SAP's upcoming Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) suite modernization has left security professionals struggling to chart a clear path forward. But beyond the immediate confusion lies a bigger question — now that organizations need to invest in updating their GRC solutions, what's the best combination of tools for their long-term needs going forward?
A lot of the complication stems from SAP's unclear messaging about what each new tool provides and how they can be combined. The SAP ecosystem is complex enough as it is, and having multiple tool versions with overlapping functionality is only adding to the confusion. As a result, third-party alternatives and hybrid approaches that may have previously been overlooked are looking increasingly attractive.
Finding the right path for you requires evaluating multiple interconnected factors — existing technology, future strategy, regulatory needs — leading to analysis paralysis when a clear strategic direction is needed most.
This blog will give you some clarity. We'll explore the importance of understanding your current technology foundations, the keys to assessing future business strategy and regulatory requirements, and how to take a structured approach to making informed, aligned choices that work best for your organization.
Which GRC factors should I prioritize?
The requirement may be simple; “I need a way to control access to my information assets to demonstrate controls and governance over who can access what”, but the solution is complex. That’s because GRC now comprises far more than Access Governance. Rather, it encompasses internal governance, internal controls, application security, and vulnerability management, just to name a few component parts.
Some of the complexity is justified, as the nuances to achieve a controlled state are many. But that means a host of micro decisions need to be made to account for factors like organizational aspirations and risk tolerance, the underpinning technology, the processes to be operated, and importantly, the people involved.
A good starting point is to step back from comparing features and focus on that broader strategic context instead. From our experience, these four considerations are normally the most important in guiding the GRC tool selection process:
Current Technology Foundation
Understanding your current SAP usage, existing investments, and expertise is vital. As is investigating the depth of GRC tool integration with other systems. We’ve found that some organizations are so ingrained in a particular tool that the cost of making a change may prohibitive. Once you know your current level of investment, technology integration, and customizations, you’ll be in a better place to evaluate whether introducing a different tool makes business sense as well as security sense.
Future Business Strategy
Where is your business heading over the next five years, and what’s your strategy for getting there? Are you going cloud-first, entering new markets with different regulatory requirements, or making major business changes like IPOs, acquisitions, or new product launches? All of this can influence what you need from GRC tools, the desired architecture, and the profile of applications you need those tools to integrate with. New acquisitions, for example, could mean the inheritance of new regulatory compliance or subject to existing adherence. Having GRC Process Control can enable the easy adoption of new or existing compliance initiatives by either assessing existing regulations against new additions or adopting new ones into an existing framework ready for assessment and monitoring.
Regulatory and Compliance Evolution
Connected to the previous point, whatever tool you use must be ready for tomorrow’s compliance requirements as well as today’s. This is especially important if operating in industries with increased regulatory scrutiny or cybersecurity demands.
Integration and Automation Requirements
Do you need advanced automation capabilities as opposed to more basic, document-based risk management? How integrated do these GRC tools need to be? And are you aiming to leverage data analytics and automated monitoring, either now or in the future? Understanding your current business needs, and future technology aspirations, will ensure you choose a tool that is right-sized for your organization.
Uncovering and evaluating these priorities will aid you in selecting the right range of tools for your priorities and needs.
What does a proper GRC tool selection assessment look like?
Even organizations with strong internal compliance teams can find a strategic and objective technology assessment difficult. It’s natural to have unconscious bias towards existing solutions, especially when there has been substantial time and resources invested into learning and customizing them. On top of that, knowledge about viable alternatives, outside of the obvious choices, is often limited.
We believe a good technical assessment requires cross-platform expertise and an understanding of how different tools will perform in organization-specific environments. And even if teams have this depth of knowledge, understanding the bigger, objective picture can be difficult when they’re embedded in day-to-day operations.
That’s why a structured assessment, one that cuts through market confusion and prioritizes actual business need, should include:
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An objective baseline assessment: Establishing current GRC maturity without the bias of existing investments or relationships.
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Full options mapping: Evaluating solutions against specific requirements rather than relying on established vendor contacts.
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Strategic alignment review: Keeping technology choices on track with the broader business direction, not just solving short-term operational issues.
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Evidence-based recommendations: Making decisions based on all of the above and not being swayed by internal assumptions or vendor marketing.
Making the right GRC decision for your organization
The challenges created by SAP's GRC modernization are significant enough that this decision warrants careful strategic consideration. And getting an expert, objective view across technical, strategic, and compliance considerations often needs external support. That’s why we’ve designed our SAP GRC Modernization Assessment, which can help you cut through the noise and make informed decisions in the context of your organization’s unique circumstances and objectives.
Learn more about the assessment here, and if you want to discuss your options further, feel free to get in touch with the Turnkey team today.
