The Kerry region is home to many innovative businesses, including ViClarity, which provides governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management software solutions for highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, insurance and financial services.
Over the past 18 months, ViClarity has gone from strength to strength, and most recently, it was listed again on the RegTech 100 list, highlighting the most innovative RegTech companies across the globe.
John ‘Ogie’ Sheehy, global chief executive of ViClarity, described it as “a fantastic endorsement of its continued engagement and support of the industries in this sector”.
Alongside that, it’s been focusing on growing and expanding in current markets, expanding its footprint globally, pursuing new markets, growing its team, and entering new sectors in the US.
“We have been focusing heavily on growing and expanding our current markets while also pursuing new markets and geographies,” said Sheehy.
“With the ever-increasing regulations in both sectors, we maintain a strong focus on ensuring that we continue to provide strong value to our clients. As well as staying abreast of the latest requirements to help them effectively manage and monitor their risk and compliance obligations.”
Sheehy mentioned that these moves bring much excitement and opportunities for the organisation. The company is excited to bring its “leading-edge technology to customers in the US market who share some of the same challenges with managing their regulatory obligations”.
“Building a global team of leaders is a huge focus for us as a business, and we have some excellent new additions to the executive team who will be instrumental in bringing the business to the next stage of growth,” he added.
Its focus on risk management is an essential component for any organisation, and none more so than highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance. ViClarity uses technology to automate risk and compliance activities to help drive efficiencies.
This is important in a world where some organisations rely heavily on complex spreadsheets to carry this out, which brings problems.
The support, partnerships and collaborations of all the organisations in the region are what make this happen
“This approach is fraught with issues, some of which are that these activities, by the nature of being on spreadsheets, are manual,” he explained.“It can oftentimes require someone emailing a spreadsheet around to many different people in an organisation.
“This takes time, and is prone to human error but ultimately requires someone to chase people down to complete their tasks and return the spreadsheet.”
AI is gaining more attention across all sectors, and the same applies to RegTech. While there is an air of caution around the technology, Sheehy mentions that buyers are expecting thoughtful discussions on how this and other new technologies will be implemented in their solutions.
Buyers are always looking for faster and more accurate ways of accessing the necessary information about their business, which is why AI and other tools are of interest.
“There is an expectation that this information is more available to them on a regular or almost real-time basis, but also that it is more consumable for them to understand the information and also how this may potentially impact their organisation,” he said.
“The use of AI tools can provide these types of solutions, and these discussions are getting more attention in the industry right now.”
While ViClarity strengthens its global efforts, Sheehy and the organisation are in touch with their roots.
Making its home in Kerry goes beyond location to the strong ties it has with Munster Technology University (MTU). Sheehy is a graduate and set up the business in MTU’s Tom Crean Business Centre, which he says was “instrumental in the success of the ViClarity business”.
Sheehy expresses pride in being both a graduate and an entrepreneur in Kerry and highlights the ever-strengthening partnerships and collaboration across the region, all contributing to the region’s success.
“Kerry, in general, has some amazing success stories with companies specialising in manufacturing, pharma, healthtech, regtech and many more,” he added. “There are some amazing entrepreneurs who have grown successful global businesses right here. The support, partnerships and collaborations of all the organisations in the region are what make this happen.
“Everyone is willing to help everyone else, and that culture is at the heart of what has made the Kerry region great.”
Adding to that is Cantillon, the entrepreneurial leadership conference recently held on February 13. It brings together the best and brightest in the region and beyond. Sheehy praised the event, saying it’s “grown from strength to strength over the years and now boasts some of the best speakers and experts who travel to Tralee annually to be part of this event.
“I feel it’ s a leading event that attracts attendees from all over the world to come to the region to experience the power of the Kerry people, the high educational standards, and the success stories of local, national, and multinational businesses,” he concluded.