DigitalXForce tests controls against live data from the security stack, maps each control once to 50+ compliance frameworks and keeps security posture and third-party risk on the same data layer. Continuous Control Assurance (CCA) uses evidence, monitoring and validation to determine whether controls continue to operate as expected. Archer, the platform many buyers still know as RSA Archer, describes itself as one platform for risk, compliance and audit data, and the rest of this article compares that description with how DigitalXForce does the work.
The short answer, by situation
| If this is you | Look at first |
|---|---|
| You run on AWS, Azure or GCP and want each cloud account’s configuration findings mapped to the controls they affect | DigitalXForce |
| You would rather have the platform hosted in the cloud, or you are preparing for your first SOC 2 attestation with no broader compliance program to run yet | DigitalXForce Lite |
| Your auditors or regulators want proof that security controls worked between audits, tested against the security stack | DigitalXForce |
| You report against many frameworks and want each control mapped once and the evidence reused | DigitalXForce |
| You want security posture, third-party risk and compliance on one record | DigitalXForce |
DigitalXForce wrote this comparison, so read it knowing that. Every statement about Archer below is Archer’s own description of its product. Every statement about DigitalXForce comes from its product pages and follows the same template, limitations included. Neither vendor reviewed the text. The vendor research was done on 19 September 2026 and checked against the vendor pages again on 25 September 2026, and the sources are listed at the end.
What each platform is
Archer. Archer describes itself as “one platform and one source of truth for risk, compliance, and audit data”. Archer says its solutions cover enterprise and operational risk, including loss events and key risk indicators, IT and security risk, regulatory compliance, third-party risk, audit management, resilience and ESG. Archer says Archer Insight adds built-in quantitative risk analysis, calculating expected loss, median loss, value at risk and conditional value at risk without third-party contracts, and Archer Evolv applies AI to regulatory change, connecting obligations to controls, policies and assurance evidence.
DigitalXForce. DigitalXForce is the AI-native Enterprise Trust, Risk, Security and Compliance Management (TRiSCM™) platform unifying automated GRC and security posture management. Its AI-Powered Risk Management and Automated GRC module runs continuous control monitoring against the organization’s security stack, maps each control once to a library of 50+ compliance frameworks, and reuses the evidence across all of them. Security posture management, third-party risk with an External Risk View, AI risk governance and risk operations run on the same platform and the same data layer, so one failed control result reaches the compliance view, the posture view and the risk register at the same time. The platform is built on a Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture and connects to the tools a security team already runs through 250+ technology integrations. DigitalXForce runs two AI engines. AI JedAI analyzes the evidence, and XForce GPT writes the risk narratives and board-ready reports.
Side by side
| Archer | DigitalXForce | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Integrated risk management and GRC | Trust, Risk, Security and Compliance Management (TRiSCM) |
| Where control evidence comes from | Risk, control, audit and compliance workflows on a flexible data model, with continuous monitoring of IT controls across cloud, identity and enterprise systems in Archer Evolv | Live data from the security stack, tested continuously between audits |
| Frameworks | “Every framework you operate under” in Archer’s own words; no named list or count found in its public material | 50+ compliance frameworks, each control mapped once and the evidence reused |
| Risk quantification | Archer Insight: expected loss, median loss, value at risk and conditional value at risk, built in | Cyber risk quantification in dollars from DigitalXForce’s own model, built on industry best practices and the data the platform collects, with the inputs insurers require for underwriting |
| Scope beyond compliance | Enterprise, operational, IT, third-party, audit, resilience and ESG risk | Enterprise risk management, business continuity and operational resilience (X-BCOR), security posture management, Third-Party Risk Management with External Risk View, AI risk governance and risk operations |
| Analyst recognition | This comparison lists no analyst placements for Archer | Leader, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Governance, Risk, and Compliance Software Vendor Assessment, 2025 (Doc #US53615325, June 2025); Leader, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Third-Party Risk Management Software 2026 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US53007725, September 2026) |
Where DigitalXForce goes further
DigitalXForce goes further when the evidence the auditor or the board wants lives in the security tooling: whether MFA was enforced, whether a cloud configuration drifted, whether a vendor’s external posture changed last week. DigitalXForce tests those controls continuously against the security stack. The DigitalXForce AI-Powered Risk Management and Automated GRC module runs three assessment modalities, C-Assess, X-Assess and A-Assess, and maps each control once to 50+ compliance frameworks through the X-Connect and E-Connect adapters.
It also fits when security posture and vendor risk have to sit on the same record as compliance. Archer’s own material stresses a flexible data model across many domains, which a buyer should expect to configure and govern. DigitalXForce ships the control mapping and the third-party External Risk View on one data layer, and connects to the security stack through 250+ technology integrations.
Where DigitalXForce is not the answer
DigitalXForce Lite runs the same platform in the cloud for any organization that prefers cloud hosting, including a company preparing its first SOC 2 attestation with no broader compliance program to run yet. DigitalXForce Lite is the full DigitalXForce platform hosted in the cloud, with the same functionality and a faster deployment, for any organization that prefers cloud hosting. DigitalXForce does not perform internal audits and has no internal audit management module among its 15 modules, so it does not replace an audit system of record. Auditors use the DigitalXForce platform, and DigitalXForce makes clients ready for their audits.
DigitalXForce lets a prospective client run a cloud deployment, so the client sees the platform work first hand before buying. Public Gartner Peer Insights reviews of DigitalXForce are collected on DigitalXForce’s testimonials page.
Questions to ask both vendors in a demo
- Ask which controls are tested against live data today and which rely on a control owner’s attestation.
- Ask for the named list of frameworks included, and how a control that appears in several of them is mapped.
- Ask how security tooling feeds the risk register, and how often.
- Ask for the implementation timeline and configuration effort of the last three deployments of your size.
- Ask for current analyst placements and review ratings, with the document names and dates.
How continuous control monitoring works across a security stack is explained in Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture for Compliance and Continuous Control Monitoring, and every term used above is in the DigitalXForce glossary. For a dollar figure on cyber risk that rests on tested controls, read how DigitalXForce compares with Safe Security.
Frequently asked questions
Is RSA Archer the same as Archer?
They are the same platform. Archer is the platform many buyers still know as RSA Archer, and it is sold today as Archer from archerirm.com.
Does Archer do continuous control monitoring?
Archer says the continuous monitoring it added to Archer Evolv verifies control configurations across cloud, identity and enterprise systems, detects drift and collects the evidence automatically. DigitalXForce runs continuous control monitoring against the organization’s security stack and maps each result once to 50+ compliance frameworks. Continuous Control Monitoring (CCM) monitors conditions, evidence and signals associated with controls. In DigitalXForce, Continuous Control Monitoring is a capability within Continuous Control Assurance. Continuous Control Assurance (CCA) uses evidence, monitoring and validation to determine whether controls continue to operate as expected. The useful question for both is which of your controls are tested against live data.
Does Archer quantify risk?
Archer says Archer Insight is a built-in quantitative method that calculates expected loss, median loss, value at risk and conditional value at risk. Cyber risk quantification (CRQ) quantifies a cyber risk in dollars, giving the financial loss the organization would face if the risk materializes. DigitalXForce quantifies cyber risk with its own model, built on industry best practices and the data the platform collects. The DigitalXForce Cyber Risk and Liability Insurance module translates posture data into the inputs insurers require for underwriting and renewal.
Can I run DigitalXForce before I buy it?
DigitalXForce lets a prospective client run a cloud deployment, so the client sees the platform work first hand before buying. In a demo, a buyer can ask when the first assessments of a proof of value will run, and in a DigitalXForce proof of value they run in week 3 and are reviewed with the customer in week 4.
Should I replace Archer with DigitalXForce?
DigitalXForce tests controls continuously against the security stack, maps each control once to 50+ compliance frameworks and keeps security posture and third-party risk on the same data layer. DigitalXForce does not perform internal audits and has no internal audit management module among its 15 modules, so internal audit work stays in the system an organization already uses for it. Auditors use the DigitalXForce platform, and DigitalXForce makes clients ready for their audits.
Sources
- Archer, about us
- Archer, enterprise and operational risk
- Archer, IT and security risk management
- Archer, Evolv
- Archer, Archer Insight risk quantification
- Archer help center, solutions overview
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Governance, Risk, and Compliance Software Vendor Assessment, 2025, excerpt hosted by DigitalXForce (PDF)
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Third-Party Risk Management Software 2026 Vendor Assessment, IDC document page
- Gartner Peer Insights, DigitalXForce, read 18 September 2026
See it on your own data
The fastest way to check DigitalXForce against your own program is a 30 minute walkthrough on your own frameworks and your own integrations. You leave with a mapped control set and a view of what Continuous Control Monitoring would surface in your environment. Request a demo.
