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RSA Archer vs Workiva Wdesk 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

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)
Workiva Wdesk
Ranking in GRC
5th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (11th), Financial Close Software (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of RSA Archer is 15.9%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workiva Wdesk is 6.1%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Phillip Gough - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is easy to deploy and enables collaboration, but it must improve its speed and enable users to create pivot tables
I rate the ease of setup an eight out of ten. The initial setup was straightforward. The solution is cloud-based. We deployed the product along with Wdata in six months. It was for a lot of use cases. To deploy the tool, we designed the use cases and developed them. Then, we went through unit tests, integration tests, and user acceptance tests. It was an Agile delivery cycle.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"The solution has helped our organization manage our internal and external activities."
"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."
"Solution is scalable."
"Archer has simplified our security audits. It's made it easier to raise and trigger questionnaires to customers."
"Good dashboards and reporting features; it's easy to gather reports quickly."
"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."
"The cross-functionality between connectivity, whether through API connections between different software platforms or the connection of data collection to the actual written ESG report, is highly valuable. The connectivity of all these aspects significantly aids in data assurance, which I consider a bonus."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to easily upload and update financial results, creating a dynamic data sheet."
"It makes the compliance process more efficient and more effective."
"Workiva Wdesk is pretty good in terms of getting the data from the system, automating the reporting schedules...It has a very good integration with ERP tools."
"The collaboration within the platform is valuable."
"Workiva Wdesk has a flow diagram that is standardized, making it easy for people to file documents on ECDAs, which are in HTML format."
"It helps you to maintain a backup of your data, including the connectivity with the tables, which provides a user-friendly way to handle and access your files."
 

Cons

"The ticket handling process could be improved."
"Solution could use more inbuilt applications."
"In a future release, there should be an option to upload the main data."
"It would be nice if RSA Archer featured more customization. When customers are updating, they should be notified whether certain updates are optional. The install screen should not proceed to the next page unless we make some selections about which updates we want to install."
"There were so many problems that we had found. One time, the search index was not working. We also faced slowness in Archer, but I resolved this issue."
"An area for improvement would be the user interface. They could also offer more on-demand applications free of cost."
"The financial area of RSA Archer has room for improvement."
"The user interface needs work. There are many small text boxes, like credit card size's boxes, where we need to input a lot of text. You can't see what you're typing beyond the tiny window, so you have to scroll or type elsewhere and copy-paste it. It's very inconvenient."
"The most critical issue is the need to shift between uppercase and lowercase."
"The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandatory or voluntary reporting requirements, leading to lost linkage connections that must be manually reset each time a change is made. This aspect is not functional now, and I see it as an opportunity for improvement."
"At this point, I don't see a compelling reason to invest in Workiva. It may be necessary for compliance and controlling the version of SCC, but not everyone needs its high-end capabilities."
"Regarding the solution, reporting has certain areas that can be considered for improvement."
"One area where Workiva Wdesk could improve is by ensuring that its cloud-based system is fully compatible with the most current versions of PowerPoint and Excel."
"With this product, it's more about the integrated data model where you can have a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship between your policies and processes, risks, and controls. They need to showcase how you can put those pieces together."
"The speed must be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"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."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"Our clients in Asia think that the solution is too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Workiva Wdesk?
The most valuable feature is its ability to easily upload and update financial results, creating a dynamic data sheet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workiva Wdesk?
Wdesk is affordable and as far as I'm aware, there were no additional costs beyond the standard license increase. We didn't have to make any other changes; it primarily involved accessing the platf...
What needs improvement with Workiva Wdesk?
The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandat...
 

Also Known As

Archer
Wdesk
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Noodles Company, eBay, Winnebago, American Assets Trust, AmericanEnterprise, Calpian, Capstone Infrastructure, Cascades, Circor International, Coeur Mining, Davey, Dr Pepper Snapple
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA Archer vs. Workiva Wdesk and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.