Our constantly shifting business environment has dramatically changed every business' approach to governance, risk, and compliance (GRC). M&A's today are fast, furious, and frequent; compliance regulations and their accompanying audits are multiplying worldwide; financings are more complex and demand a high level of transparency; legal risk is everywhere. 

This new world is reflected in the exponential growth of the GRC software market, which is predicted to reach $64.6 billion by the year 2025. Concerning yourself with GRC is more than a business best practice. It's something that can impact almost every area of your business. In multiple ways, paying attention to GRC can be the foundation of your business success. 

Be responsive to opportunity

Your business needs to be due diligence ready at all times so that you can take advantage of every opportunity. That means having your documents close to hand so that you can find the right ones in a single click and share them securely on request. ContractZen's features, like advanced OCR and metadata search, visual and automated metadata tagging, virtual datarooms that serve as a central data repository, and simple email or drag-and-drop upload capabilities, mean that your documents are stored securely but accessible instantly. 

When you can find the data you need quickly and easily, you won't miss out on expansion opportunities because of inaccurate information. Keep on top of contracts with automated reminders before they are due for renewal, so that you have time to renegotiate and shop around if desired. Consult the right contracts to check terms and pricing and get a better deal. 

Improve security and compliance

Security and compliance are growing concerns in the business world. Anti-money laundering laws have become stronger, and banks and financial institutions are quick to enforce them. The last few years have seen the introduction of GDPR and CCPA, alongside other international privacy legislation, at the same time as the cybersecurity threat has mushroomed. Compliance and tax audits come at the drop of a hat, so keep your house permanently in order. 

Keeping your business data safe from malicious actors means retaining strong control over access to your sensitive documents. In 2018, 28% of data breaches were caused by internal actors, so all the firewalls in the world won't help if you're not sure who has access to your data or where it's stored. Your security is only as good as your document tracking and access control, so it's vital to pick a GRC solution with user permissions that are quick and easy to use. Sometimes, companies need to hire a new employee just to handle user permissions. If user permissions are too complex to turn on and off easily, they'll speedily fall out of sync with your current business situation as you forget to onboard new employees and close off access to someone who was recently fired.  

Assess risk to make better business decisions

Your ability to assess risk correctly rests on possessing all the relevant data to gain a 360-degree understanding of your business situation. When your documents, business data, contracts, minutes, financial documents, etc. are all fully organized, you'll be able to make better informed, data-driven decisions that improve business performance. 

At a time when the stakes are high, decisions have to be made quickly and risk needs to be qualified. It's more important than ever to keep control over your business data. With 47% of employees believing that business decisions are not based on data, it's vital to demonstrate that you are thoroughly in command of your business information.

Increase productivity

All too often, more business data means more time wasted searching for the right dataset. The average knowledge worker still spends approximately 30% of their time looking for information, but you'd prefer your employees to carry out work tasks instead of hunting for the resources they need to continue their project. Using virtual datarooms, powerful search, and metatagging to keep all your documents organized and searchable allows employees to be more productive, and reduces frustration at spending ages looking for the right file. 

Other GRC tools like e-signatures and document collaboration ensure that you keep track of the process of creating, editing, and signing contracts, streamline workflows, and improve governance. Meeting management software provides a better audit trail on meetings, helps you follow up on tasks more effectively, and makes sure everyone knows what they need to do. 

GRC is no longer something you can ignore

If you've been sidelining GRC in your organization, make 2020 the year that changes. Adopting platforms that place excellent data search, document organization, access controls, meeting management, and other advanced tools at your fingertips enables you to meet and exceed your business GRC requirements. A high awareness of GRC helps ensure that you can correctly assess risk, don't miss out on business opportunities, maintain a high level of security and compliance, and improve productivity around your entire organization.