Ways Cybersecurity Assessments Impact Business Growth

Fortunately, solutions are now available to automate third-party security risk evaluation and management, significantly accelerate third-party evaluation processes for companies evaluating new vendors, and shorten the sales cycle for vendors.

Fremont, CA: With the pandemic affecting businesses worldwide, it is safe to say that the majority of companies will need to work even harder to grow their customer base, expedite sales cycles, and increase revenue in order to get back on track. Unfortunately, many vendors face unexpected challenges when attempting to sell new products and services. Customers must assess the cybersecurity risk of working with a new vendor in order to ensure compliance with the company's regulations, security policies, and risk appetite. This frequently leads to a constant back-and-forth with the vendor in order to sort out questionnaires and remediation requests, which can cause the entire sales process to be delayed.

Fortunately, solutions are now available to automate third-party security risk evaluation and management, significantly accelerate third-party evaluation processes for companies evaluating new vendors, and shorten the sales cycle for vendors.

Sales cycles can make or break a company's growth; the longer the sales cycle, the less likely a deal will close, with negative implications for pipeline and revenue. When sales cycles are slowed as a result of complex cybersecurity risk assessments, a business can suffer. As a result, sales cycles must be kept as short and efficient as possible. The most effective way to accomplish this is to have an effective cybersecurity assessment process in place.

How can this be resolved?

Third-party security management providers' technology can streamline sales processes and expedite the business growth of vendors being analyzed by their customers. For instance, by enabling vendors to sign up for a platform, they can gain full visibility into their own security profile, enabling them to monitor for any security gaps and have complete control over their cybersecurity even before being evaluated by potential customers.

Furthermore, some third-party security risk platforms enable vendors to create a security overview of their business and share it with potential clients early in the sales cycle. They can include any security-related information they want, such as certifications, self-assessment questions, or compliance indicators. Proactively sharing the security overview before being asked to complete a security questionnaire saves time and resources, allowing businesses to accelerate their sales process.

More importantly, vendors who sign up for third-party security risk platforms can view and manage all of their customers' security remediation requests and questionnaires, as well as supervise their security profile, from a single platform, enabling streamlined collaboration and communication and making it easy to prove their security posture.