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ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ARIS Risk and Compliance Ma...
Ranking in GRC
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
IT Governance (1st), IT Vendor Risk Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 17.2%, down from 17.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

BPMexp67 - PeerSpot reviewer
Covers the entire risk management cycle, from identification and evaluation to control, mitigation, and monitoring
The most effective features are the basic ones to evaluate and control risk. We have many specific small models inside of ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager, like issue management. These are smaller add-ons depending on the needs. You are including specific models as well. The basic ones do exactly what is required for risk management: identification, evaluation, control, mitigation, and modification. And, we have dashboards with the possibility to configure compliance policies and risk limits based on which we can create alarms. If there are maximum limits, we create alarms attached to the responsible people. Normally, there is someone that identifies the risk, and then you have the risk owner. These people [normal users] can send notifications to the risk owner, who will evaluate the risk and decide whether it's important to control it or not. I remember a project where the customer wanted to control all risks and assigned many people to identify them. They started identifying risks everywhere. After a few years, the customer realized that it didn't make sense to control all of them. So, they created limits—levels of risk the company was willing to accept because it was more expensive to implement controls than to manage the risk. So, regarding ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager, you can implement all the risks and policies you can imagine because it's very customizable. You can customize a lot of things.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the risk testing, where you can attach your processes to the risk, and automatically generate all of the tests."
"We can set it so that for a specific risk, or for all risks if we want, people will receive automatic notifications to do the evaluation and implement or test the control at a set interval, like every six months or every year."
"The last project was for an investment group that was using Excel. Shifting their records from one position to another took approximately 15 minutes. In Archer, we created a workflow for them to leverage it, and they could send the single record with one click to one person within seconds. The whole process went from 15 minutes to two minutes to get the approval for the records. The main purpose of Archer is to just make it easy."
"RSA Archer is a good tool and I have found performing the application, ISMS, and TPRM assessments beneficial."
"The integrated data model of a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship is quite useful."
"Good dashboards and reporting features; it's easy to gather reports quickly."
"The most valuable features are the advanced workflow and the dashboards. This tool can present data wonderfully to management, and it is easy for them to manage the risk plans."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"First of all, its access control feature where it provides application level access, solution level access, and even recall access, as well."
"The most valuable feature is the enterprise module, which provides the capability of having all of the information stored and linked with everything else."
 

Cons

"I would like to see the modeling less strict so that connectors can be more flexible."
"In future releases, I would like to see more features around AI (artificial intelligence)."
"RSA Archer might be a bit expensive for small companies because it's a vast tool."
"Some of the error reporting isn't very clear. When you're looking for information on error codes, you got to do a lot of digging."
"When we have to do formulas or some other type of calculation in Archer, it sometimes doesn't work correctly. The fields don't display right, and we have to contact RSA Archer support to fix things. I think the calculation components are a bit complicated."
"The interface just looks old."
"Solution could use more inbuilt applications."
"The bullet chart is the best graph for my purposes, and it should be available for inclusion in the dashboards."
"Slow turnaround time from support team."
"Initially, technical support is a little weak, and I would rate it six out of ten. The issue with initial support is that new engineers are often not as experienced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"It is not expensive. It is reasonable. We only pay for the licensing."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
47%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager?
We have some nominated licenses, which are per user, and concurrent licenses. The concurrent licenses are more expensive than the other ones but are better, at least for a big company. We can have ...
What needs improvement with ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager?
In future releases, I would like to see more features around AI (artificial intelligence).
What is your primary use case for ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager?
I recommend it to my customers. Sometimes, we follow the normal cycle: risk identification, then evaluation, then mitigation, and lastly, monitoring. In other processes, we use the software to anal...
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
If the user needs to fill data, they need to go to one page and then to the next page if they can reduce the number of clicks to perform some activities and would like RSA to improve in this area. ...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
I perform all of our information security management governance and risk -related activities through Archer. My organization manages all types of audits and Enterprise risk activities using Archer.
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

No data available
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alicorp, Tesco, Dubai Municipality, Emirates NBD, Suva - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as being in the market of business process management for more than 30 years, serving users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS Risk and Compliance Manager vs. RSA Archer and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.