Balancing governance, risk and compliance policies with architectural observability

Enterprises face significant challenges when attempting to innovate with AI-based functionalities while being burdened by legacy architectures, as unresolved architectural debt can lead to system failures and security breaches. The importance of governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) has been amplified by recent financial crises and regulatory updates, such as those from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which emphasize the need for sound IT governance. Companies are now encouraged to integrate architecture and operations into their GRC assessments, moving beyond traditional compliance methods to incorporate modern tools like code quality analysis, software composition analysis, and observability platforms. The focus is shifting towards continuous architectural observability to maintain compliance and mitigate IT risks, especially in regulated industries like finance and healthcare. This approach involves adopting DevOps-style feedback loops and continuously validating software architectures to prevent potential cyberattacks and system failures. As organizations strive to maintain trust and avoid regulatory penalties, the integration of responsible governance policies and architectural observability practices becomes crucial for both large corporations and smaller enterprises.