Governance, Risk Management & Compliance

In 2026, Governance, risk management & compliance is shifting from spreadsheet‑driven, after‑the‑fact audits to unified, AI‑enabled platforms embedded directly into IT operations, security, and business workflows. This creates continuous, evidence‑backed visibility across cyber, AI, privacy, third‑party, and ESG risks while reducing manual compliance effort.​

Why is 2026 a turning point for Governance, risk management & compliance?

2026 is pivotal because regulatory pressure, especially on AI and digital resilience, has intensified while boards now demand real‑time, enterprise‑wide risk insight rather than static compliance reports. At the same time, AI, automation, and integrated platforms have matured enough to make continuous GRC operationally and economically viable.​

Key drivers reshaping GRC in 2026 include:

• The EU AI Act’s risk‑based regime for high‑risk and general‑purpose AI (GPAI), with staged obligations and significant penalties for non‑compliance.​

• Escalating cyberattacks and data breaches that make cyber, privacy, and third‑party risk central boardroom topics rather than specialist concerns.​

• A clear market shift away from siloed point tools toward integrated GRC platforms that consolidate risks, controls, and policies on shared data models.​

• The expansion of GRC’s mandate into ESG, digital trust, and resilience, positioning it as a strategic enabler rather than a cost center.​

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How are unified GRC and ITSM platforms replacing fragmented compliance?

Organizations are replacing isolated risk, audit, and compliance tools with unified GRC platforms that sit on top of ITSM/ITOM data, so risks and controls are managed where operational work actually happens. Instead of manually uploading evidence, incidents, changes, assets, and vendor records automatically populate risk indicators, control tests, and audit trails.​​

ServiceNow GRC exemplifies this approach by combining integrated risk, policy, and audit management on the same platform as ITSM workflows, CMDB, and automation, enabling continuous control monitoring and automated evidence collection. Freshservice, HaloITSM, HaloPSA, and ManageEngine contribute rich operational data—tickets, changes, assets, endpoints, and vendor records—that can feed a centralized GRC architecture when properly integrated.​​

How traditional and modern GRC differ

Aspect	Traditional GRC	Modern integrated GRC with ITSM
Tooling	Multiple point solutions plus spreadsheets, each with its own data model and manual reconciliations.​	Unified platforms like ServiceNow, complemented by ITSM tools such as Freshservice, HaloITSM, and ManageEngine on a shared data model.​​
Monitoring	Periodic, audit‑centric checks that provide a rear‑view mirror of risk posture.​	Continuous, near real‑time monitoring of controls and KPIs via always‑on dashboards and automation.​
Data sources	Static documents, email threads, and manual uploads that quickly become outdated.​	Live ITSM/ITOM telemetry: incidents, problems, changes, CMDB, asset inventories, and vendor data.​​
Scope	Narrow focus on a handful of standards or regulations, often per department.​	Enterprise‑wide coverage spanning cyber, privacy, AI, third‑party, and ESG risks under a single umbrella.​
Role of AI	Little or no automation; human teams sift through data manually.​	AI‑driven control testing, anomaly detection, regulatory intelligence, and intelligent triage of issues and exceptions.​

For example, DataLunix helped a European public‑sector client move from spreadsheet‑based processes to a unified ITSM hub, delivering roughly 50,000 in annual IT savings alongside better visibility and auditability. This same pattern—centralization plus automation—is now being applied to enterprise GRC.​

What new risks and AI regulations must GRC address in 2026?

The EU AI Act has become one of the most powerful catalysts for modernizing Governance, risk management & compliance, introducing risk‑tiered obligations for AI systems and general‑purpose models. It distinguishes unacceptable risk (banned), high‑risk systems, limited‑risk use cases, and minimal‑risk applications, with the most stringent controls applied to high‑risk and certain GPAI models deemed “systemic.”​

Providers of GPAI with systemic risk face requirements for robust model evaluations, strong cybersecurity, incident reporting, and transparency, while all GPAI models must meet documentation and transparency standards. High‑risk AI systems must implement structured risk management, quality data governance, logging, human oversight, robustness, and post‑market monitoring, with non‑compliance attracting substantial fines.​

To cope, leading organizations are adopting formal AI risk management frameworks such as ISO 42001‑style AI management systems, mapping AI use cases into risk registers, and defining specific controls for model development, validation, deployment, and monitoring. Modern GRC platforms manage AI risk registers, link them to policies and technical controls, and orchestrate workflows for model documentation, sign‑offs, and periodic reviews.​

Beyond AI, 2025 board agendas revolve around:

• Cybersecurity: Continuous posture assessments, vulnerability management, and incident readiness integrated with SOC and ITSM workflows.​

• Privacy and data protection: Integrated views of personal data processing, DPIAs, and access controls spanning applications and infrastructure.​

• Third‑party risk: Central supplier inventories, security questionnaires, risk scoring, and contractual controls for critical ICT providers.​​

• ESG and digital trust: Linking operational risk, ethics, and sustainability metrics into broader resilience and trust reporting.​

  
  

How does DataLunix enable modern GRC with ServiceNow, HaloITSM, HaloPSA, Freshworks, and ManageEngine?

DataLunix specializes in ITSM, ITOM, ESM, and related domains using ServiceNow, HaloITSM, Freshservice, ManageEngine, and HaloPSA, providing consulting, implementation, and managed services from hubs in the UAE, Spain, and India. This positions DataLunix uniquely to design GRC architectures that sit on top of, and deeply integrate with, operational platforms you already use.​

On ServiceNow, DataLunix can implement ServiceNow GRC (Integrated Risk, Policy & Compliance, and Audit) and bind it to ITSM modules—incidents, changes, CMDB, ITOM events—so control tests and risk indicators are fed automatically from daily workflows. This enables capabilities such as automated evidence capture, continuous control testing, and board‑ready dashboards that reflect real operational data rather than manually prepared snapshots.​​

With Freshworks (Freshservice), HaloITSM, HaloPSA, and ManageEngine, DataLunix designs flexible architectures where ticket, change, SLA, and asset data is exposed via APIs into centralized GRC solutions or bespoke data hubs. For example, ManageEngine’s strong footprint across endpoint management, network monitoring, and ITAM can be mapped into risk registers and control libraries to give auditors and risk teams real‑time visibility into technology risk.​​

DataLunix’s EchoViz framework adds a specialized lens for regulatory regimes such as DORA and similar digital operational resilience frameworks, offering a common information model across ICT assets, risks, incidents, third parties, and testing. EchoViz combines pre‑built registers, data ingestion APIs, and an AI‑enabled compliance assistant to automate monitoring, hotspot detection, and evidence generation for ICT risk and resilience obligations.​

By combining EchoViz with platforms like ServiceNow and ManageEngine, DataLunix helps financial institutions progress from reactive, project‑based compliance to continuous, intelligence‑driven resilience aligned with both operational reality and regulatory expectations. The same design principles—shared information models, integrated workflows, and AI‑assisted analytics—can be applied to AI governance under the EU AI Act, cyber risk, and broader enterprise GRC programs.​​

FAQ

1. What is modern Governance, risk management & compliance in 2026?

Modern GRC in 2026 is an integrated operating layer that connects governance, risk, and compliance with IT operations, security, and business strategy through unified platforms and shared data. It focuses on continuous monitoring, automation, and board‑ready insights rather than isolated policy work and annual audits.​

2. How does the EU AI Act change my GRC priorities?

The EU AI Act forces you to explicitly catalogue AI use cases, classify them by risk, and implement lifecycle controls—especially for high‑risk and GPAI systems. This makes AI risk management, model documentation, and ongoing monitoring first‑class components of your GRC program rather than optional add‑ons.​

3. Where do ITSM tools like ServiceNow, HaloITSM, Freshservice, HaloPSA, and ManageEngine fit into GRC?

These ITSM platforms contain the live operational data—incidents, problems, changes, assets, and vendor records—that GRC needs for accurate risk indicators and evidence. By integrating them into unified GRC architectures, you embed compliance “where work happens” and eliminate manual evidence gathering.​​

4. How can DataLunix help me move from fragmented compliance to an integrated GRC model?

DataLunix designs and implements end‑to‑end architectures that connect ServiceNow, HaloITSM, HaloPSA, Freshworks, and ManageEngine into a coherent GRC and resilience blueprint tailored to your regulatory profile. This includes operating‑model design, platform configuration, data integration, and managed services for continuous optimization rather than one‑off projects.​

5. What is the best way to start modernizing Governance, risk management & compliance with DataLunix?

A practical first step is a discovery and baselining engagement where DataLunix maps your current tools, processes, and regulatory drivers, then prioritizes quick wins such as automated evidence pipelines from ITSM into GRC dashboards. From there, a phased roadmap can extend into AI governance, third‑party risk, and ESG reporting on unified, automation‑ready platforms.​​

If you are ready to turn Governance, risk management & compliance into a strategic, automated, IT‑embedded capability, partner with DataLunix to design and implement an integrated GRC architecture powered by ServiceNow, HaloITSM, HaloPSA, Freshworks, ManageEngine, and EchoViz.