According to a Harvard Business Review survey, nearly a quarter of all intelligence-related functions in the private sector were created after a threat or a crisis. Events like 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted business operations, changing our lives and making us acutely aware of our vulnerabilities. As a result, new travel policies were created, government offices established, and corporations and government organizations alike launched programs and protective measures. While the reactive actions taken in the aftermath of these business-altering events created safeguards in both the public and private sectors, many business leaders have found themselves wondering about the need to take more proactive measures to mitigate risk and provide appropriate levels of duty of care.
Early adopters of this proactive risk management mentality started contemplating ways to be ahead of the game – determining how best to forecast risk-related events and access the best risk intelligence information available. When forecasting and establishing preventive measures are critical to your strategic goals, access to risk analysts and the intelligence provided by global monitoring can be valuable; however, an analyst dedicated to your company, with insight into your specific needs, can be a game-changer. Equipped with this tailored information, you are poised to proactively make the best plans for your particular business needs – from tactical issues like preparing employees for a potential work disruption to strategic ones like establishing operations in a volatile geographic location.
Top Five Reasons Organizations Choose Embedded Intelligence Programs
1. Improved Visibility of Business Risk at the Leadership Level
The best intelligence functions help corporate executives understand what is currently happening in the global landscape and what is likely to happen next. The COVID-19 pandemic is an excellent example of the successful use of intelligence to identify threats, ensure the safety and well-being of employees and maintain business continuity. An embedded intelligence program can help identify threats and make recommendations to mitigate potential risk, helping to proactively anticipate the next incident or emergency and plan accordingly.
2. Increased Competitive Advantage
Intelligence analysis can be used to relay facts to protect people and assets simply, or the analysis can be applied where it is most valuable – to strategic, proactive decision-making. When the proper insight arrives at the right time to shape an important decision, a firm gains an enormous advantage – from ensuring continuity of operations to mitigating interruptions to your supply chain to safeguarding employee availability.
3. Benchmarking and Continuous Improvement
Because the world is constantly changing and intelligence isn’t static, intelligence professionals employ industry methodologies to continually assess and reassess the most recent information available. They also document best practices and share how your competitors are reacting to possible threats and business disruptions, enabling you to benchmark your security and risk management program against industry leaders. Your embedded analyst(s) will have most likely access to the combined knowledge and experiences of a larger global team, creating an additional avenue for getting information quickly and efficiently.
4. Greater Efficiency/Cost Savings
Analysts are selected based on their experience, trained using industry-best techniques, and educated with client-specific information – enabling them to “hit the ground running” and add value from day one. This saves onboarding time, eliminates the learning gap, and ensures your intelligence program maximizes ROI. And when your business needs require adaptation, we can flex with you by adding additional resources.
5. Eliminate Noise and Misinformation
Intelligence, both valid and invalid, is easier to attain than ever before. With the flip of a switch or the click of a mouse, there is 24/7 access to a never-ending stream of information and competing narratives in the media. Intelligence analysts can help you make sense of massive amounts of information by providing clarity and context. Because they understand your organization’s specific issues and threats, they can help you focus on the threats most likely to impact your people, assets, and reputation – reducing both response and recovery time.
About Crisis24 Embedded Intelligence Services
Crisis24’s embedded intelligence solutions provide an embedded analyst (or an entire team of analysts) that can reside either in your offices or remotely. These experts can support your operations on a part-time or full-time basis and can even support 24/7 operations, flexing with your business as priorities demand. Our experienced and vetted analysts receive extensive training from industry-leading professionals and utilize best practices developed over the past 30 years of Crisis24. Once onboarded, your analyst(s) will deliver the precise intelligence and data you need – from managing a one-time project to aiding your business and security leaders in developing strategic risk management programs. In addition, a Crisis24 program manager will oversee the embedded analysts' efforts to ensure high standards and quality control through editorial oversight, collaboration, and metrics.
To see how we can power your security and risk management operations, visit our Embedded Intelligence Services page.
