Second Annual Quantivate User Conference Delivers GRC Insights & Best Practices

Quantivate Connect 2019 Recap & Highlights

September 17–20, 2019 | Seattle

Quantivate’s second annual user conference, Quantivate Connect 2019, drew customers and partners from around the country to Seattle for a week of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) insights, product training, and networking.

Attendees gathered at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel in the heart of the city’s downtown district to hear from keynote speaker Dr. French Caldwell, along with other guest speakers, fellow users, and Quantivate staff and partners.

Day 1 | Training: Maximizing Quantivate GRC Software & Tools

Based on feedback from last year’s conference, we made a new addition to the 2019 agenda with a full day of product training. This optional training day equipped both new and experienced users to take their skills using Quantivate software to the next level and learn how to make the most of specific product features like dashboards, notifications, and reports.

Following breakouts on topics including business continuity planning and exercising, vendor due diligence, and ERM risk assessment, Tuesday wrapped up with a welcome reception hosted by Rivial Data Security.

Day 2 | Defining Effective GRC Strategy

Conference sessions opened on Wednesday with French Caldwell’s keynote presentation, “Everything I Know About Risk I Learned on Das Boot.” Dr. Caldwell is the founder and chief of research at FCInsight, a well-known analyst in the GRC industry, and a former Gartner Fellow.

“I get to talk about three of my favorite things,” Caldwell wrote on LinkedIn in a post previewing his topic. “Submarines, GRC, and integrated risk management.” He drew from his experience as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy to share lessons about risk management, compliance, and GRC strategy. Users appreciated the unique perspective on issues like program maturity and performance, policies, accountability, reporting, and more.

Sessions continued with two members of Quantivate’s leadership team. Founder & CEO Andy Vanderhoff started with an overview of Quantivate’s vision for enabling agile GRC through best practices in training, data management, scalability, integration, analytics, and other program elements.

SVP of Product Development Julia O’Connell built on those concepts by exploring how Quantivate software helps solve common pain points in GRC management and what’s on the horizon for product and platform updates.

Attendees also had the option to drop in for separate Q&A breakouts with Andy and Julia.

The last few sessions of the day focused on specific GRC topics and use cases:

1. Vendor Management: One of Quantivate’s customers, Kitsap Credit Union, shared how their organization created an effective vendor management program with the help of Quantivate software and offered tips for program setup and ongoing third-party risk management.

2. Compliance: Jared Ihrig, chief compliance officer at Credit Union National Association (CUNA), explored hot topics in the world of compliance and gave a preview of upcoming developments and examination priorities for major regulators and agencies.

3. Overall GRC Strategy: Another Quantivate customer, LegacyTexas Bank, presented a detailed account of how their institution navigated the process of researching and evaluating GRC systems, ultimately choosing the Quantivate GRC platform.

Wednesday concluded with roundtable discussions — open forums for discussing GRC topics with Quantivate staff, trainers, and partners. The evening’s subjects ranged from specific management categories (enterprise risk, IT risk, vendors, contracts, etc.) to general product training to an “Ask the Owners” Q&A hosted by Quantivate co-founders Andy Vanderhoff and Paul Rorberg.

Day 3 | Assessing Risk & Enhancing GRC Management: Best Practices for Compliance, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity & ERM

Thursday began with Quantivate partners leading sessions exploring two challenging aspects of risk management: non-compliance risk and cybersecurity risk.

Steven Van Beek, an attorney at Howard & Howard specializing in regulatory and compliance issues, guided users through understanding and assessing the risks of non-compliance, including recommendations for improvement and tips for preventing future issues. 

Next, Randy Lindberg, founder and CEO of Rivial Data Security, shared some advice for calculating cybersecurity risk and streamlining risk assessment and management processes. 

Later in the afternoon, Quantivate staff members tackled topics for enhancing planning, management, and program maturity in the categories of business continuity and enterprise risk management (ERM).

1. Business Continuity: Quantivate Solutions Architect Andrea Tolentino walked users through two important steps of business continuity management: developing a business continuity plan (BCP) and conducting a program audit. In her first session, she reviewed what should be in a plan and shared tips for configuring a BCP in the Quantivate system. Next, Andrea guided users through the process of preparing for a business continuity audit, covering different audit types and considering key phases of business continuity program management.

2. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): Quantivate VP of ERM Services William “Bill” Hord transitioned to the topic of ERM risk assessment and program maturity with an exploration of governance, strategy, and operational considerations that organizations should take stock of for an effective risk management program.

The focus on enterprise risk continued with a customer use case presentation from First Bank of New Jersey. The session examined how the bank used Quantivate’s ERM Roadmap to enhance overall risk management and work towards a mature ERM program.

The day wrapped up with another series of roundtable discussions covering the following topics: business continuity, vendor management, ERM, internal audit, and policy and compliant management.

Day 4 | Leveraging Integration for Better GRC

The final day of the conference featured two sessions focused on integration. First, Andrea Tolentino returned to the podium with an overview of the integration points available to users of the full Quantivate GRC Software Suite and tips for making the most of the platform’s data-sharing and automation capabilities.

The last presentation of the day, led by Quantivate customer University Bank, explored the benefits of integrating business continuity and vendor management for better cooperation between GRC functions.

Finally, Quantivate’s leadership team and sponsor Randy Lindberg hosted a panel discussion to conclude Friday’s events.

Thank you to all the users, partners, and guests who helped make Quantivate’s second Connect User Conference a success! We look forward to building on this experience and your feedback for future conferences.