Fortrex Technologies, Inc. Announces Official Release of its Next Generation VendorPoint- Third-Party Risk Management Solution

FREDERICK, Md., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortrex Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of trusted security and risk management services and solutions, today announced the official release of the next generation of VendorPoint®, the industry's only ABA-endorsed, third-party risk management solution.

"The new release of VendorPoint changes the industry. It is by far the most advanced Vendor Risk Management solution on the market," says Mike Edison, CEO, Fortrex Technologies, Inc. "The ability to configure automated or manual risk rating and to configure additional risk segments to allow tracking of risk related activities unrelated to Vendor Risk Management are two key capabilities that differentiate our product from anything on the market today. The ability to minimize the workload on financial institution business units through workgroup assignments is also unique to the market."

VendorPoint was originally designed in conjunction with the financial services industry to satisfy vendor management requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. VendorPoint reduces the burden associated with managing vendor relationships.  As organizations continue to increase their dependencies on outsourcing certain aspects of their business to drive increased profits, VendorPoint allows organizations to maximize efficiencies and minimize their risks. 

Recently, other industries such as mortgage banking and healthcare have identified similar challenges within their organizations and are exploring VendorPoint's capabilities.  Dave Sawyer, Risk Manager, Cenlar FSB, a leading mortgage subservicing company, was seeking an automated vendor risk management solution early last year and chose VendorPoint after a thorough review of all automated vendor risk management solutions on the market.  "For our size organization, VendorPoint offered the best cross between functionality and price.  VendorPoint's flexibility allowed us to customize the standard questionnaire and also the categories of risk ratings to fit Cenlar's needs."

VendorPoint ensures that vendor management policies are being implemented by comparing vendor information with an organization's policy requirements.  The technology initiates the processes defined by a company's policy and tracks its progress to ensure that the level of risk is identified, measured and continuously monitored.  VendorPoint also captures the results of compliance reviews and utilizes the data to provide vendor health risk reports.

A pre-release of VendorPoint's next generation was conducted with a select group of customers earlier this year to gather feedback on the new version.  Natalia Weems, Vendor Manager and Disaster Recovery Officer, Dollar Bank, Pittsburgh, PA, was one of the first customers to utilize the new release.  Ms. Weems previously used VendorPoint while employed by a different financial institution.  Natalia selected VendorPoint again as her solution of choice when she joined Dollar Bank.  "When I joined Dollar Bank, I did research on other solutions on the market, including products that offered to perform due diligence on our behalf, but opted for VendorPoint.  We felt that for an organization of our size, approximately $5B AUM, VendorPoint was a better match.  We are not at the point where we wish to outsource our due diligence process.  We wish to retain internal control because we recognize that in the end, we are still responsible for our third-party risk management process.  All in all, I see increased flexibility in the next generation VendorPoint product in the areas of assessments, notifications, and ultimately the reporting capabilities that continue to become available." 

For additional information about Fortrex and VendorPoint, visit www.fortrex.com.

About Fortrex Technologies, Inc. (www.fortrex.com)

Since 1997, Fortrex Technologies has served as a trusted security and risk management advisor to its clients throughout the world.  Fortrex focuses exclusively on IT security, operational risk, and regulatory compliance and helps organizations throughout the world identify, assess, remediate and manage their operational risks through consulting, audit, vendor management and human capital assistance.  By providing expert technical assessments, Fortrex ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and systems through world-class, enterprise-wide information security services and solutions.  Powered by a team of security and risk management experts and the industry's leading technology, Fortrex's in-depth risk assessments and solutions ensure that its clients' information assets remain safe.

SOURCE Fortrex Technologies, Inc.