What is IT governance?
IT governance describes the processes, strategies and tools organisations employ to ensure effective use of IT to achieve goals and minimise risk.
Information technology has revolutionised how the world conducts business. Advances in communication, accessibility, automation, data analysis, cloud computing and more have created a universe of near-limitless technological possibilities. Today, even the smallest organisations are backed by computing power that rivals anything that would have been available only a decade ago. However, through every digital breakthrough, it’s important to remember that IT is only a means to an end; if technology is not helping businesses achieve their goals, then it’s little more than a distraction.
IT governance takes this truth to heart. As the first part of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), IT governance is putting the structure in place (policies, procedures, and frameworks such as COBIT), which can then be followed testing compliance and accessing risk. Correctly applied, IT governance empowers organisations to manage their essential technologies with purpose, ensuring that all relevant IT platforms, tools, strategies, initiatives, activities and resources are properly aligned and working towards common objectives.
As previously stated, the underlying goal of IT governance is to accurately align IT solutions with business objectives. More specifically, IT governance is designed to achieve the following goals:
Deliver stakeholder value
This goal is deceptively complex. After all, most organisations have many kinds of stakeholders, both internal and external, and they each may have their own interests and ideas of what constitutes ‘value.’ IT governance takes conflicting stakeholder interests into account, synergising multiple tasks and ensuring that value is being delivered across every level.
Establish strategy
IT governance provides the insight, transparency and measurable data businesses need to clearly connect IT to business value. Using this information, businesses can then build effective strategies for maximising that value. IT governance helps organisations refine their vision for IT activities, establishing common language to communicate at the highest levels (and to the board) and laying down clear direction for future growth.
Mitigate risk
A fully vetted IT framework helps eliminate the risks associated with shadow IT, creates a framework for an accurate and real-time view of risk, and ensures that all systems are being employed correctly and are up to date in terms of security. But it also goes beyond the risks associated with data theft. IT governance also takes into account the differing interests of various stakeholders, offering clear solutions when these interests conflict and helping to mitigate the risks of different departments working at cross purposes.
Measure performance
How can an organisation determine whether their IT assets are functioning together properly and providing value? The only way to know for sure is by measuring results. Using key performance indicators and metrics built into the IT governance framework, decision makers can accurately gauge the performance of all relevant IT resources.
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