ORM: Automation Revolution...

The revolution has begun. There are many organizations out there evaluating the now more mature Operational Risk platforms for their institutions. Just as the dawn of Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) such as Peoplesoft, SAP and others; there will be a fight for maket share and end users will look to their trusted advisors for expert resources. How do you know what application is right for your organization?

The question remains, are you ready? Is your department and staff up to speed on what this means for the process changes necessary in your enterprise for an ORM application to succeed?

OpenPages ORM automates the process of identifying, measuring and monitoring operational risk, integrating all risk data – risk and control self assessments, loss events and key risk indicators – in a single solution. OpenPages ORM combines powerful document and process management with a monitoring and decision support system that enables organizations to analyze, manage and mitigate risk in a simple and efficient manner.

Risk self-assessment capabilities enable organizations to document and evaluate their risk frameworks, including processes, risks, events, key risk indicators and controls. Executive-level dashboard and reports provide visibility into key risk metrics and policy compliance, while business process automation capabilities provide for real-time event escalation; automated risk processes, such as loss event root-cause analysis; and, streamlined remediation of issues and action items.

With loss event tracking, risk managers can track loss incidents and near misses, recording amounts, determine root causes and ownership. OpenPages ORM provides statistical and trend analysis capabilities and enables end-users to track remedies and action plans. Key risk indicators provide capabilities for tracking risk metrics and thresholds, with automated notification when thresholds are breached. OpenPages ORM provides facilities for both manual and automatic data inputs from internal and external data sources.

With OpenPages ORM, organizations can embed operational risk management and governance into the corporate culture, making procedures more effective and efficient while providing management with peace-of-mind that the corporate brand is protected.

How do you make a decision on OpenPages, SunGard or SAS? Like the implemention of ERM platforms you end up with new challenges, both technical and human oriented. Making a choice requires at some point a consensus of the end user, the departments impacted by the decision and the costs of customization or configuration. The total project will also require:

• Choosing the correct technology solutions with your specific business challenges.
• Rapidly integrating new technology with the remainder of your IT infrastructure.
• Effectively fine-tuning business processes to address your organization.
  
• Continuously re-evaluating the deployment to ensure maximum ROI.
  

As with most large IT projects it's important to have Program Management Office (PMO) functions up and running prior to making a final purchase. And if you are a true Operational Risk Management professional, you have already performed your analysis of the threats and hazards to the successful implementation, training and launch of your new ORM system.