Why focus on IT Governance?
You may wonder why a service management framework, or service lifecycle, would be built on the foundation of IT Governance. After all, governance isn't one of the sexiest or most enjoyable topics for the average IT pro. Yet, it can't be denied that corporate governance is critical for both establishing and maintaining shareholder trust. And as IT has become an increasingly significant part of the business' bottom-line, there is an increasing need to demonstrate transparency in such areas as decision making, performance, and ROI. Further, IT Governance becomes an even more significant topic in light of the rising pervasiveness of business process automation and the need for IT to attest to these automated controls. Whether or not the IT pro is enthused about the idea, they are being impacted through a top-down imposition of governance related tasks and activites that they often struggle to understand how to deliver against.
Regulatory pressures and compliance measures are other drivers of the IT governance discussion. Often, IT is faced with the dilemna of needing to respond, but lacking the clout or capability to do so, perhaps because they are unable to frame the issues in terms the business cares about. One possible mechanism for communication is a risk management methodology. Perhaps by helping IT and the business approach risk and mitigation as part of a governance discussion using a common vocabulary could be an effective approach?
Two other questions we'd love to see some specific feedback on:
- What does IT Governance mean to the IT Pro?
- In what ways are IT Pros addressing internal controls?
Thank you,
Jason Osborne
Frameworks PM