StackAware and Accuris: secure and responsible AI for digital engineering
Driving customer trust and accelerating innovation at the cyber-physical juncture.
For complex manufacturing, infrastructure, and aerospace companies, AI-powered transformation presents a monumental opportunity. Engineering and R&D organizations that leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate innovation will define the future.
But this opportunity requires a foundation of trust. When AI is part of critical engineering workflows and product design, the stakes are incredibly high. Companies that proactively build robust governance around their AI systems not only mitigate risk, they earn the confidence of customers, accelerate sales, and lead their industries.
Those that don’t risk being left behind.
Accuris as an AI-powered leader
As the leading platform for digital engineering, Accuris is at the forefront of this transformation. Their suite of products, including:
Parts & Bill of Materials (BOM) Intelligence
Engineering Workbench
Accuris Thread
Goldfire
Accuris empowers the world’s most innovative companies to consolidate content from over 450 standards partners and digitize manufacturing requirements.
Understanding that leadership requires not just innovation but also responsibility, Accuris became an early adopter of a comprehensive AI governance strategy, ensuring their AI-powered tools were not only powerful but also secure, compliant, and trustworthy.
“AI is radically improving engineering workflows and productivity across industries. But as a security leader, I was deeply concerned about the accompanying risks to data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Walter and the StackAware team helped Accuris lead the way when it comes to secure, compliant, and privacy-preserving AI.”
- Tim Volckmann, Chief Information Security Officer, Accuris
At the same time, Accuris’s leadership team had a thorough appreciation of the challenges that came along with this new technology.
Cybersecurity
Accuris’s platforms are the lifeblood of customer R&D efforts, containing sensitive intellectual property, proprietary designs, and critical parts intelligence. Protecting this data from leakage or misuse via AI systems was a top priority. Understanding and mitigating the risk of unintended training and the potential for AI to generate inaccurate outputs were also key concerns.
Compliance
With a global customer base, Accuris must navigate a complex and evolving landscape of international regulations. New requirements like the European Union (EU) AI Act and the Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act (SB24-205) are on the horizon. So the firm needed a structured, repeatable way to ensure and demonstrate compliance, avoiding potential fines and market access restrictions.
Trust
For any enterprise platform, customer confidence is essential. For one that handles critical engineering data, it is the entire business. Accuris recognized that simply having strong security controls wasn’t enough. They needed to demonstrate their commitment to responsible AI. Proving they had a robust AI Management System (AIMS) in place was crucial for strengthening customer relationships and shortening enterprise sales cycles.
“Protecting our customers' data and their trust in our platform is non-negotiable. The explosion in AI capabilities creates immense value, but also new risks. The StackAware team did an incredibly thorough job building our AI governance program. The systems they built for us manage the full range of AI-related risks and give our customers peace of mind.”
- Trenton Pologar, Chief Information Officer, Accuris
Enter StackAware
Given its stringent requirements for world-class AI governance, Accuris contracted with StackAware to build a comprehensive AI Management System and achieve ISO/IEC 42001:2023 readiness. StackAware quickly delivered by:
Building a foundation of trust with a customized AIMS
StackAware created a comprehensive set of controls to address identified risks. Using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework (RMF) and ISO 42001 standard as guides, StackAware delivered a suite of custom policies and procedures that wove AI governance directly into the firm’s existing security program. This provided a crucial benefit: instead of a theoretical checklist, Accuris got a practical, operational AIMS that empowered their teams to innovate safely.
Enabling confident decision-making
StackAware implemented a series of registers and assessment procedures that gave Accuris a clear, continuous view of its AI landscape. By creating a process to evaluate data provenance, quality, and bias for the company’s AI models, Accuris moved from reactive to proactive in terms of its risk management posture. This approach lets Accuris to confidently deploy new AI features while knowing risks are identified, measured, and mitigated according to a clear, defensible standard.
Empowering teams to innovate securely
While effective governance systems are powerful, only by educating employees can a company unlock the full potential of AI. StackAware delivered detailed training modules to help Accuris employees understand best practices for secure and responsible AI use. This investment in people ensures that the principles of the AIMS are put into practice daily, creating a culture of responsible innovation across the entire organization.
Ready for ISO 42001 and beyond
With a comprehensive AI Management System in place, Accuris is perfectly positioned to lead in the digital engineering space. The engagement with StackAware delivered tangible business value by enabling Accuris to:
Accelerate sales: By adopting ISO 42001, Accuris can proactively demonstrate its commitment to security, satisfy enterprise procurement requirements faster, and build immediate trust with prospects.
Strengthen customer trust: The AIMS provides verifiable proof of Accuris's commitment to protecting customer data and using AI responsibly, reinforcing its brand as a trusted, ethical partner.
Manage global regulatory risk: With a governance framework aligned to global standards, Accuris is prepared to meet the demands of emerging AI regulations. This protects the business from fines and reputation damage.
With the right AI governance in place, Accuris can focus on what it does best: building the future of digital engineering.
Ready to build trust and accelerate sales with responsible AI?
If you are a security, compliance, or product leader at an AI-powered company and need to empower your teams to use AI while:
Managing risk
Staying compliant
Keeping customer trust
the StackAware team can be your full service partner.
Interested in learning about how we can work together to build actionable and compliant AI governance programs?