Third-party risk management (TPRM) has graduated from a compliance checkbox to a boardroom priority. According to Gartner, by 2025, 60% of organizations will use cybersecurity risk as a primary determinant in third-party transactions and business engagements — up from less than 10% in 2022. The surge in regulatory scrutiny, data breaches tied to vendor access, and supply chain disruptions has made TPRM software and services among the fastest-growing categories in enterprise risk technology.
The firms building and delivering those capabilities — TPRM software vendors, risk consulting companies, and managed assessment providers — are under their own operational pressure. Growing client demand requires more assessment coordination, more vendor questionnaire processing, and more client-facing reporting, all against lean headcounts. Virtual assistants (VAs) are stepping in to absorb that operational load.
The Volume Problem in TPRM Operations
TPRM is inherently a volume-intensive operation. A mid-size enterprise client may have 500 to 5,000 active vendors, each requiring periodic risk assessments, due diligence questionnaires, and monitoring updates. TPRM platforms help automate parts of this process — but the vendor coordination, questionnaire follow-up, remediation tracking, and reporting still require significant human attention.
For TPRM software vendors, this creates a dual challenge: helping clients manage their vendor volumes while managing their own operational workflows. Sales cycles involve multi-stage evaluations with security questionnaires and proof-of-concept processes. Implementations require configuration documentation and client-specific assessment framework setup. And customer success programs must deliver measurable risk reduction outcomes to justify renewal.
A 2023 Ponemon Institute report found that the average company spends over 23,000 hours per year managing third-party risk programs manually — a figure that underscores the scale of the problem and the value of software that addresses it.
Operational Areas Where VAs Support TPRM Companies
Vendor questionnaire coordination. TPRM platforms often rely on standardized questionnaires — SIG, CAIQ, NIST-based instruments — distributed to hundreds of vendors and tracked through completion. VAs can manage the coordination layer: sending questionnaires, tracking response rates, following up on overdue submissions, and organizing completed responses for analyst review. This is high-volume, rules-based work that is well-suited to a dedicated VA.
Assessment report preparation. Once assessments are complete, results must be formatted into risk rating reports for client review. VAs skilled in data organization and document formatting can take structured assessment outputs and prepare standardized reports, freeing risk analysts to focus on interpretation and client advisory work rather than document assembly.
Sales and account research. TPRM buyers are concentrated in risk management, procurement, information security, and legal functions at mid-market and enterprise companies. VAs maintain prospect databases, research accounts, update CRM records, and prepare account briefs. For TPRM vendors with defined industry verticals — financial services, healthcare, technology — VAs can build narrowly targeted prospect lists with high contact accuracy.
Client success and renewal operations. Quarterly risk program reviews, annual contract renewals, and expansion conversations all require preparation work: compiling usage metrics, tracking assessment volumes, scheduling executive reviews, and drafting renewal proposals. VAs manage these workflows systematically, ensuring that account managers are always prepared for high-stakes client conversations.
The Staffing Economics of TPRM Vendors
TPRM software companies face a talent market that prices specialized risk professionals at a premium. According to LinkedIn Salary data, a Senior Risk Analyst in the United States commands $90,000 to $130,000 annually. Customer success managers with TPRM experience run $75,000 to $110,000.
Not all TPRM operational work requires those skill levels. Questionnaire coordination, report formatting, CRM maintenance, and scheduling are valuable but fundamentally administrative — tasks where a skilled VA can deliver 80 to 90 percent of the functional value at a fraction of the cost.
VAs for TPRM companies typically cost $1,200 to $3,000 per month depending on scope. For a company with 30 to 100 active clients, one or two VAs handling the operational volume can meaningfully delay the need for additional full-time hires, improving unit economics without sacrificing service quality.
Setting Up VA Success in a TPRM Environment
Given the sensitive nature of third-party risk data, TPRM companies should establish clear data handling protocols for VAs from day one. Access should be scoped to the minimum required for assigned tasks, with documented offboarding procedures. NDAs and confidentiality agreements are standard. These controls protect clients and ensure that VA operations align with the same security standards the TPRM vendor advocates.
TPRM companies ready to scale operational capacity efficiently should explore Stealth Agents for vetted virtual assistants experienced in risk management operations, documentation, and enterprise client support.
Sources
- Gartner, "Top Security and Risk Trends for 2023," 2023.
- Ponemon Institute, "2023 Third-Party Risk Management Study," 2023.
- LinkedIn Salary, "Risk Analyst Salary Data, United States," 2024.