What is IT Governance?

By: Mansoor Adenwala, Managing Advisor, Business Beam (Pvt.) Ltd

it’s….

To put it simply

performance

with…

conformance

Image Credit: Bloomsberries via Flickr

[Governance is] the set of organizational regulationsand standards exercised by management to provide strategic direction and ensure that objectives are achieved, risks are managed appropriately, and resourcesare used responsibly

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but…

…why do you need governance for IT?

Planning complex IT projects involves an array of political, organizational, legal, technical, cultural, and personnel issues best dealt with by a team charged with the responsibility for the successful outcome of those projects

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Governance structure ensures that the voices of stakeholders are heard, formalizesquality decision-making, and is the vehicle through which complex IT projects are effectively implemented

fine! but what are the benefits

well…

?

IT gets Aligned with the Business

you have Better Control Over RISKS

you Reduce your Delivery time

provide Better Service Quality

and lower Your $ervice ¢osts

Resulting in…

…increased stakeholder value

The bottom line is that many organizations worldwide are needlessly sacrificing money, productivity and competitive advantage by not implementing effective IT governance

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Lynn LawtonCISA, FCA, FIIA, PIIA, FBCS CITP,

International President of ITGI

…but how do we implement governance

Great!!

[An organization] should select the governance arrangementthat best supports its business strategy while being compatible with its culture. No matter what IT governance mechanism is used, it must facilitate decision-making, ensure alignmentbetween technology and business goals, and communicategovernance principles and decisions

(Ross & Weill, 2004)”

“

utilize the knowledge of internationally acclaimed best practice frameworks

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)Developed by OGC (Department of UK Govt)

5 Core Areas• Service Strategy• Service Design• Service Transition• Service Operation• Continual Service

Improvement

There are a lot of thingsthat the business does that IT just doesn't know about, [ITIL] allows us to align ourselves with the business instead of just making them angry when something they need isn't available.

Christine Rose, Director of Global IT at Finisar, a computer hardware manufacturer that adopted ITIL in 2002.

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Control Objectives for IT (COBIT)

What is COBIT?

• 4 Domains

• 34 Processes

• 214 Controls

CobiT [has] a focus on the delivery of business objectives. It provides metricsand maturity models to measure achievement and identifies the associated responsibilities of business and IT process owners.

Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) International Vice

President Howard Nicholson

Created by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

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so how do we start on

these frameworks?

read booksand draft a project plan… or

attend trainings and get certified

(psst… we provide ITIL v3 Foundation and COBIT 4.1 Foundation trainings in Pakistan)

or…

hire a consultant!

(…guess who provides consulting / advisory services )

that’s all very good…

but is there a business case here

Ontario Ministry of Transportation: Resolved Help Desk Incidents 98% of the timeVisa: Reduction in the time to resolve Incidents by as much as 75%Sallie Mae: Reduction in the length of Help Desk calls by 40%Raymond James Financial Inc: Number of calls to the company’s Help Desk dropped by as much as 25% within 18 months

Source: Pink Elephant

Enhance Help Desk Performance

Victorian State Revenue Office: Cost savings of $2 million per yearPEMCO: $500,000 within 12 monthsProcter & Gamble: Realized a 6% to 8% cut in operating costsFinisar: Cut the amount spent on IT from 4% of revenue to 2.4%

Source: Pink Elephant

Achieve Cost Savings

start today and stay ahead of the

competition through IT governance

For more information visitwww.itgovernance.co.ukwww.ogc.gov.ukwww.isaca.orgwww.businessbeam.com

all images courtesy Flickr and attributed to their respective owners

presentation created and designed by: Mansoor AdenwalaManaging AdvisorBusiness Beam (Pvt.) LtdEmail: mansoor.adenwala@businessbeam.comPh: 051-2804380 - 81