The Importance of ICT Governance

Only one thing holds the key for the effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and that is IT governance (ITG).  Sound governance processes, supporting an engaged and informed IT governance structure, controls this key.  An informed ITG structure also takes care of decision-making levels, a critical management activity, in organisations.

The IT Governance Institute (ITGI) defines IT Governance as being the responsibility of the board of directors and executive management.  It is an integral part of enterprise governance, consisting of the leadership, organisational structures and processes, which ensure the ICT sustainability, extending the organisation’s strategies and objectives.

Management could experience a degree of difficulty in managing ICT due to its pervasive nature in the current dynamic and often turbulent business environments.

In the past management could avoid, or simply ignore, ICT decisions.  Research by Peterson (2003), Duffy (2002) and other scholars have inferred this to be impossible in most sectors and industries.  ICT is more powerful and ubiquitous, and business processes more complicated, compared to a few years ago.  Broadbent and Weill (1998) identified three layers of infrastructure to emphasise this pervasiveness of ICT; local ICT for business processes, public ICT and organisation ICT infrastructure.  The organisation ICT and public infrastructure form the foundation of the organisation’s ICT portfolio.

ICT becomes even more imperative in the knowledge-based economy; organisations use technology to manage, develop and communicate intangible assets represented by knowledge and information.

Organisations, from small to large corporates, are experiencing a major dependency on ICT.  The IT Governance Institute (ITGI, 2003) and Duffy (2002b) found that a huge vulnerability is, by implication, inherently present in ICT environments.  The risk in, for example network and system downtime in the medical and banking sectors, can affect organisations severely.  Other risk factors include cyber crime, fraud, and system abuse with attacks more frequently and highly sophisticated.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) understands the importance of having ICT aligned to the organisation.  Linking the business and ICT plans, and operations in support of the organisation objectives using scarce resources, such as highly trained human resource skills, and a decreasing annual budget, challenges a CIO on a daily basis to deliver the ICT objectives.

What are the IT Governance elements that need to be addressed?  The Board and ICT senior management can raise a number of questions from an accountability perspective; 

A number of benefits can be realised with an IT Governance implementation plan and this includes the following:

1.  Decisions in respect of technology investments taken from a practical and informed base.
2.  Improved control and measurement of costs related to technology and information systems.
3.  Functional levels in the business for decision making with clear ownership and responsibilities.
4.  Better alignment between the organisation and ICT strategies based on a business focus.
5.  An understandable view of ICT for management.

We have developed a rapid assessment tool to help determine the IT Governance status in the organisation. There is no charge to your organisation for this service. The tool addresses various IT Governance elements in the business; the IT Governance structure, decision-making levels in the organisation and IT Governance principles and critical elements.

For more information on the IT Governance service, the one-to-one advisory service or to participate in a no-charge IT Governance rapid assessment, please contact Michiel Erasmus at 4-consulting on 07733 383 715 or by email at Michiel.Erasmus@4-consulting.com and you can click here to view his profile.

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