Automate risk management with software your teams already trust

The risk management paradox: Why new tools don’t always mean better outcomes

In many organizations, risk management is a manual, fragmented, and reactive process. Teams rely on spreadsheets and email threads to identify, assess, and report on risks. Each cycle involves chasing updates, reconciling conflicting data, and manually compiling reports. It’s time-consuming and error-prone.

Furthermore, manual risk management processes typically represent additional challenges, such as:

• Limited visibility and transparency resulting in outdated snapshots presented to management, difficulties identifying emerging risks, and comparing risks across departments and business units
• Poor accountability and traceability leading to unclear risk ownership and subsequent risk mitigation plans
• Reactive risk management: Manual risk processes are often based on periodic risk assessments, while risks naturally occur continuously as part of the high pace of changes in a typical business environment. 

In response to these challenges, many organizations invest in new risk management technology, hoping a fresh platform will solve the problem. 

However, introducing new systems often leads to greater complexity, higher costs, and the need for extensive employee training, something that’s notoriously difficult to drive across busy teams. Adoption rates can be slow, especially when the new system feels unfamiliar or disconnected from daily workflows. 

On top of that, a new risk management system typically requires additional access management, increasing administrative overhead and introducing new layers of security risk.

Streamline risk management with tools you already use, such as Jira and Microsoft Power Platform

Rather than replacing your existing tools, consider enhancing them. Many organizations already have platforms like Microsoft Power Platform (e.g. Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate) and Jira in place, but they’re often underutilized when it comes to risk management. 

These tools offer integration capabilities that can streamline workflows, automate data flows, and unlock up-to-date insights without the disruption of introducing a new system. Another benefit is that implementation is fast and cost-effective. There’s no need for a full system overhaul, just smarter integration and automation.

Here are some tips on how Microsoft Power Platform and Jira can help you modernize risk management using what you already have:

• Logging risks
  

  Risks can be logged directly through Power Apps using custom forms tailored to your organization’s risk categories, workflows, and approval processes. These apps can be embedded in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, making it easy for employees to submit risks from within their daily tools.

  Alternatively, risks can be logged in Jira, using customized issue types for risk entries. This allows teams to capture risk details, assign ownership, and link them to mitigation tasks, all within a familiar interface.

• Workflow automation                                                                                
  Automation tools such as Power Automate enable organizations to create automated workflows that trigger actions based on risk data. For example, when a new risk is logged, notifications can be sent, Jira tickets can be created, or approval processes can be initiated, reducing manual follow-up and improving responsiveness.

• Visualizing risks
  Business intelligence tools like Power BI transform raw risk data into actionable insights. With interactive dashboards, management and teams can filter and explore risk data by for example department, category, severity, or time period. Including heatmaps and trend charts in the dashboards make it easier to spot high-risk areas and monitor changes over time. Furthermore, this will dramatically improve risk visibility and transparency, as well as accountability and traceability.
  
  
• Risk analysis and reporting
  For board and executive reporting, Power BI can consolidate risk data into high-level summaries and trend analyses that provide valuable insights and support strategic decision-making. One of the biggest advantages is eliminating the repetitive, time-consuming task of consolidating data in Excel and manually creating graphs for each reporting cycle. Instead of cutting and pasting charts into PowerPoint, Power BI visuals can be embedded directly into presentations, keeping reports dynamic and always up to date. This not only saves hours of manual work but also reduces the risk of human error and ensures consistency across reporting formats.
  
  
• Tracking mitigation
  Many organizations already use Jira to manage tasks and incidents. By linking risk items to Jira tickets, teams can track mitigating actions, assign ownership, and monitor progress, all within a familiar workflow. This improves the proactivity and value added of the risk management process across the business units through a more continuous focus on risks and mitigating actions.

Making the shift: From manual to automated risk management

By connecting existing tools and automating data flows, organizations can shift to a more proactive approach. Instead of compiling data manually, teams can focus on identifying, understanding, and mitigating risks before they escalate.

Conclusion

Modernizing risk management doesn’t require investing in a new risk management solution. By leveraging existing tools like Microsoft Power Platform and Jira, organizations can gain visibility, reduce manual effort, and improve decision-making using platforms they already know and trust.

Whether you're looking to improve risk management, streamline reporting, or simply make better use of your existing tech stack, integrating these tools can help you build a more resilient and data-driven risk culture in your organization.