The primary goal of our software is to ensure maximum efficiency throughout the entire ISMS lifecycle. The module helps you effectively manage information security risks, defend against attacks, and successfully guide your organization through audits. Our tool provides information security that flexibly scales with your business.

The module supports all core processes of an Information Security Management System (ISMS):

• Asset and risk management: Organization-wide modeling of processes and structures, as well as comprehensive asset and risk management.

• Security requirement assessment: It features automated security requirement inheritance to ensure consistent security levels across all assets. 

• Control and measure management: You can create and maintain audit plans and control catalogs.

• Incident Management: It offers systematic incident management for seamless tracking of security incidents. 

• Reporting: Information security performance can be monitored through reporting and goal tracking using KPIs.

User acceptance is very important to us. We prioritize a state-of-the-art user interface (UI) and optimal usability. Unlike rigid, complex tools, the GRC Cloud offers:

• Intuitive workflows: Task, project, and workflow management ensure that measures and controls can be easily assigned and tracked.

• Multilingual support: The platform supports automatic translations (multilingual), which significantly simplifies the global implementation of NIS 2 requirements and collaboration within international teams.

• Centralized overview: Customizable dashboards and reports provide every user—from the CISO to department heads—with the information they need—without Excel chaos.

The Akarion GRC Cloud is an ISMS software solution designed to support a wide range of international and national standards. These include:

• ISO 27001

• BSI IT-Grundschutz (BSI 200-2, 200-3, 200-4, ITGS Compendium, BSI C5) 

• NIS 2 

• ISO 27019, ISO 27701, ISO 22301 

• Sector-specific standards such as VDA ISA, PCI DSS, B3S Health/Energy

No, the module is an integral part of the Akarion GRC Cloud, the SaaS platform for integrated governance, risk, and compliance management. The platform combines ISMS, DSMS (data privacy), and BCMS (business continuity). Thanks to centralized data storage, you only need to enter processes, assets, and organizational units once and can use them across all relevant modules. This eliminates data redundancy and ensures maximum efficiency.

Specialized software such as the Akarion GRC Cloud centralizes and automates information security management. It provides a unified platform for policies, risk assessments, training, and the management of corrective actions. This reduces manual effort, ensures auditability, and improves the efficiency of the security strategy.

Getting started with Excel seems simple, but the complexity grows exponentially:

1. Missing link: If a server (asset) goes down, Excel does not automatically show which business processes are affected and which NIS 2 reporting obligations are triggered.
2. "Chinese whispers" with evidence: Before audits, hundreds of screenshots and documents must be collected via email from specialist departments. This is error-prone and extremely time-consuming.
3. No historical data: Excel only shows the current status. However, an auditor might ask, “Show me how this risk has evolved over the past 12 months”—which is virtually impossible to do manually.

ISMS software streamlines the complex requirements of an ISMS (such as ISO 27001 or BSI Grundschutz). Our solution centralizes all documents, automates risk analysis and action tracking, and ensures that you remain audit-compliant at all times.

The strength of the AKARION GRC Cloud lies in its ability to integrate data to avoid redundancies:

• Multi-Compliance Mapping: You implement a measure (e.g., "two-factor authentication"). The software automatically links this single piece of evidence to the requirements of ISO 27001 (A.8.5), BSI Grundschutz (ORP.4.A8), and NIS 2. Do the work once, reap the benefits many times over.
• Centralized asset inventory: All assets (servers, applications, service providers, processes) are recorded centrally once and serve as the basis for risk analyses, Business Continuity Management (BCM), and data privacy.
• Audit-proof workflows: Every risk approval, every acknowledgment of a policy, and every completion of a control task is logged with a timestamp and user, and cannot be altered.

An ISMS is typically structured according to the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act):

1. Plan: Defining the policies and objectives.
2. Do (Implement): Implementing the measures.
3. Check (Verify): Monitoring effectiveness and conducting audits.
4. Act (Improve): Continuous optimization.

ISO/IEC 27001 is a globally recognized standard that specifies requirements for an ISMS. It provides organizations with a framework for systematically managing and protecting information and includes a list of recommended security measures.

ISO 27001 is industry-neutral and can be implemented by any organization that wishes to demonstrate its commitment to protecting its information. It is particularly relevant for companies that must meet stringent compliance requirements (e.g., IT service providers, the financial sector).

Implementing ISO 27001 involves a significant amount of documentation and process management. Software such as our Akarion GRC Cloud supports you by providing the required documents, simplifying the risk assessment process, and managing all evidence of compliance with the standard in a centralized and structured manner.

Certification typically follows these steps:

1. Planning and establishing the ISMS (with the support of software).
2. Implementation of the necessary measures.
3. Internal audit to verify effectiveness.
4. External audit by an accredited certification body (often in two phases: Stage 1 and Stage 2).

Their software ensures that all policies, protocols, risk analyses, and documentation (e.g., training completed and measures implemented) are complete, up-to-date, and easily accessible. This significantly reduces the time needed to prepare for an audit and allows the auditor to quickly assess compliance with the standard.

BSI Grundschutz is a methodology developed by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to achieve an appropriate and secure level of protection for organizations' IT systems and information. It is based on modules with specific security requirements.

The three core security objectives are identical to those of ISO 27001: confidentiality (protection against unauthorized access), integrity (protection against unauthorized modification), and availability (ensuring operational capability).

The platform covers the key areas required by NIS 2:

1. Risk Management: You can identify and assess cyber risks, as well as define and monitor risk mitigation measures.

2. Incident Management: The module enables the systematic recording, processing, and comprehensive documentation of security incidents, including deadline monitoring, which is essential for meeting NIS 2 reporting requirements.

3. Business Continuity & Crisis Management: Through close integration with the Business Continuity module, you can develop and document emergency plans and recovery strategies.

4. Supply Chain Security: You can manage risks related to suppliers and service providers (Supply Chain Risk Management) using the integrated functions.

The biggest advantage lies in integration and the elimination of redundancies.

• One-time data maintenance: Processes, IT assets, and organizational units are recorded centrally just once and can then be referenced in all relevant modules (information security, data privacy, business continuity).

• Smart Content AI: Our AI assists in generating context-sensitive content such as threat and risk scenarios, which significantly accelerates the creation and maintenance of your NIS 2-compliant ISMS.

• Multi-tenant capability: For large organizations or corporate groups with multiple subsidiaries, the multi-tenant capability allows you to efficiently manage governance requirements both top-down (inheritance of standards) and bottom-up (consolidated reporting).

Multi-tenant capability is a key advantage for corporations, corporate groups, or organizations with multiple locations. It enables efficient top-down and bottom-up compliance management:

• Top-Down: You can define central guidelines, control catalogs (such as NIS 2 requirements), or template clients and apply them to all subsidiaries or business units. This saves a tremendous amount of effort in standardization.

• Bottom-up: At the same time, you can report consolidated compliance data from all clients at the corporate level and transparently monitor overall performance with regard to NIS 2 and information security.

Yes, that is a core feature of the platform. Our connectors enable seamless integration into your existing system landscape (e.g., CMDBs, HR systems, incident management tools such as Jira or ServiceNow). This ensures:

1. A unified data foundation: No more manual, error-prone data transfer.

2. Real-time updates: Your asset database, which is fundamental for NIS 2 risk analysis, is always up-to-date and reliable.

3. Efficiency: Critical information (such as the inventory of assets requiring protection) is captured only once and is automatically available for all GRC areas (ISMS, data privacy, BCMS).