It is already difficult enough to manage the security risk presented by your vendors, third parties, and other sources. Protecting your organization may appear difficult and overwhelming without the right tools. In this article, we identify emails, questionnaires, and spreadsheets as the main offenders that might obstruct the effective management of security risks brought on by suppliers, third parties, and vendors. We then explore possible solutions that will lead to a more streamlined, centralized, and organized approach to managing vendor risk.
Email is no longer used
Even though it is difficult to manage security risks using email, a surprising number of organizations nevertheless attempt to do so. Companies will contact suppliers with requests, suppliers will reply with assets and other files, suppliers will get follow-up and clarification emails, suppliers will reply with further materials, and so on. Since everything is done by email, it is repetitious, laborious, and inconvenient, and items frequently go misplaced in email attachments.
What if there was a method to centralize everything instead? Instead, suppose there was a method to integrate all of those check-ins and follow-ups into one automated system.
The success of managing security risk inside your organization depends on centralization. By centralizing all communications, you may reduce duplication, improve internal and external communication, and successfully merge several groups into one that is pursuing a shared objective for your business. The era of misplaced attachments, sluggish correspondence, and individuals being in the dark is over thanks to centralizing outreach.
only your survey results
Security questionnaires are an essential aspect of any program when it comes to controlling security risks brought on by vendors, third parties, and other sources. Using security questionnaires makes it simpler for businesses and large corporations engaging with these outside parties to gather information about them consistently. However, the issue is frequently solved in a one-size-fits-all manner. Due to the differences across various vendors, suppliers, and third parties, that is ineffective.
They each offer distinct services, carry variable degrees of risk, and have varying degrees of access to resources that are of varying degrees of significance to the organization requesting this information. As a result, the vendor, third party, or supplier has a bad experience.
How would you resolve this issue?
dynamic survey forms. Dynamic questionnaires are designed so that the supplier, third party, or vendor self-identifies their role in the organization. That changes how some sections of the overall questionnaire are expanded or collapsed. As a result, people are only responding to fewer than half of the questions that are pertinent and useful, as opposed to 400–600 questions that, in many cases, are irrelevant. It also makes it easier for you to more quickly focus on the information that is important depending on the specific supplier, vendor, or third party you are speaking to. This enables your vendor, third party, or supplier to have a better experience and only offer you the information that you need.
Avoid using spreadsheets.
We already know how challenging it is to attempt to control vendor risk. Consider attempting to use spreadsheets to control the security risk for your entire company. Many organizations continue to attempt to collect and maintain track of the gathering of all of this crucial information they obtain from suppliers using this chaotic technique, despite the fact that it is ineffective.
If you are trying to manage it via spreadsheets, the issue is that there is not a single, centralized source of truth. Because each vendor has their own spreadsheet, the final result is a spreadsheet of spreadsheets, and you then need a spreadsheet to handle all the spreadsheets that your company has acquired. How can you compile all this data in one convenient location?
We advise using a vendor risk management and assessment solution to centralize all information in one simple-to-reach location. Both persons who need to submit information and those who wish to consume information may easily access it. As a result, the process becomes more centralized, simplified, and user-friendly. If an issue can be centralized, it can be simplified and made to run more efficiently.
Emails, spreadsheets, and difficult questions are obsolete. Whether you oversee a small team of partners or thousands, organizing and automating your programs can help shield your business from vendor risks, find possible data breaches, and speed up remediation with well-defined methods. By doing this, you may maintain control, have a quicker remediation flow, and lessen the turmoil associated with vendor risk management.
