What Smart Global Governance does

Smart Global Governance (SGG) is a French SaaS vendor of a modular integrated governance, risk and compliance (GRC) platform, headquartered in Valbonne (Sophia Antipolis) and operating as a privately held SAS under French law. The platform delivers 11 interconnected modules — Audit, Internal Control, Data & Privacy, ESG, Ethics & Transparency, IT & Cybersecurity, Legal, Quality, Third Party Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management and Whistleblowing — supplemented by a Low Code configuration layer, 400+ native integrations and 40 supported languages, with deployment across 100 countries and ISO 27001-certified hosting in 80+ jurisdictions. The product is built around a regulatory content library covering 200+ norms and 950 tracked regulations, and two proprietary AI assets: Optivalue.ai, a generative questionnaire engine producing sourced answers with gap analysis in under 7 minutes, and SMART COLLEAGUE, an in-platform generative assistant capped at 1,000 operations per month per subscription. Each customer operates on an isolated, sovereign AI instance that does not source from the external internet, addressing enterprise data residency and confidentiality requirements.

The company sells primarily through enterprise field sales, with a self-serve free trial via app.optivalue.ai enabling mid-market and bottom-up adoption. Commercial terms are quote-based, priced per employee and per module, with a minimum 3-year contract term, tacit renewal, an annual SYNTEC-indexed escalator (minimum 5%), multi-year discounts, separately billed shared or dedicated hosting, and time-credit professional services billed at 1,200 EUR per auditor-day. Additional SMART COLLEAGUE capacity is monetized as an AI add-on. Marquee customers include Thales, Renault, Air France, Danone, Lacoste and Groupama, served across insurance, aerospace & defense, automotive, aviation, food & beverage and apparel/retail verticals. The company is bootstrapped (no funding rounds disclosed), employs 51-100 people, and is led by founders Olivier Guillo (President), Benjamin Bellity (COO) and Benoît Guignard (CIO), with analyst recognition from Gartner, IDC and Forrester, and certifications including ISO 27001, EuroPrivacy, BPI Excellence, Coq Vert and France 2030.

Name

Smart Global Governance

Legal name

SMART GLOBAL GOVERNANCE, société par actions simplifiée

Website

https://smartglobalgovernance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Smart Global Governance is a French SaaS vendor offering a modular GRC platform with 11 interconnected compliance modules, AI-powered questionnaire automation (Optivalue.ai) and an integrated AI assistant (SMART COLLEAGUE), serving enterprise compliance, risk and ESG teams across 100 countries with marquee customers including Thales, Renault, Air France, Danone, Lacoste and Groupama.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Platforms (HDAAAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise AI Governance, Risk & Compliance Platforms (Model Risk, Audit, Policies) (HDAEANAE), Responsible AI, AI Governance & Compliance Services (BPAEAHAJ), Responsible AI Policy, Controls & Workflow Management (HDAAAMAG), AI Privacy Engineering & Data Governance (PII, consent, retention) (HDAAAKAB), Audit, Explainability & Accountability Tooling (traceability, reporting) (HDAAAKAL)

Keywords

• Compliance management software
• Governance risk compliance
• Regulatory compliance automation
• Third-party risk management
• GRC platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Valbonne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: Annual or multi-year subscription for access to the Smart Global Governance platform and its 11 modules. Pricing varies based on number of employees and selected modules. Minimum 3-year contract term with tacit renewal.
2. Hosting Services: Separate billing for hosting services, with options for shared or dedicated server hosting in 80+ countries.
3. Professional Services: Training, project management, specific development, integration, SSO setup, data import, automation, and maturity plan services billed as Crédit-Temps (time credits). Daily rate of 1200 EUR for auditor provision beyond one working day.
4. SMART COLLEAGUE AI Add-on: Optional additional access to the SMART COLLEAGUE AI beyond the 1000 operations/month included in standard subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smart Global Governance sells a modular SaaS platform that automates governance, risk, and compliance management across 11 interconnected modules (Audit, Internal Control, Data & Privacy, ESG, Ethics & Transparency, IT & Cybersecurity, Legal, Quality, Third Party Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management, and Whistleblowing). The platform centralizes 200+ norms and regulations, leverages AI (Optivalue.ai for questionnaire response generation and SMART COLLEAGUE as an integrated assistant), integrates with 400+ applications, and is delivered as a cloud-hosted subscription targeting enterprise compliance, risk, and governance teams.

Product overview

Smart Global Governance offers a modular SaaS platform for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management with 11 specialized modules. The core Smart Global Governance Platform provides the foundation, while specialized modules address Audit, Internal Control, Data & Privacy, ESG, Ethics & Transparency, IT & Cybersecurity, Legal, Quality, Third Party Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management, and Whistleblowing. Optivalue.ai serves as a dedicated AI-powered sub-product for automated compliance questionnaire generation, while Smart Colleague provides integrated AI assistance within subscriptions. The platform supports data synchronization with 400+ applications and operates in 40 languages with hosting in 80+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Optivalue.ai: AI-powered intelligence platform for compliance management, featuring automated questionnaire responses, gap analysis, and regulatory compliance automation
• Smart Colleague
• Smart Whistleblowing

Products and services

• Smart Global Governance Platform Modular SaaS platform for governance, risk, and compliance management that automates compliance processes, streamlines risk management, and centralizes 200+ norms and regulations. Designed for enterprise compliance officers, risk leaders, ESG teams, DPOs, and TPRM functions.
• Optivalue.ai AI-powered compliance tool that generates questionnaire responses in under 7 minutes by analyzing company documents and expertise, with built-in gap analysis and sourced answers linked to verifiable proof. Targets compliance, risk, and audit professionals.
• Audit Module Digital audit module that automates audit processes and improves transparency for internal audit teams.
• Contrôle Interne (Internal Control) Module Internal control module simplifying risk management and compliance processes for internal control and compliance functions.
• Data & Privacy Module GDPR compliance and data privacy management module providing centralized, automated data protection workflows for DPOs and privacy teams.
• ESG Module Environmental, Social, and Governance initiative tracking module with tools to achieve sustainability objectives for ESG and sustainability teams.
• Ethics & Transparency Module Ethics and transparency governance module promoting innovative and intuitive practices for ethics, compliance, and governance teams.
• IT & Cybersecurity Module IT risk management and cybersecurity resilience module for CISOs and IT security teams managing cyber risk and resilience frameworks.
• Legal Module Legal task automation and secure contract management module for legal departments.
• Quality Module Quality standard tracking and improvement module with simplified, integrated quality management for quality and operations teams.
• Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) Module Third-party risk evaluation and continuous monitoring module with full traceability using recognized compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, DORA, NIST) for procurement and supplier risk teams.
• Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Module Semi-automated risk mapping module with integrated repositories and AI assistance for critical risk identification and prioritization, targeting enterprise risk management functions.
• Smart Whistleblowing Module Confidential reporting channel compliant with European Directive regulations for whistleblower protection, providing 100% transparency and increased employee trust.
• Smart Colleague (AI Assistant Add-on) AI assistant bundled with platform subscriptions (limited to 1,000 operations per month per client), with optional paid add-on beyond included capacity. Powered by generative AI for analysis, generation, and prediction tasks based on client-integrated data without external internet sourcing.
• Low Code Module Low-code customization module enabling organizations to create personalized workflows, custom standards, and tailored integrations on the platform.
• Professional Services (Crédit-Temps) Bundled training, project management, specific development, integration, SSO setup, data import, automation, and maturity plan services billed as Crédit-Temps (time credits), plus optional auditor provisioning at a daily rate of 1,200 EUR beyond one working day.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% reduction in time-consuming compliance tasks
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary cloud hosting infrastructure provider. Platform and website hosted on Microsoft Azure servers in French datacenters. Provides the underlying cloud infrastructure for the SaaS platform delivery.
• LinkedIn (Microsoft)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platform used for company presence and content marketing. Integrated as login option via SSO.
• International Partner NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal ecosystem of partners enabling local integration and implementation. Allows adaptation to local specifications while maintaining global standards. Enables accelerated implementation without disrupting existing processes.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• OneTrust: OneTrust is a leading privacy, security, and GRC platform serving enterprise customers globally. Directly comparable to SGG's Data & Privacy, ESG, and risk management modules, and a primary competitor in privacy compliance automation.
• Vanta: Vanta is an automated compliance and trust management platform for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and other frameworks. Directly comparable to SGG's compliance automation and continuous monitoring capabilities, particularly for mid-market and growth-stage companies.
• Drata: Drata is a continuous compliance automation platform specializing in SOC 2, ISO 27001, and other frameworks. Comparable to SGG in automating compliance evidence collection and audit readiness, with a similar SaaS-led GTM motion.
• AuditBoard: AuditBoard is a cloud-based platform for audit, risk, and compliance management serving enterprises across industries. Directly comparable to SGG's Audit, ERM, and TPRM modules with similar enterprise customer base.
• LogicGate: LogicGate is a no-code GRC workflow automation platform for enterprise risk, compliance, and third-party management. Highly comparable to SGG's low-code customization and modular risk/compliance capabilities.
• Diligent: Diligent (including its Galvanize/ACL products) is a governance, risk, and compliance SaaS platform serving enterprise and board-level customers. Comparable to SGG's GRC and audit modules, particularly for board governance and enterprise risk workflows.

Broad incumbents

• ServiceNow Integrated Risk Management: ServiceNow's IRM product is a broad enterprise GRC offering bundled into the ServiceNow platform. Competes with SGG in risk and compliance for large enterprises but is part of a much wider workflow platform and not specialized in compliance-first use cases.
• SAP GRC: SAP GRC is an established enterprise governance, risk, and compliance suite deeply integrated with SAP ERP systems. Competes with SGG in large enterprise GRC deals, particularly with SAP-centric customers.
• IBM OpenPages: IBM OpenPages is an enterprise GRC platform for operational risk, regulatory compliance, and internal audit. Competes with SGG in large enterprise accounts, particularly financial services, but as part of IBM's broader software portfolio.
• RSA Archer: RSA Archer is a long-established enterprise GRC platform covering operational risk, regulatory compliance, and third-party governance. Competes with SGG in risk and compliance for large regulated enterprises but is a legacy on-prem-leaning incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_smartglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartglobalgovernance

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart Global Governance