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With a sad sigh, I’ve come to the realization that this year’s Third Party Risk Association (TPRA) Navigating Risky TPRM Waters conference in Myrtle Beach has officially concluded. The event was incredible—featuring an all-star lineup of speakers, topical sessions, panel discussions, and fruitful hallway conversations.
By now, I’m certain everyone who attended is back home, re-immersed in their specific TPRM worlds—now with more insight into how to “sail” safely through vendor “seas,” protect their “plunder,” and make “waves” in risk management (just trying to keep the pirate-themed fun alive 😊).
From what I heard and observed at the conference, the TPRM space continues to be filled with mounting challenges—but practitioners are “pacing the deck” with big ideas! Below are my six overarching takeaways from the event:
One of the dominant themes was the ever-expanding regulatory landscape. Practitioners shared their experiences trying to meet increasingly complex—and often overlapping—compliance demands. Whether it’s new regulations (e.g., the EU’s DORA and CSDDD, AI usage monitoring, updated GDPR requirements), geopolitical pressures (e.g., tariffs, wars), or industry-specific mandates (e.g., SOC reports), it’s clear that regulatory change is not slowing down.
With this comes the pressure to demonstrate a consistent, defensible approach to third-party oversight.
Despite rising expectations, TPRM teams continue to operate with limited resources. Many attendees I spoke with at the Aravo booth echoed the same pain points: not enough people, not enough time, and a growing queue of assessments that are time-consuming to complete—and even more so to review.
This has sparked a renewed push to find smarter, more scalable ways to manage third-party risk—without burning out teams.
The Marriott hallways and breakout sessions buzzed with conversations about the variety of third-party data providers available for vendor evaluations. The quality and diversity of third-party risk intelligence have improved significantly, offering insights into everything from operational resilience and financial health to cybersecurity, ESG, ABAC, responsible AI, and more.
As exciting as it is to see so many innovative data providers flourish, I left Myrtle Beach with one lingering question:
AI was the hot topic of the event—and for good reason. Many organizations are still figuring out how to responsibly integrate AI into their TPRM programs, but the potential is massive.
From using machine learning for faster risk scoring and intelligent document reviews to developing predictive risk indicators, the future of AI in TPRM feels closer than ever. I think most attendees were ready to give a good ol’ “Ahoy, matey!” to AI’s promise—but agreed that execution must be thoughtful, ethical, and aligned with business goals.
Aravo’s own Dean Alms and Loren Johnson hosted a fantastic session exploring different types of AI and how innovation in this space is shaping the future of TPRM.
It’s clear that mature programs are expanding their focus beyond just cybersecurity. Several sessions emphasized the need for cross-domain risk coverage—including financial, operational, ESG, legal, and reputational risks.
TPRM can’t operate in silos anymore—and it shouldn’t.
There was a strong call for integrated platforms that support the full TPRM lifecycle across all risk domains. Pure-play, end-to-end solutions are critical for maximizing risk teams’ time and resources—bringing together intake, due diligence, performance management, continuous monitoring, and offboarding into one cohesive system.
Without this integration, teams are left juggling point solutions and spreadsheets, making scalability nearly impossible.
The TPRA conference made it clear: while TPRM is growing in complexity, it’s also growing in innovation and collaboration. Practitioners are thinking bigger, leaning into technology, and pushing for more holistic, strategic programs.
Thankfully, Aravo offers solutions that align with every topic discussed during the sessions.
To be clear, Aravo provides an end-to-end Intelligence FirstTM TPRM platform—from intake through offboarding—that leverages an expansive data model, allowing organizations to infuse any risk domain into their workflows. This includes the ability to risk-score and tier each domain differently for each risk team.
Aravo’s integration framework supports data provider APIs, giving organizations the flexibility to collect and validate third-party data at any stage of the evaluation process. Additionally, Aravo can incorporate AI models to automate or support decisions related to nominated third parties.
TPRM challenges are growing—and they’re not waiting for us to catch up.
Partnering with Aravo today can set organizations up for success tomorrow – and beyond! Contact us to see our Intelligence First PlatformTM in action and learn how we can help your team adopt a holistic, strategic TRPM program.
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