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A New Era of Security and Access Governance

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) and Access Governance are undergoing major changes due to digital growth and stricter regulations. As organizations connect more data and systems, they’re shifting from isolated security practices to proactive, integrated compliance processes. Raghu Boddu, founder of ToggleNow and a seasoned leader in SAP GRC, has observed these shifts closely.

“Fifteen years ago, most companies didn’t treat security as a separate function—it was part of Basis administration,” Raghu explains. “Today, security is essential, and organizations know it’s crucial for protecting data, compliance, and brand reputation.”

New Market Realities and Demand for Integrated GRC Solutions

SAP has long been at the forefront of GRC, offering tools to help both finance and IT teams tackle compliance challenges. Solutions like SAP Access Control and Identity Access Governance (IAG) provide the flexibility to manage today’s security needs while adapting to future ones. As businesses adopt hybrid and multi-cloud systems, managing security across different platforms has become more complex. This is where SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) shines. BTP connects SAP and non-SAP applications seamlessly, creating a secure, compliant ecosystem. “BTP and SAP Identity Services have changed the game for multi-cloud environments,” says Raghu. “Today, integration is nearly seamless thanks to SAP’s open APIs and connectors. This has allowed companies to manage security across hybrid systems without needing extensive customization.”

Regional Insights: GRC Maturity and Market Growth

The GRC and Identity Access Management (IAM) markets vary widely across regions, shaped by local regulations and market maturity. In the U.S., SoX compliance has driven strict GRC standards for years. Many American companies have developed sophisticated GRC processes, particularly around data security and financial compliance. Meanwhile, regions like India are rapidly catching up.

“The growth potential in India is huge,” Raghu shares. “Over the last five years, Indian businesses have started treating GRC as essential, not optional.”

In both the U.S. and other markets, companies are increasingly adopting automation and hybrid identity solutions to handle complex regulations. This shift reflects a global move toward integrated compliance, with GRC becoming a core business priority rather than a “tick-the-box” function. As Raghu adds, “It’s inspiring to see GRC prioritized as part of strategy, not just an audit requirement.”

The Future of GRC: AI-Driven Compliance and Embedded Solutions

a) AI and Automation in GRC

Automation and AI are quickly transforming GRC from a reactive function into a proactive one, identifying risks before they become problems. With AI-driven GRC, systems can automatically analyze data to help companies detect potential compliance issues and manage risk more intelligently. SAP’s GRC tools with AI simplify compliance processes and improve decision-making, allowing teams to focus on strategic priorities.

Raghu highlights the potential of AI in GRC: “AI has incredible potential in the GRC space. It’s about giving businesses more power to manage risk with accuracy, while reducing manual efforts and errors.”

b) Embedding Compliance into Daily Processes

Looking forward, GRC will be embedded directly within applications and workflows, constantly monitoring for risks and responding to threats as they arise. Raghu envisions this future: “In the next five years, GRC as a standalone system may fade. Instead, it will be part of daily workflows, where applications flag risks and suggest controls in real time. AI will automate many compliance tasks, cutting down manual efforts.”

He adds, “Imagine GRC as a tool that proactively flags a potential access issue based on historical patterns—like a security recommendation engine. This proactive risk management approach is where AI will make the most impact.”

About Raghu Boddu and ToggleNow: Innovating in GRC and SAP Integration

Raghu Boddu, founder of ToggleNow, has over two decades of experience in SAP GRC and has witnessed the industry’s evolution firsthand. He started ToggleNow to address complex GRC challenges, helping companies make compliance efficient and accessible. With solutions that streamline risk management and improve security, ToggleNow has become a trusted partner for organizations operating in SAP environments.

Raghu is also a published author, with books such as SAP Access Control 12.0 Comprehensive Guide, SAP Process Control 12.0 Comprehensive Guide, and SAP Cloud IAG eBite. The books offer practical insights into implementing SAP GRC solutions effectively. His books emphasize not only the technical aspects but also strategic best practices, making them valuable resources for GRC professionals.

ToggleNow has been particularly impactful in areas like SAP integration and GRC automation, where Raghu’s team develops innovative tools that simplify complex processes. “At ToggleNow, our focus is to help clients build a compliant, adaptable GRC framework that meets today’s demands while preparing for tomorrow’s,” says Raghu.

Conclusion: Building a Future-Ready GRC Strategy

For companies looking ahead, the time to adapt is now. As GRC evolves, adopting flexible, AI-driven, and integrated solutions is key. Businesses should prepare for a future where compliance is embedded in every workflow and AI-driven insights make risk management smarter.

“The future of GRC is all about integration, intelligence, and ease,” Raghu emphasizes. “Companies investing in these areas today will be well-prepared to navigate tomorrow’s challenges.”

In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to proactively manage risk and compliance is more than a regulatory need—it’s a strategic advantage. By embracing AI, automation, and integration, companies can transform GRC from a support function to a driver of resilience and growth.

Explore the features of the Verity Risk Analysis & Management solution. Verity serves as a thorough SoD Analyzer specifically crafted for SAP, pinpointing more than 100,000 risks, and empowering you to apply efficient measures for risk mitigation and resolution. Verity allows for a detailed examination of risks tied to users' actions. The platform offers diverse tools for establishing monitoring controls in critical risk areas. With support for multiple rulebooks, you have the flexibility to create one tailored to your auditor's specifications.

Enhance your Segregation of Duties management with our SoD Analyzer solution

Risk Analysis:

Swiftly analyze risks at both the user and role levels using the pre-delivered standard rulebook containing 100k+ risks.

Risk Assessment:

Evaluate the severity of the risk and its potential conflicts through user-friendly assessment screens, both at user and role level.

Risk Response:

Establish monitoring controls while mitigating risks to enhance your management processes. Else, remediate it.

Risk Governance:

Elevate your governance with the pre-delivered rules, reports, and dashboards, all of which can be generated with a single click.

Features of Verity

Risk Monitoring:

Verity comes with an in-built unique Alert Monitor which sends notifications to key monitors when critical transaction codes that are mitigated are being executed. Through this feature, the alerts can be easily reviewed and approved by business process owners.

Risk Identification:

Verity facilitates SAP risk analysis on the basis of standard rulebooks. Custom rulebooks can be added to suit audit requirements, or for easy identification of SoDs and critical risks in transaction codes, authorization objects, and other areas of concern.

Risk Management:

Verity helps organizations with execution of effective risk management activities at both the user and the role levels. It offers the option to create and manage mitigation controls within the organization at the business process and sub-business process levels.

Security Optimization as a Service Portfolio is the right solution to prevent a full downtime and costly security incidents by analyzing high-risk violations and taking security measures proactively.

Read through this Portfolio article from SAP that details what it can do for you.

By using Security Optimization Service, you can avoid business interruptions and ensure that the security aspect of SAP solutions is managed properly, reducing risk. As a result of this service, you will be able to concentrate on your daily business requirements instead of spending time handling the complexities of security maintenance. The advantages are:

Decrease the risk of a system intrusion

Ensure the confidentiality of your business data

Ensure the authenticity of your users

Substantially reduce the risk of costly downtime due to wrong user interaction

Where to start?

The EarlyWatch Alert (EWA) report is the most comprehensive snapshot of your SAP systems. The Security section gives you a detailed analysis, more accurate information to keep your SAP systems protected along with the root cause analysis of various findings.

Refer to the SAP note # 863362 to know more about the security checks in the EWA report. Incase if the EWA report generation is not yet configured, refer to SAP note # 2282944 (EarlyWatch Alert: Solution Manager 7.2 how to set up/configure EWA reports or add email recipients) that details the steps to configure.

Should you need help setting up the Solution Manager, our experts can create a SolMan system and set up the EWA configuration in just 10 to 15 days.

Is EarlyWatch (EWA) report itself is enough?

Certainly not. While EWA gives you a snapshot of your system, Solution Manager has lot many features that could help you to safeguard your SAP system. Experts recommend implementing additional tools like the Security Optimization Service, System Recommendations configuration in Solution Manager, or Change Diagnostics and Configuration Validation, also called as E2E Change Analysis and Change Reporting and Configuration Validation in Solution Manager.

These tools can be configured easily that adds an additional layer of security.

Great. Will this be sufficient for me to keep my system secure?

May be not. No solution can give you 100% guarantee. Monitoring the systems against the Security baseline is much important and is a continuous activity. In addition to utilizing the standard Security baselines by SAP, experts recommend to use additional applications such as SAP GRC Process Control, Risk Management etc.,

ToggleNow boasts an easy-to-use reporting application called GAMS360. It provides 100+ baseline reports for review, so it’s easy to spot problems as they arise. Further, the system trigger alerts for immediate review by the system owners/controllers.

Can these tools help me to protect my SAP systems completely?

Are these tools capable enough to detect and stop all sorts of risks associated with my SAP systems?

There are a variety of ways to protect your SAP systems. As mentioned, no single tool/product can make your SAP system free from risks. Incase if you have an authorization setup built a decade ago, you may also need to consider an SAP Security Engagement which will provide you with an expert-guided analysis and approach for your SAP landscape.

ToggleNow enables its customers to leverage their business processes and streamline their security measures as part of the SAP Digital Transformation program.

One that will help you to discover the ASIS and derive a TOBE Roadmap. Second, that will identify the various processes where automation can be implemented quickly.

We take the EarlyWatch report as the baseline and also run various scripts to extract the current status of the system. This will be our starting point to offer detailed services mainly around Security Optimization.

Combining the results of the initial discovery, the security policy of the company, and the subject matter expertise, we define the SAP Security Baseline and make the necessary tweaks in the application, and the tools selected.

What else is required?

Well, there is no big list. We additionally recommend our customers to “Stay clean” and “Stay in-compliant” which is possible with the use of the right GRC solutions.

In case if you have SAP GRC in place, it is of utmost importance to Upgrade the SAP GRC version to the latest and utilizes all the features such as User Access Review, SoD Review, Firefighter ID review, and so on.