Most businesses see compliance as a necessary headache — something they must do but don’t particularly enjoy. It’s usually a matter of checking boxes and hoping for the best until the next audit. But, a better practice has become increasingly popular across large and small organizations. It’s called GRC (governance, risk and compliance) engineering.
Think of GRC engineering as a way to build safety and accountability right into how your organization works, rather than treating it as an afterthought. It brings together traditional compliance practices with modern technology and security practices, making it easier to protect your organization while actually getting work done.
What Makes GRC Engineering Different
The old way of handling compliance relies heavily on paperwork, manual checks, and periodic reviews, making it a time-consuming and reactive process. In fact, according to Vanta’s State of Trust Report 2024, the compliance burden on security teams grew even heavier, with time spent on manual compliance tasks increasing to over 11 weeks — up from 10 weeks in 2023. GRC engineering offers a solution by taking a completely different approach. Instead of waiting for problems to surface during annual audits, it enables organizations to spot and fix issues in real-time, reducing the strain on teams and making compliance more efficient and proactive.
This new approach weaves compliance and security into everyday operations. Teams work together using shared tools and processes, rather than handling different pieces separately. The key advantage is continuous, automated collection of compliance evidence through daily workflows. This eliminates the traditional last-minute scramble before audits. With compliance embedded into operations and real-time tracking through centralized platforms, organizations can drastically reduce audit preparation time while giving auditors comprehensive insights into their governance and risk management.
One of the biggest improvements GRC engineering brings is automation of repetitive tasks. Instead of having people manually check compliance requirements, systems can monitor these automatically and alert the right people when something needs attention. This frees up time for solving real problems rather than just pushing paper.
Another great benefit is that it brings different teams together. Security experts, developers and compliance professionals can all work from the same playbook. When everyone understands their part in keeping the organization safe and compliant, it becomes part of the culture rather than an imposed burden on just one team.
Making it Work in Real Life
Starting with GRC engineering doesn’t mean throwing out everything you’re currently doing. It’s about gradually building better ways to handle compliance and security. Organizations typically begin by looking at their biggest pain points — maybe it’s the endless paperwork or the rush before audits — and finding ways to make those processes smoother and more reliable.
As organizations grow, their compliance needs usually become more complex. GRC engineering helps manage this growth by making systems that can scale up without requiring twice the work. It’s about building smart processes that grow with your organization.
Why it Matters
When compliance and security are built into how work gets done, organizations are naturally better protected against risks. Problems get caught earlier, and solutions can be put in place faster.
But perhaps more importantly, GRC engineering streamlines the compliance process, which ultimately leads to higher compliance rates. Proving compliance to customers and partners leads to improved business outcomes and helps close more deals.
The Future of Compliance
As businesses become more digital and regulations continue to evolve, the way we handle compliance needs to keep pace. GRC engineering is about building systems that adapt to future challenges, not just improving current processes.
This novel approach transforms compliance from a burden into a business advantage. Organizations that get this right find they can move faster, operate more safely, and spend more time on what matters — growing their business and serving their customers better.
Making the shift is about modernizing compliance so it works better for everyone. As technology keeps evolving and business gets more complex, having smart and efficient ways to handle compliance, and security will become even more important for success.
