The new rules of trust: Governance, risk and compliance in the AI era

If there ever was a moment when governance, risk and compliance (GRC) deserved a seat at the strategy table, it is now. Cloud transformation, AI adoption, expanding digital ecosystems and a wave of global regulations have converged to create an ever more demanding business landscape.

GRC is an engine for trust and business resilience, making it a foundational capability that determines whether your organization can innovate safely, scale globally and maintain the trust of your customers.

Yet, the way most organizations built their GRC programs in the past is no longer fit for a dynamic business and technology environment.

Regulations are changing the game

First, risk is expanding faster than many organizations can respond. Cyberincidents, AI misuse, third-party security failures, supply chain attacks and geopolitical disruptions abound, making proactive risk and security management critical to business survival.

At the same time, regulators around the world are tightening their expectations and expanding the scope of their legislation. In the European Union (EU), the AI Act, General Data Protection Regulation, NIS2 Directive and Digital Operational Resilience Act are some examples of regulatory actions setting a high bar for compliance.

The EU is setting a blueprint that many other countries and regions are likely to follow. There are more than 1,000 regional, national and local AI policy initiatives underway globally, and the latest mandates are more stringent and prescriptive than previous versions. They come with higher scrutiny and more severe penalties.

Regulators are also extending their oversight over third-party ecosystems while rapidly adapting to the latest changes in the technology landscape.

In this complex environment, no organization can afford to play catch-up — yet most stumble over the same hurdle: fragmented accountability.

How GRC becomes a business enabler

When risk, privacy, security and compliance operate on separate tracks, reliant on manual processes and legacy tools, it fuels a perpetual cycle of reactive firefighting. This lack of coordination drains resources and obscures an organization’s true risk exposure while acting as a drag on transformation initiatives.

To break the cycle, leaders need a single pane of glass — a unified view of risk that integrates people, processes and technology.

When you modernize and integrate your organization’s GRC functions, the benefits are immediate and tangible. You can adopt cloud and AI capabilities faster, make smarter decisions using comprehensive risk insights, and build stronger trust with regulators and your customers.

Compliance becomes less costly, less chaotic and far more predictable, and, perhaps most importantly, integrated GRC becomes a competitive advantage — proof that your business operates responsibly and is ready for sustainable growth.

From reactive to proactive: The new GRC mindset

Although the benefits of changing your approach by balancing new growth opportunities against the latest risks and regulations are clear, how you get there matters just as much. As regulations, risks and technologies evolve quickly, waiting to respond after the fact means you will always be behind and at high risk of being breached.

Consider a company in Europe preparing to launch a smart-home device powered by AI. They decide to take a compliance-first approach — identify AI risk exposure, map the applicable regulatory requirements and build governance into the process from the start. They follow a robust AI risk assessment process early in development, align their design choices with the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act and the AI Act, use predictive analytics to identify potential compliance gaps, perform robust control testing and assess supplier compliance long before the product reaches the market.

By the time launch day arrives, the device is both compliant and trusted. That is what proactive GRC looks like in practice.

Your customers, partners and regulators want concrete evidence — not vague assurances — that security, privacy and ethical safeguards are integrated into your everyday operations. Proactive GRC avoids penalties and elevates your organization’s reputation at a time when trust is one of the most powerful differentiators available.

• ALSO READ → The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act: What it means for manufacturers

The future of integrated risk management

How will you know whether your organization is maturing in terms of GRC?

If your GRC team leaders are actively involved in product and strategy discussions, that’s a good sign. If they’re relying on data-driven risk insights that are delivered in real time through integrated, automated and AI-infused systems, you’re definitely on your way.

To get there, you need:

• Cross-functional governance for AI, privacy and cybersecurity
• Build adaptable compliance frameworks
• Strong oversight of third parties in your supply chain
• Technologies that provide traceability, explainability and auditability

However, many organizations have a long way to go to reach this target state. We often encounter clients who have siloed risk, compliance and privacy programs running on spreadsheets or outdated systems.

We partner with these organizations to change that. Through an integrated GRC transformation, we apply AI-powered automation to materially improve the efficiency and agility of their existing GRC programs and initiatives. A key enabler along this journey is our in-house Cybersecurity Assurance Platform, a proven accelerator that:

• Provides a clear, up-to-date view of the compliance posture across the organization
• Assesses control maturity in days, not weeks
• Supports risk-based recommendations with actionable next steps
• Reduces operational burdens through automation

In this environment, AI and automation are key enablers. They help achieve continuous monitoring, automated control testing, predictive risk modeling and intelligent reporting. This gives GRC team members time to focus on higher-value governance and foresight, and with access to real-time dashboards, they can spot emerging hotspots, weaknesses in control and other matters of concern to address proactively.

Making GRC real: Turning strategy into practice

Technology alone cannot fix governance.

Culture ultimately determines whether GRC maturity takes hold, and executives play a central role by setting clear risk appetite thresholds, tying governance to business outcomes, rewarding transparency and early reporting, and treating compliance as a shared responsibility across the organization.

Board oversight is equally critical, as boards must guide cyber risk with the same rigor, foresight and governance discipline they apply to financial risk.

NTT DATA has the expertise to guide your GRC strategy on every level as you start building an integrated program. This is your opportunity to make GRC the foundation of digital trust, resilience and sustainable growth.

You’ll know you’ve arrived when compliance shifts from an afterthought to a continuous discipline, and audits stop feeling like fire drills.

• ALSO READ → Modern business resilience: A framework for continuous readiness