Effective GRC is an essential part of running a business. Yet, running an enterprise-level GRC program is a complex and challenging task that many organisations struggle with. Managing risks and compliance in an organisation involves several processes and the major challenge for organisations is to holistically carry out all these processes.
In such cases, GRC as a service (GRCaaS) can be an effective solution.
What is GRC as a service?
GRC as a service is, well, a service provided by advisors and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to help organisations access the resources to manage their GRC program holistically and efficiently. It provides the people, technology, and expertise needed for risk management and compliance processes. Organisations opt for GRC as a service for specific areas of risk management or for the entire program.
Advisors and MSPs who work with different clients can broaden their offering by providing GRC as a service. Considering the challenges many companies face with the implementation of security programs, GRC as a service can be a comprehensive solution, when delivered right.
GRC as a service is an ideal solution for the types of organisations given below.
- Multi-entity organisations that manage different departments and subsidiaries
- Organisations with multiple franchises
- Private equity firms that need to manage risk across a wide client portfolio
This service works across a diverse client base and helps them organise and simplify their approach to governance, risk, and compliance.
When do organisations need GRC as a service?
The reason several organisations struggle with implementing a GRC program is that they lack the financial resources to build and maintain an in-house team for GRC. The internal resources they have often fall short of the demands of a security program resulting in:
- Poor understanding of regulatory requirements and risks
- High GRC costs
- Lack of compliance, leading to fines, penalties, and litigation
- Impact on the brand reputation and stakeholder backlash
- Siloed approaches that fail to look at the bigger picture
- Manual GRC processes that are error-prone and difficult to scale
Here are some cases when an organisation can benefit from GRC as a service.
- An organisation is just starting out with security and compliance initiatives
- They have already established a GRC program but need to assess its efficacy
- They are closing on new acquisitions and need to re-look at the cybersecurity profile and compliance maturity
- Need an interim CISO to oversee the security programs
6clicks Hub & Spoke Architecture
The 6clicks Hub & Spoke Architecture is a multi-tenancy GRC management solution. It is an easy-to-deploy solution and can be used by organisations for managing their GRC programs and can also be offered as a service by advisors and MSPs.
It centralises risk and compliance in multi-entity situations, yet gives each department the autonomy to successfully carry out the GRC program. It creates a bi-directional relationship between the parent organisation and its entities.
This multi-tenant GRC approach of Hub & Spoke makes it the perfect solution for advisors, MSPs, and 6clicks partners to offer GRC as a service to their client base. The bidirectional relationship helps them in implementing holistic GRC programs across their client base.
The benefits of Hub & Spoke for GRCaaS
6clicks has worked with hundreds of advisors and MSPs to understand how multi-tenant GRC deployment can hugely simplify the implementation of risk and compliance programs. Hub & Spoke when used with the wider 6clicks platform for risk management, governance, compliance, and incident management gives a comprehensive solution for all the security needs of an organisation.
For advisors, MSPs, and partners, GRCaaS with the multi-entity Hub & Spoke approach can be easily deployed, is affordable, and is very easy to use for both the advisors and the organisations. Check out our partner program for GRC - 6clicks for advisors and MSPs.
As far as effective GRC is concerned, 6clicks Hub & Spoke presents some unique benefits that can elevate GRCaaS.
A comprehensive content library
With the 6clicks content library, content management has never been easier. You can customise content templates for clients so that all entities can use them within their 6clicks instant or go for standardised content, giving the organisations more flexibility while ensuring a systematic approach.
Autonomy for each entity
While the GRC implementation is centralised, it still gives the autonomy to each entity to adopt GRC implementation at their own pace. Aspects such as user access, configurations, permissions, etc. can be managed for each entity individually.
COE level management
Users at the Centre of Excellence level get a complete view of the GRC implementation status across all their entities. This is a great way for advisors, MSPs, and partners to monitor the status and initiate tasks.
Final thoughts
A multi-entity GRC program for MSPs can align the implementation of security programs across distributed organisations. There is a widening gap between the organisation’s need to implement an efficient GRC program and the resources they need for it. Advisors and MSPs can bridge this gap by introducing Hub & Spoke and the 6clicks platform as a part of their offering to deploy GRC implementation.
Read more about how 6clicks Hub & Spoke can bring order to GRC management in our e-book - GRC 20/20 Solution Perspective. It has insights on delivering the Hub & Spoke GRC engagement.
Written by Heather Buker
Heather has been a technical SME in the cybersecurity field her entire career from developing cybersecurity software to consulting, service delivery, architecting, and product management across most industry verticals. An engineer by trade, Heather specializes in translating business needs and facilitating solutions to complex cyber and GRC use cases with technology. Heather has a Bachelors in Computer Engineering, Masters in Engineering Management, and a Doctorate in Information Technology with a specialization in information assurance and cybersecurity.
