- May 9, 2024
- Posted by: Larry Walsh
- Category: Blogs
At the ServiceNow Knowledge 2024 conference, Jim Van Over, field innovation officer at ServiceNow, led a risk-management panel with partners and subject-matter experts Daniel Prior, a partner at EY; Melissa Cohoe, global practice strategist for security, risk, and resilience at NewRocket; and Barb Johnson, managing director and risk transformation leader at Edgile.
An expert partner panel at the ServiceNow Knowledge 2024 conference advises enterprises to stop thinking about risk management as an inhibitor and turn it into a business enabler.
By Larry Walsh
Risk management is often seen as an inhibitor to many things companies do to advance their product portfolios, market development, and sales. The risk and compliance people are the dampeners who place controls on business activities and slow down progress.
Or at least that’s a common perception.
The reality is far more nuanced. Risk management is also a business enabler, allowing companies to safely take on new ventures without bearing the full weight of the potential consequences if things go wrong. It’s also a means of ensuring that businesses can operate in new markets with limited exposure.
That was the underlying message of the panel, “Make Better Business Decisions by Integrating Risk and Compliance,” at ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2024 conference in Las Vegas. The panel, expertly moderated by Jim Van Over, field innovation officer at ServiceNow, featured Barb Johnson, managing director and risk transformation leader at Edgile; Daniel Prior, a partner at EY; and Melissa Cohoe, global practice strategist for security, risk, and resilience at NewRocket.
All of the panelists are partners of ServiceNow, and they highlighted the benefits of establishing controls and processes not just to protect companies from operational and cybersecurity threats but also to create opportunities for advancing businesses to higher levels of performance and growth.
The panel shared how all enterprises are confronted with a multitude of obstacles when it comes to effectively managing risk and ensuring compliance. As regulations continue to evolve and new threats materialize, it’s imperative for companies to adopt a forward-thinking and tactical approach to risk management.
The foundation of this approach lies in demonstrating compliance through the implementation of automation and digital transformation initiatives, and this is where ServiceNow’s workflow automation and artificial intelligence resources can play a pivotal role.
By leveraging ServiceNow’s platform, organizations can streamline their risk-management processes, enhance security effectiveness, and achieve greater levels of regulatory compliance.
The ServiceNow platform’s workflow automation capabilities enable companies to optimize their compliance processes, reducing the burden on their teams and allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.
Additionally, ServiceNow’s AI-driven insights can help organizations proactively identify and mitigate potential risks, ensuring that they stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly complex risk landscape, said panelists.
To successfully navigate the complexities of risk management and compliance, organizations must prioritize the development of sophisticated data and technology ecosystems. However, the panelists emphasized the importance of recognizing that technology isn’t a panacea. To succeed in this area, organizations must place people at the heart of their governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) frameworks.
Embracing a people-centric approach to GRC is fundamental for fostering adoption and guaranteeing the success of risk-management initiatives. The panelists spoke of ServiceNow’s user-friendly interface and intuitive workflows, which make it easier for employees to actively participate in the risk-management process, empowering them to embrace new resources and processes. This, in turn, leads to enhanced outcomes and a more robust risk-management culture throughout an organization.
Operationalizing risk management is another critical strategy for driving business value, and ServiceNow’s platform is well-equipped to support this endeavor. By automating tasks and establishing end-to-end workflows within ServiceNow, companies can greatly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their risk-management efforts.
This approach not only enables businesses to operate with greater agility and security but also allows risk teams to devote their attention to more pressing issues. Furthermore, operationalizing risk management through ServiceNow can yield secondary benefits, such as fostering customer trust and uncovering new business opportunities.
Larry Walsh is the CEO, chief analyst, and founder of Channelnomics. He’s an expert on the development and execution of channel programs, disruptive sales models, and growth strategies for companies worldwide.
Disclaimer: ServiceNow is a client of Channelnomics. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone.
