Overview
Whether we like it or not, risks form part of any corporate landscape, from small enterprises to global multi-corporations. Hazards include but are not limited to reputation, legal, governance, compliance, financial, and security. Due to the high prices of most risk solutions, it is more often than not solely purchased by wealthier companies. That’s why finding the best value Risk Management software is vital. And you might be surprised to learn how affordable a good solution can be.
What is Risk Management Software?
Risk Management Software assists companies with identifying the risks that will impact the organisation’s business objectives, associated corporate assets or carrying out their general business activities. It helps monitor and measure almost all potential risks that might threaten an organisation, including data breaches, financial loss, and IT risks.
Its purpose is to help the organisation identify and manage issues that will harm or cause the business to fail. All companies and organisations need to perform Risk Analysis alongside finding an effective management solution that works.
Essential Components for a Risk Management Software Solution
Must Have
Your risk solution must be agile and allow you to integrate different aspects of your business onto a single platform. This means it needs to be flexible so you can customise it to fit your current and future requirements. Also, take into account what your users will need and how they will use the system. The system needs to be intuitive so users can adopt it quickly. Being able to collect and share data across the whole business means you don’t need to repeat the entry of data or find and collate information from different sources when you need to create a report. Having a single platform that integrates all your needs will save you weeks & months of work every year.
Budget
Do not be fooled or dazzled into paying for expensive solutions. Paying more for something does not mean you’ll get a better solution, far from it. Many solutions are overpriced and offer little once you get past the glitzy charts. The software is often poorly thought out and relies on vendors giving a slick demonstration to make you believe their solution is what you need. A software analyst recently told me there are over 300 risk management software platforms on the market, out of those about 70 are OK and maybe 20 do the job properly. (FYI Symbiant was one of those that did the job properly)
Training and support
Training and support should be free, and a good solution should be intuitive and easy to use, meaning training and support should be minimal and something the vendor should give you.
Customisation
In business, one size rarely fits all. You will have your terminology and way of working. For any risk solution to work effectively and become embedded, it must match the way you currently work and additionally helps you to improve that process. Consider a solution that can grow with you and is flexible enough to meet your current needs and, more importantly, your potential needs for the next five years.
Collaboration
You must manage your risks as a company-wide activity: Making Risk Management more accessible to the firm’s management team(s) raises risk awareness and helps get input from your workforce. It’s also a requirement for some certifications, such as ISO27001 and ISO31000. A solution that facilitates collaboration and makes it easy for different parts of the organisation to be involved in the Risk process will be far more effective than a solution that doesn’t. An effective RCSA (Risk and Control Self-Assessment) solution, such as Risk Workshops, ensures every member of an organisation is involved in the process of risk.
Methodology
Define how your company will score the risks affecting your organisation and how you will perform the scoring options. A good solution should allow you to configure the scoring matrixes and heat maps to meet your criteria. It should also allow you to pre-set qualitative and quantitative scoring options to give a company-wide standard and guide users on the options for different risks and impacts.
Risk Assessment
Look for a software solution that helps you discover the potential risks that might affect your business or a new project, even things you might not have considered. A good risk assessment solution needs you to view all potential possibilities. Virtual Risk Workshops are an ideal way to collaborate on assessing, scoring and treating current and potential threats.
The Real Residual Risk Score
Risk Appetite
Risk Indicators
Risk Indicators are like a weather station, allowing the company to collect data to see if a storm is brewing and which risks are potentially affected. However, whilst this is not an essential part of a risk solution, it’s certainly a handy feature and something to keep in mind.
Ownership
For risks to be adequately managed and maintained, they need to have an owner(s) – people in the business responsible for managing the threat and ensuring it’s under control. Select a solution that allows for this and restricts data views so people can only see what you want them to see.
Room to Grow
Few companies will initially require all the tools in a comprehensive Risk Management software solution, but as you start to embed the software and have more requirements, you might find you want to do more and have more significant needs. Consider a system that allows you to tailor your approach to the one that best suits your current and potential future business model.
Automated Notices and Tasks
Reporting
It is a must to have a comprehensive reporting suite that you can customise to your requirements. Risk management reports must make sense to you and be delivered in a format management expect and require. A good solution should have a vast selection of pre-made reports that you can customise and also allow you to create your bespoke Risk reports.
What is the Solution?
Symbiant Risk Management Software contains all of the above features and much more whilst remaining the Best Value Risk Management Solution on the market, With Modules for only £100 per Month.
If you have any questions, please Contact Us for more information or Book a Demonstration and see how Symbiant can work for you!
