Data breaches are one of the biggest problems companies have today.
Large companies by and large have responded by building tighter security in their computer systems, said Dan Gardner, co-founder of Minneapolis startup ProcessBolt.
But what about the vendors they work with?
In trying to close any vulnerabilities in their systems, companies require vendors to prove their systems will not introduce breaches, Gardner said. The large companies need to trust that the vendors' operations are secure.
That's a smart step on the part of companies but it has become a big headache for vendors who serve multiple customers. Each of the customers require different paperwork or information technology standards. Much of it hasn't been automated, so companies are manually entering data. And for the company with thousands of vendors, it can be a bottleneck as well — and expensive for both ends of the relationship.
That's where ProcessBolt comes in. The company "builds on the security fence that is half built" and provides the tools for a risk management system necessary in today's information technology systems.
"We decided there had to be a better way," Gardner said. "It allows companies to manage vendor risk and stay out of the headlines."
ProcessBolt can reduce the amount of time it takes to set up necessary risk management by as much as 80 percent, he said.