Third-party risk management provider (TPRM) Prevalent has unveiled several new AI-powered enhancements to its Third-Party Risk Management Platform. This SaaS solution, which is used by hundreds of organizations globally, helps manage, monitor, and mitigate risks related to vendors and suppliers.
Revolutionizing risk assessments with AI
A standout feature is the AI-enabled Auto Assessment Population, which essentially eliminates the need for users to manually restructure their files. Unlike traditional third-party risk management tools that struggle with mismatched questionnaire formats, Prevalent’s AI technology analyzes key columns from any uploaded Excel spreadsheet and automatically populates new assessments, regardless of formatting anomalies.
“In May, when we published our 2024 Third-Party Risk Management Study, a couple of findings stood out to us,” said Alastair Parr, Prevalent’s SVP of global products and services. “First, half of the companies we surveyed are still relying on spreadsheets to assess their vendors; and second, 61% are actively investigating use cases for AI in the automation of their TPRM programs. The changes we’re announcing today directly correlate to those findings.”
One of the new features is an AI-enabled Auto Assessment Population, which saves users the hassle of manually restructuring their existing files. Traditional third-party risk management tools often run into a hitch when users upload old assessments that don’t fit new questionnaire formats. Prevalent’s AI technology solves this issue by analyzing key columns from any uploaded Excel spreadsheet and automatically filling out new assessments, no matter how the original files are formatted.
Augmenting Alfred: The virtual advisor
The company has also upgraded Alfred, its virtual third-party risk advisor, which, much like the beloved butler to Batman, makes sense of large volumes of data and advises accordingly. Originally launched in October 2023, Alfred now understands natural language commands, allowing users to easily seek help with risk registers, contracts, survey submissions, vendors, and more, directly within the platform. A new chatbot-style interface makes vendor management and comparison simpler, which is meant to enhance the platform’s user-friendliness.
Advancing vendor threat monitoring
Another significant improvement is in the Vendor Threat Monitor (VTM), which now offers deeper insights into suppliers’ reputational risks. As global supply chains grow and scale, so do the risks. Traditional third-party management tools often provide only surface-level reputational risk information through fragmented data feeds.
Prevalent’s VTM integrates reputational screening insights at both the vendor and individual levels. By pulling data from countless news sites, company blogs, and millions of government records, it helps companies perform more thorough checks before signing contracts and keep a closer watch on their existing vendor relationships.
Marcial Velez, president and CEO of Xperteks Computer Consultancy, says that AI-powered tools are leading the charge, and whoever has the lowest bar to entry into this sector will see an accelerated adoption rate.
“The race is on for a software platform that makes it easy for MSPs to deliver high-quality compliance framework delivery systems and secure their clients,” says Velez. “The tools must enable navigation of multiple compliance frameworks simultaneously and allow for the creation of projects adhering to these frameworks. This is a value-add for MSPs looking to generate new recurring revenue streams, integrated or easily transferred into their PSA tool for successful management.”
Learn more about how the rapid advancement of AI technology and AI-powered features has spurred IT service providers to leverage its capabilities for growth and innovation.