Governance, risk, and compliance become harder to manage as an organization adds employees, systems, vendors, frameworks, and regulatory requirements. Information spreads across spreadsheets and disconnected tools, control owners lose visibility into their responsibilities, and leadership struggles to understand how risk and compliance affect the business.

GRC software gives organizations a central platform for managing these connected activities. The right solution can improve visibility, automate repetitive work, strengthen accountability, and help teams make better decisions about governance, risk, and compliance.

This guide explains how GRC software works, the types and capabilities available, and how to choose a GRC platform that fits your organization.

The increasing importance of GRC

Governance, risk, and compliance is becoming increasingly important for organizations across industries. Here are a few factors contributing to the need for GRC:

• Increase in regulations and enforcement: Data privacy and security are top issues for governments worldwide. Over a dozen laws have been introduced or go into effect in 2023 in the US alone. This pace of new legislation is unlikely to slow, and regulatory bodies are strict in cracking down on violations
• Rise of cyberattacks: The threat landscape is constantly evolving, and organizations are under siege. In 2022, nearly 500 million ransomware attacks were detected worldwide and 3.4 billion phishing emails were sent every day. With the global average cost of a data breach exceeding $4 million, organizations must be increasingly vigilant.
• Third-party risk: Organizations are partnering with more third-party vendors to expand services and improve operational efficiency. Yet third-party risk poses a significant threat. 98% of organizations worldwide are connected to breached third-party vendors.
• Growing pressure from stakeholders: Investors, boards of directors, customers, and other stakeholders are all demanding more transparency and say when it comes to data security and privacy.
• Rising compliance costs: The cost of achieving regulatory security compliance averages $3.5 million annually, according to recent research by Ponemon Institute.

Many organizations are combating these challenges by investing in technology solutions. GRC software can reduce operational costs, improve security and incident response, and offload routine tasks from overworked compliance teams.

What is GRC software?

What is GRC software?

GRC software is a platform for managing an organization's governance, risk, and compliance program. It centralizes activities such as risk assessments, control management, policy management, evidence collection, issue remediation, vendor reviews, audits, and reporting.

A GRC platform can help teams connect risks to the controls, policies, assets, vendors, and requirements used to address them. This creates a shared source of information for security, compliance, risk, legal, IT, internal audit, and business leaders.

Modern GRC software also uses integrations, workflow automation, continuous monitoring, analytics, and AI to reduce manual work and provide a more current view of risk and compliance.

GRC software supports a GRC program, but it does not replace one. Organizations still need to establish objectives, define accountability, assess risk, implement controls, maintain policies, and make informed decisions. The software helps teams perform and document that work more consistently.

Who needs a GRC platform?

Organizations often begin looking for a GRC solution when spreadsheets, documents, and disconnected point tools no longer provide enough visibility or control.

Common buying triggers include:

• GRC information is scattered across teams and systems.
• The organization must manage multiple frameworks, regulations, or audits.
• Teams repeatedly collect the same evidence or document the same controls.
• Leaders cannot see current risk, compliance, and control status in one place.
• Control, risk, and remediation ownership is unclear.
• Vendor relationships are growing faster than the third-party risk program.
• Audit preparation requires significant manual coordination.
• The organization needs consistent reporting for executives, boards, customers, or regulators.
• Existing compliance automation does not support broader risk and governance workflows.
• Legacy software is difficult to configure, maintain, or use.

Small and growing organizations may prioritize fast implementation and compliance automation. Larger or more complex organizations may require configurable risk models, enterprise reporting, internal audit workflows, business-unit segmentation, and extensive integrations. The right GRC platform depends on the program's scope and maturity—not company size alone.

Types of GRC software

GRC software is a broad category. Products may overlap, but most emphasize one of the following operating models

How does GRC software work?

GRC software creates a connected system of record for risks, controls, policies, evidence, requirements, vendors, issues, and program activity.

Define the program structure

Organizations configure applicable requirements, risk categories, controls, policies, assets, business units, vendors, and ownership. This structure establishes how the platform will represent the GRC program.

Identify and assess risk

Teams document risks, evaluate likelihood and impact, assign owners, and determine appropriate treatment. A centralized [risk register](https://secureframe.com/hub/grc/risk-register) helps organizations track how risk changes and connect decisions to related assets, vendors, controls, and requirements.

Map controls to requirements and risks

Controls help organizations address identified risks and meet applicable requirements. GRC software can map a control to multiple frameworks, reducing duplicate work and providing a clearer view of how one control supports several objectives.

Integrate systems and collect evidence

Modern GRC platforms connect with cloud services, identity providers, HR systems, security tools, and other technologies. Deep integrations can collect configuration and audit-relevant data, automatically test controls, and reduce reliance on manual screenshots and document requests.

The number of integrations is only one consideration. Buyers should also determine what data each integration collects, how frequently it refreshes, which controls it tests, and how failed tests are handled.

Monitor controls and compliance

Continuous monitoring helps teams identify failing tests, outdated evidence, misconfigurations, and other changes that may affect the organization's risk or compliance posture. Alerts and dashboards make it easier to detect and address issues between formal assessments.

Manage policies and documentation

Teams can create, approve, distribute, update, and track policies in one platform. Version history, collaboration, and employee acknowledgments help organizations maintain current documentation and demonstrate that policies have been communicated.

Assess vendors and third parties

GRC software can centralize the vendor inventory, security reviews, risk assessments, findings, compliance reports, and ongoing monitoring. Connecting vendor risk with organizational risks and controls gives teams a more complete picture of third-party exposure.

Assign work and track remediation

When teams identify a risk, control failure, audit finding, or compliance gap, the platform can assign an owner, create a task, set a deadline, send notifications, and preserve a record of the resolution.

Support audits and assessments

Centralized evidence, control records, policies, test results, and activity histories simplify internal and external audits. Teams can track requests, collaborate with auditors, and understand readiness without rebuilding the program record for every assessment.

Report to stakeholders

Dashboards and reports translate GRC data into information for program owners, executives, boards, customers, and auditors. Different audiences may need views of risk exposure, control health, compliance status, open issues, vendor risk, or audit readiness.

Benefits of GRC software

GRC software can improve both the efficiency of day-to-day work and the quality of program decisions.

Centralizes GRC information

A shared platform reduces reliance on disconnected spreadsheets, documents, inboxes, and point solutions. Teams can work from a common record of risks, controls, policies, evidence, vendors, issues, and ownership.

In a February 2024 UserEvidence survey, 57% of Secureframe users said a lack of a centralized source of truth for security compliance data contributed to their decision to purchase Secureframe.

Reduces manual work

Workflow automation helps teams assign tasks, send reminders, track approvals, and coordinate work. Workload automation can go further by collecting evidence, testing controls, identifying gaps, and generating remediation guidance with less human effort.

In the UserEvidence survey, 97% of Secureframe users said they reduced time spent on security and compliance tasks each month, and 76% said they reduced that time by at least half.

Improves risk visibility and accountability

Centralized risk records, ownership, control mappings, and remediation histories help teams understand which risks require attention and how they are being addressed. Leadership can see changes in risk exposure without relying on periodic manual reporting.

Strengthens control and compliance monitoring

Integrations and automated tests can provide a more current view of control health and compliance readiness. Teams can identify drift and failed controls earlier, assign remediation, and maintain stronger evidence between audits.

Simplifies audits

GRC software organizes controls, evidence, policies, assessments, and activity histories in one place. This can reduce audit preparation, streamline evidence requests, and make it easier to demonstrate how controls operate.

Reduces program costs

Automation, control reuse, and centralized workflows can reduce the effort required to maintain a GRC program. In the UserEvidence survey, 85% of Secureframe users said they unlocked annual cost savings, and 33% said they improved cost savings by more than 50%.

Supports a proactive approach

Continuous monitoring, risk assessments, and centralized reporting help teams identify emerging issues before an audit or incident forces a response. A more current view of program health allows organizations to prioritize resources based on risk.

Scales across teams and requirements

Configurable controls, frameworks, risks, reporting, and integrations can help organizations adapt their GRC program as business models, systems, vendors, and requirements change.

GRC software vs. compliance management software

Compliance management is one component of GRC. The categories overlap, but they often begin with different program needs.

Compliance management software focuses on organizing requirements, controls, evidence, policies, tasks, and audits. Security compliance automation platforms place additional emphasis on integrations, automated evidence collection, continuous control monitoring, framework readiness, and audit preparation.

GRC software generally has a broader scope. It can connect compliance management with enterprise or cybersecurity risk, governance, internal audit, policy lifecycle management, vendor risk, issue management, and executive reporting.

Some organizations need a broad enterprise GRC platform. Others need security compliance automation with integrated risk and governance capabilities. When comparing products, consider the processes you need to manage now and how the program may evolve.

Legacy vs. modern GRC platforms

Traditional GRC systems were often designed for large organizations with static, siloed, and primarily on-premises environments. They can provide extensive configurability and broad enterprise workflows, but implementation and ongoing administration may require significant time, specialized resources, and consulting support.

Modern cloud GRC platforms typically emphasize:

• Faster implementation
• Cloud and SaaS integrations
• Workflow and workload automation
• Continuous monitoring
• Configurable rather than heavily customized deployment
• Easier collaboration across business teams
• More frequent product updates
• AI-assisted workflows
• More accessible reporting and user experiences

Neither model is automatically right for every organization. A complex enterprise may need deep customization and internal audit capabilities. A growing cloud-native company may prioritize fast deployment, evidence automation, and ease of use. Buyers should compare the implementation model with their operating needs and available resources.

Key GRC software capabilities to evaluate

Use specific buyer questions to compare platforms consistently.

How to choose a GRC software solution

The best GRC software is the platform that fits your objectives, program maturity, operating model, and technology environment. Use the following process to evaluate potential solutions.

Define the problem and desired outcomes

Start with the business problem rather than a feature list. Document whether the primary goal is to automate compliance, improve enterprise risk visibility, replace a legacy platform, strengthen vendor risk management, support internal audit, or connect several of these activities.

Define measurable outcomes such as reduced audit-preparation time, fewer manual evidence requests, faster remediation, better risk reporting, or increased control reuse.

Identify the program scope

List the frameworks, regulations, risk domains, audits, vendors, entities, and business units the platform must support. Include likely future requirements so the organization does not outgrow the solution immediately.

Map users and workflows

Identify who will use the platform and what they need to do. This may include security, compliance, risk, legal, IT, HR, internal audit, executives, business-unit leaders, control owners, vendors, and external auditors.

Prioritize requirements

Separate essential workflows from desirable features. A long undifferentiated checklist can make every vendor appear equivalent. Weight requirements according to the outcomes established earlier.

Evaluate breadth and depth

A platform may advertise hundreds of integrations or many GRC modules without supporting each one deeply. Ask vendors to demonstrate how an end-to-end workflow operates, including inputs, automation, approvals, exceptions, reporting, and audit history.

Test control and data reuse

Determine whether risks, controls, tests, evidence, policies, and issues can be connected and reused. Strong relationships between these records reduce duplicate work and create more meaningful reporting.

Review implementation and administration

Ask how long implementation typically takes, which internal resources are required, what services are included, and how much ongoing configuration the system needs. A highly capable platform can still be a poor fit if the organization cannot maintain it.

Assess reporting and visibility

Review how the platform turns operational data into information for different stakeholders. Confirm that teams can understand risk exposure, control health, compliance readiness, open issues, and trends without extensive manual reporting.

Validate security and auditability

Evaluate the vendor's own security practices, data handling, availability, permissions, activity logs, and change history. For AI-assisted features, understand where data goes and how users review and approve outputs.

Calculate total cost

Consider subscription fees, implementation, consulting, premium integrations, frameworks, users, entities, support, training, and ongoing administration. Compare total cost with the manual effort and point solutions the platform may replace.

Test a representative use case

When possible, conduct a proof of concept using a real workflow. Connect a relevant system, assess a risk, map a control, collect evidence, assign remediation, and generate a report. This provides more useful evidence than a generic product demonstration.

How to compare GRC software vendors

Create a weighted scorecard before vendor demonstrations so each GRC solution is evaluated against the same priorities.

Useful comparison dimensions include:

• Best-fit organization and program maturity
• GRC category and primary use cases
• Risk-management depth
• Compliance and framework support
• Control mapping and evidence reuse
• Integration and automation depth
• Vendor and third-party risk management
• Policy and audit workflows
• Issue and remediation management
• Reporting and executive visibility
• Configuration and customization
• Security and auditability
• Implementation requirements
• Customer and compliance support
• User experience
• Total cost

Review customer stories and independent feedback from organizations with similar requirements. Pay particular attention to implementation, support, ease of administration, integration depth, and whether the product delivers the workflows demonstrated during the sales process.

Why GRC teams choose Secureframe

Why GRC teams choose Secureframe

Secureframe provides an all-in-one platform for managing security, risk, and compliance. It combines automation with expert support to help organizations manage controls, collect evidence, monitor compliance, assess risk, review vendors, maintain policies, coordinate audits, and remediate issues.

Secureframe can help organizations:

• Automate evidence collection and continuous control monitoring through integrations
• Map controls across multiple frameworks to reduce duplicate work
• Identify gaps and track remediation
• Perform and document risk assessments
• Manage internal and third-party risks
• Create, customize, publish, and distribute policies
• Coordinate personnel compliance and security training
• Organize audit evidence and readiness activity
• Use AI-assisted workflows while maintaining human review
• Demonstrate security and compliance to customers and other stakeholders

The majority of respondents were manager-level or above and represented the information technology, consumer discretionary, industrials, financial, and healthcare industries.

Want to see how Secureframe can support your GRC program? Schedule a demo.

Looking for templates, reference models, and free resources instead? Explore Secureframe's GRC tools and resources. .