Apparity Updates: Q3 2023
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Q3 Update
As we head into the final quarter of the year, we do so with strong momentum from both solution and customer
perspectives. With increased regulatory emphasis on end user computing (EUC) and model risk management
(MRM) programs globally, Apparity has remained ahead of the curve in introducing meaningful enhancements to
our solution while continuing to support customers as they grow their risk programs.
Market Trends
EUC and MRM programs have come under increasing scrutiny globally from regulators. Specifically, regulatory entities like the OCC & FDIC in the USA, BaFin in Germany, FINMA in Switzerland, and the PRA in the UK have begun building and enforcing regulatory edicts across the space.
While each regulator and geography has its own nuances, we have highlighted two key, global trends that cross these areas below.
Building a Comprehensive & Sustainable Inventory
Understanding your EUC risk is the first step in managing it. Most companies have the beginnings of an inventory that has been collected manually. However, they lack the confidence to confirm that it is both comprehensive and accurate. Even when more comprehensive in nature, manually built inventories have been found to grow ‘stale’ or incomplete as users forget to continuously register their files.
New application types are also leading to confusion, as companies attempt to account for scripting languages like R & Python, BI Tools like Tableau & PowerBI, and automation platforms like Alteryx & PowerAutomate.
Increasingly, regulators are asking companies to affirm that their EUC inventory is:
Many are turning to automated discovery platforms, like Apparity, to help.
EUC Discovery technology aids in the automated identification of high-risk EUCs across all file types while cutting through the noise by filtering out-of-scope files. This simultaneously reduces the manual intervention required from end users while increasing the accuracy of the inventory itself.
As we’ll mention further in this newsletter, Apparity has incorporated key updates into the solution, such as Active Capture – to address this gap.
Facilitating EUC Replacement With IT-Managed Solutions (and driving user behavioral changes in the process)
It is no longer sufficient to simply inventory and control EUCs – companies must evidence that they are actively working towards a long-term reduction in the number of EUCs. This often involves a two-prong approach where organizations analyze the existing inventory for remediation or retirement opportunities while also curbing user behavior to keep new EUCs from being created in the first place.
In some cases, regulators require that company IT teams review each EUC to check whether the file could be replaced with an enterprise tool. Increasingly, EUC risk teams have focused on identifying EUCs before they are in production use in an effort to change user behavior (this is a goal that Active Capture enables).
This is often easier said than done and is where a combination of people, process, and technologies must work together to drive sustainable change. The Apparity solution is highly configurable to gather key systematic and qualitative data that can be used to drive the above decisions and user behavior.
Company & Solution Updates
Apparity always seeks to remain ahead of the market in new functionality to drive meaningful change and automation across customer EUC programs. Two of our most recent releases highlight this goal perfectly.
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Active Capture
Most companies struggle with end user engagement when attempting to identify EUCs. The gold standard, as we have often heard from customers, would be to identify EUCs at the point of creation or use.
Active Capture does just this. Currently deployed for Excel, Active Capture alerts users that they are creating/ using a potential EUC and drives action from the end user. The notification types, frequency, and actions are fully configurable and aligned to a company’s EUC policy. For example, if a user opens a potential EUC, Active Capture can prompt a triage assessment for scoping analysis.
Cloud Solution
Apparity was first-to-market with a full SaaS solution, giving companies the option to utilize Apparity Cloud or deploy the solution onto an internally hosted server. Our cloud solution provides the same EUC risk management capabilities that companies have come to expect from us, but can now choose to offload server maintenance, upgrade cycles, and other activities to Apparity’s team.
Apparity Cloud is available for new and current customers with the same high level of security and performance you’ve come to expect.
Organizations can select to trial the solution at any time at no charge.
Active Management Controls for non-Excel File Types
Apparity has long had market-leading change management and version controls for Microsoft Excel and Access.
We’re now rolling out this functionality to a new suite of file types, including R, Python, and MatLab, along with BI tools like Tableau and PowerBI.
This functionality enables companies to now manage the end-to-end EUC risk lifecycle all from within the Apparity platform.
We’re Hiring
We are looking for new members to join our team! If you know someone who might be a great fit for our Customer Success team, please reach out to our VP of Customer Success, Justin Lichtfuss.
Email Justin at [email protected]
Success Stories
Apparity has been fortunate enough to implement our solution at many of the world’s leading Financial Services organizations. The success story in this newsletter is a quick review of a recent implementation performed at a German bank to support compliance with BaFin’s BAIT regulation.
The client had long supported the program manually and needed a way to more efficiently and effectively identify, inventory, and govern their EUC inventory after recent regulatory mandates. Apparity was selected to enable:
* The SmartFilters in Apparity’s Discovery solution resulted in a 96%+ reduction in noise compared to the client’s previous solution.
After implementing Apparity, the client received BaFin’s sign-off. This, combined with reduced manual intervention and a sustainable governance framework, sees them set up for long-term success.