have a better way, when your process is unique, and/or when what you need isn’t commercially available. For risk and compliance, that’s not the case (whether you buy from ProcessUnity or not).

I have no doubt that your IT team could build a passable solution to support your needs (today). Where you’ll run into trouble is when you want to make a change. In the “build” scenario, your team will need to research best practices and the latest regulatory changes. And then you may have to compete for resources internally to put changes into your system.

With ProcessUnity, you get access to best practices developed via organizations as small as community banks and as large as Fortune 50 companies. And, we can get you set up and productive much faster than your IT team can build version 1.0 of a homegrown solution. Even better, when you need to make a change, your business users (not your IT team) can implement the change.

With ProcessUnity, you’ll get better functionality, faster and ultimately cheaper. I know I’m biased. So, ask our customers.

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About Us

ProcessUnity is a leading provider of cloud-based applications for risk and compliance management. The company’s software as a service (SaaS) platform gives organizations the control to assess, measure, and mitigate risk and to ensure the optimal performance of key business processes. ProcessUnity’s flagship solution, ProcessUnity Vendor Risk Management, protects companies and their brands by reducing risks from third-party vendors and suppliers. ProcessUnity helps customers effectively and efficiently assess and monitor both new and existing vendors – from initial due diligence and onboarding through termination. Headquartered outside of Boston, Massachusetts, ProcessUnity is used by the world’s leading financial service firms and commercial enterprises. For more information, visit www.processunity.com.