BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 6, 2008) - In the newly released benchmark report "GRC
Strategic Agenda: The Value Proposition of Governance, Risk, and
Compliance," Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), found that
on average, only 53% of organizations' sensitive data is adequately
protected from insider abuse.
The report analyzed organizations' planning, deployment, use, and
management of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) policies, procedures
and solutions to analyze and highlight the top-line business benefits of an
enterprise-wide, proactive approach. As part of their GRC strategies,
organizations that leverage a variety of top-down procedures, customized
policies, integrated and scalable solutions, automated analysis procedures,
and clearly articulated reporting tools were able to significantly impact
high-level business metrics to derive the optimal benefits from GRC
implementations. Although one of the key problems organizations expect to
encounter when implementing a GRC solution is the difficulty communicating
the value of such solutions to decision makers (36%), organizations
developing GRC initiatives on a proactive, rather than reactive or
compulsory basis, were able to validate and firmly establish the value of
GRC budget allocations to the C-Suite budget holders through increasing
their ability to prioritize investments by 20% and realizing a 16% increase
in the optimization of existing business processes.
"Historically compliance has been the factor that most significantly
impacts the adoption and acceleration of GRC initiatives," explains Stephen
Walker Esq., Senior Associate in the Technology Markets Group. "However,
the fact that internal policies and procedures emerged as the most
important standard/regulation driving investment in GRC solutions, ahead
even of government regulations such as SOX and industry mandates like PCI
DSS, indicates the development of a shift from compulsory regulations being
the primary driver of GRC implementations, to organizations implementing
GRC programs because it makes good business sense."
The report educates end users on the most effective approaches to
developing and deploying GRC initiatives that drive significant business,
as well as technological value, and outlines a roadmap allowing end user
organizations to evaluate the current status of their GRC initiative and
provides direction on the path that initiative can take to augment and
proactively advance their business goals. A complimentary copy of this
report is made available due in part by the following underwriters:
MetricStream, Mitratech, and Paisley Consulting. To obtain a complimentary
copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4519.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.
2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Ralph Rodriguez, Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5332
Ralph.rodriguez@aberdeen.com