Moving beyond spreadsheets: Middlesbrough College strengthens risk management

The challenge

Looking to strengthen its approach to risk management, Middlesbrough College wanted a solution that could support its governance requirements without forcing teams to adapt to new ways of working.

As risk management requirements evolved, relying on spreadsheets was becoming increasingly cumbersome and time-consuming. The college wanted a more structured approach that would make it easier to record, review and maintain risk information while supporting greater accuracy and consistency.

What made the difference

When evaluating potential solutions, the college focused on finding a platform that offered the right balance of functionality, usability and long-term fit.

Several factors stood out:

• The solution closely matched how the college already managed and administered risk
• It offered purpose-built functionality designed for managing organisational risk
• It supported the college's wider technology strategy
• It provided a modern, practical alternative to spreadsheet-based processes

Risk Managment also offered value for money and, while not the primary driver behind the decision, pricing compared favourably with other options under consideration.

As Dale notes:

"Price certainly wasn't a leading factor, but the price was really competitive."

Reflecting on the decision, Dale says:

"The platform closely matched how we already managed risk."

Microsoft and M365-based options were considered, but the college felt they were either too generic or would require significant adaptation to support its requirements. The evaluation also identified relatively few specialist providers in the market.

As Dale explains:

"I looked at Microsoft. They were not a good fit. There wasn't a massive amount of competition in the market for risk."

Ultimately, the deciding factor was finding a solution that aligned closely with the college's requirements while providing functionality specifically designed for risk management.