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Methodware Kairos vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Methodware Kairos
Ranking in GRC
48th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
IT Governance (1st), IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of Methodware Kairos is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 15.9%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

SM
Meeting industry standards now and for the future, straightforward setup, with reliability
The most valuable feature is the user-friendly mechanism that makes it possible to easily integrate its data with external, contextually important data, so that wholistic data analytics can be performed from a GRC perspective. At TCS, we have created add-ons to allow this software to be able to import and export data using industry standards like OMG’s XMI (XML Metadata Interchange).
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the ability to import and export using industry standards like XMI and XML metadata interchange managing the data in and data out."
"The most valuable feature is the enterprise module, which provides the capability of having all of the information stored and linked with everything else."
"Its user interface is pretty neat, and there is flexibility in generating the data. You can customize reports at any level. You can directly get reports in Tableau format. If you want to generate statistical data, you can create reports with graphs. There is an adequate amount of flexibility for changing the format, the type of graphs, etc."
"With RSA Archer, an admin can set permissions for a normal user to go directly to the tool they need to input some data. Admins can then go through that and approve some requests. Also, they can log in based on these kinds of permissions, including ticketing, service patches, or upgrades."
"It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance."
"It is a very friendly tool. We can easily understand what is going on inside the tool. I like this tool. We can work with the tool for the ERP platform. We can create automated applications based on the requirements."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"It has the best workload management features."
"This solution helped us with the centralization of our governance data, so we could house all of our controls in one place. We could use that central repository of all our controls to build our risk management strategy and our policy and governance. So we could use controls as a central library and build policy, and then build risk management around it."
 

Cons

"We are currently working on making Essence one hundred percent compliant and we are not there yet."
"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
"Archer could be improved by having more customization. I'm not sure if the backend processes have API calls and those kinds of seamless integrations, but from the front, some of the solutions are very out-of-the-box. It's not customizable, so that could be a little problematic since you have to use their features. In terms of the backend structure, I'm not too sure because I'm not a developer—I was an end user and product owner of Archer—and I don't quite know the backend and developmental features. But since it's an out-of-the-box solution, sometimes customization was challenging and support was a little problematic because we had to reach out to them all the time."
"The first improvement I would suggest for RSA Archer is a better search feature. The search criteria needs to be improved. Sometimes I do a search and the search doesn't return the exact item I'm looking for. RSA Archer could also be improved by being more user-friendly. Maybe I have been using a limited version of RSA Archer, but I'm not sure whether it has ESG, environmental and social governance. In the next couple of years, ESG is the next feature that will be integrated into GRC tools. I would recommend RSA Archer adds ESG."
"The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky."
"The financial area of RSA Archer has room for improvement."
"In a future release, there should be an option to upload the main data."
"Slow turnaround time from support team."
"The ticket handling process could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Fairly highly-priced, especially for smaller companies."
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"It is not expensive. It is reasonable. We only pay for the licensing."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The license is costly for the solution, but the remaining set up and maintenance is quite cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
23%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It would be helpful if RSA Archer had the capability for two-way integration because, i...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The specific module from ServiceNow is the ServiceNow Compliance, Risk, and Governan...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Kairos
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Global Insurance Syndicate
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about Methodware Kairos vs. RSA Archer and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.