Chris McClean

Keep an eye out in the next week for Forrester’s GRC Trends 2009 report, which will take a look at how a decidedly rocky end of 2008 will impact those responsible for various aspects of corporate governance, risk management, compliance, audit, and finance… as well as the product and service firms that serve them.

One trend that we call out in the report is the impending consolidation of the GRC technology landscape, which is a top-of mind issue for many leading vendors in the space.

Wednesday, Thomson Reuters got an early start on this trend with a definitive agreement to purchase Paisley. A leader in the GRC platform and audit management markets, Paisley will be a strong addition to the company’s Tax and Accounting group.

Concern among businesses about their risk management practices and impending regulatory actions will be a major driver for growth in the GRC market, and considering this significant potential, we expect other attractive acquisition targets in the space to be scooped up over the next 12 months.