How it all startedThe Genesis of Genexist
The term “Genexist” the combination of two terms: “Generate” and “Existence”. Our goal is to create the capability for organisations - both SMEs and MNCs - to “generate into existence” any kind of risk-based or compliance framework that is flexible enough to be customised according the organisation’s requirements, at a fraction of the cost of GRC software, in days instead of months.
New laws/regulations spark new requirements for people, processes and systems
When new data protection laws were first introduced in the Asia-Pacific region, there was no system offering a specific compliance workflow to enable management and data protection officers to implement and sustain their programmes for the governance, risk management and compliance of personal data. More often than not, organisations used spreadsheets, or created a completely new data protection management system with a data inventory map, data protection impact assessment as well as specific audits and response management features. The latter involved engaging developers and took some time.
Existing GRC Systems Offer Integration but are Expensive and Inflexible An existing integrated GRC (Governance, Risk Management and Compliance System) despite costing $200,000 upwards, could not cater to such customised requirements or workflows as they offer fixed software modules and functionalities.
As a result, whenever there are new compliance requirements, corporate users of GRC systems inevitably need to buy or create additional software modules, therefore leaving the organisations with multiple, and sometimes incompatible and legacy compliance systems.
Spreadsheets are Affordable and Flexible but are Siloed
The majority of organisations settled on using spreadsheets because of their affordability and flexibility. Many have cobbled together all kinds of compliance related spreadsheets for self-assessments as well as risks, audit and incident management. Some organisations require their departments to create lists of the personal data they hold or process onto spreadsheets. No matter how comprehensive these spreadsheets are, the biggest disadvantage is that they are “siloed”.
Even when are shared among users, it is difficult to govern and implement compliance initiatives with full visibility and oversight. In addition, collating spreadsheets from multiple departments is vulnerable to errors and is unproductive not just for the compliance or data privacy department, but for all departments that need to update their data into spreadsheets.
Genexist – An Integrated Compliance Workflow that is Affordable and Flexible
In today’s COVID19 pandemic world which has accelerated digitisation efforts, organisations will continue to face more compliance requirements and restrictions as they pursue their business objectives and strategies.
Genexist makes it possible for organisations to digitalise their compliance workflows and frameworks into an integrated compliance management system in a cost-effective and efficient way.
We wanted an easy way for anyone to do this in 3 simple steps:
- Choose an existing or create a new framework
- Use our Genexist authoring tools to easily create components
- Deploy the workflow
Whether you are in-house GRC, auditor, consultant, trainer, you can easily create your own customised blended system by combining your existing approach with relevant ready-to-use automated modules.
Genexist can help organisations to enhance automation, collaboration, productivity, customer value and recurring revenue. Our aim is to arm your organisation with Genexist as the ideal platform based on industry best practices and international standards, so that you can continue to meet your ongoing GRC requirements well into the future.
Kevin Shepherdson
CEO, Straits Interactive