Why Cloud Works for Third-Party Risk Management

2 minute read

February 2016

If you are running a Vendor Risk Management program, odds are that you either have:

  1. A lot of spreadsheets and a good attempt at a well-organized email filing system;
  2. A system in place that moves a lot of data inside and outside of your network; or,
  3. Outsourced most of the work to a consulting firm.

The technical issues of collaborating with all of your third parties to collect documentation, have them provide responses to inquiries, follow-up on incomplete or incorrect responses, or have a consulting firm work on your behalf is significant. If a single system of record cannot be leveraged, all of the risk calculations, response reviews, and reporting analysis becomes near impossible to obtain. Managing thousands of responses (example: the average assessment is 400 questions * 70 vendors = 28,000 answers to review!) via email or in systems that need to be merged is not tenable.

Cloud technology is actually a perfect fit for this solution for the following reasons:

  1. It sits outside your organizations firewall and network
  2. It allows all parties to submit information and collaborate in a secure, non-intrusive manner
  3. It eliminates the email storage problem and accelerates user response with instant analysis

Instead of moving data all over the place, a cloud solution creates a single location where third parties upload their responses and your analysis can be performed. This is a huge advantage for companies looking to streamline third-party interactions while continuing to maintain a strict network security policy. While the cloud has not been thought of for governance, risk and compliance related programs in the past; secure, flexible, and adaptable cloud solutions exist today that are allowing better performance at a lower cost.

Click here to learn more about Third-Party Risk Management in the cloud.

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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.