Information Technology Governance

Information TechnologyGovernance Ron Hay September 29, 2004

“The managerial functions cannot be performed without information.” Robert Murdoch & Joel Ross Journal of System Management 1969

“Knowledge has become the central economic resource.” Peter F. Drucker A long time ago …

“Without business intelligence, companies are swiftly punished.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

“The general lack of success in fully utilizing the computerized information system is made even more acute, and its resolution made even more imperative, by the fact that some companies have achieved success. ” John H. Burnett Journal of Systems Management 1969

“Our mission is to be the recognized global leader in IT governance, control and assurance.” ISACA Michael P. Cangemi Information System Control Vol. 2, 2000

“...IT... is a cost of doing business that must be paid by all, but provides distinction to none.” Nicholas Carr “IT Doesn’t Matter” Howard Business Review 2003

“Technicians – not management – are setting the goals for computers.” John Diebold Harvard Business Review, 1969 Ron Hay Ralph & Kacoo’s, 2004

Top-10 Current IT Issues 1. Funding IT 2. Administrative/ERP/Information Systems 3. Security and Identity Management 4. Strategic Planning for IT 5. Faculty Development, Support, and Training 6. Infrastructure Management for IT

Top-10 Current IT Issues… 7. E-learning/Distributed Teaching and Learning 8. (tie) Web Services/Web-Based Systems 8. (tie) Enterprise-Level Portals 10. (tie) Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery 10. (tie) Governance, Organization, and Leadership for IT Donald Z. Spicer CAUSE Review May/June 2004

Reality Currently, in my professional experience, there are three prevailing management attitudes about IT: Costs too much Too many staff Takes too long Ron Hay 2004

“As more value is placed on information, the group charged with information management will be moved higher in the organization structure and will be given greater identity.” Harold Sillenberger Management Service 1969

The CIO “Hampered by a lack of leadership training, an unwillingness to take risks and simply not knowing when (or how) to lead, most CIO’s today fall back on their management role to get them through.” Mark Struckman Public CIO Fall 2004

“Investments in technology are no longer under the primary control of IT departments and the chief information officer (CIO). The power is shifting out into the business functions – to the leaders in sales, marketing, procurement, customer service, logistics, and human resources. They are uncomfortable relying on the IT function…they are taking control of their own destiny and driving the IT strategy for their portion of the business.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

Rabbits • Spreadsheet Solutions • Best of Breed Applications • Distributed Computing Solutions • ERP Implementations • CRM Implementations • Data Warehousing • Data Mining • Off Shore Processing

Rabbits… • Outsourcing • End To End Solutions • Business Continuity Plans • Disaster Recovery Plans • Supply Chain Management • Employee Relations Management (HRM) • Activity Based Management

“Organizations that are very, very good at doing things that are not important will never be market leaders.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

“… new users of IT introduce new risks, which in turn requires new controls.” Frederick Gallegos Information Systems Control Vol. 3, 2003

“It appears possible that business firms can actually bankrupt themselves in the search for efficiency in data processing.” Neal J. Dean Harvard Business Review 1968

“Today, advances in software and data management are well ahead of most organizations’ ability to harness what can be done with these tools.” “… a fool with tool is still a fool.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

“We use two percent of what we measure, the rest is CYA … The appearance of precision substitutes for substance … We measure far too much and get far too little for what we measure because we never articulated what we need to get better at, and our measures aren’t tied to support higher level decision making.” Michael Hammer Agenda 2003

“Retailers … (using CRM software) … are trying to get to where they were in 1903.” Stacy Collett Computerworld Sept. 20, 2004

“ERP Systems deluge employees with data, but not necessarily with business intelligence for decision support.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

“IT governance is good business and contributes to accomplishing the organizational mission.” Ronald Saull Information Systems Control Vol. 2, 2000

“What is clear from today’s headlines is the need for top executives to take a second look at governance in light of increased market, shareholder, political and regulatory sensitivity.” Stacey Hamaker Information Systems Controls Vol. 3, 2003

“The cost of slack governance does not appear in expense budgets, it appears in the media, in share prices, in the waste bin or behind closed doors.” Stacey Hamaker Information Systems Controls Vol. 3, 2003

Corporate governance is enterprise wide! “Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled.” Cadbury Report 1992

“IT governance is part of corporate governance and has to provide the organizational structure to enable the creation of business value through IT, the assurance that there are no IT investments in bad projects and that there are adequate IT control mechanisms.” Win Van Grembergen Information Systems Control Vol. 2, 2000

“IT governance is the responsibility of the board of directors and executive management. It is an integrated part of enterprise governance and consists of the leadership and organizational structures and processes to ensure that the organization’s IT sustains and extends its strategies and objectives.” Claudio Citlio Information Systems Control Vol. 3, 2003

“Performance scorecards help organizations move from being financially driven to mission driven.” Gary Cokins Performance Management 2004

Adoption of BSC is an advantage. “Evaluation of an organization should not be restricted to a traditional financial evaluation but should be supplemented with measures concerning customer satisfaction, internal processes and the ability to innovate.” Kaplan and Norton

“Weakest of the links in the chain of information technologies available today for use by business and industry is management itself.” J. W. Haslett Journal of Systems Management 1969

“The reality is that the principal reasons for failure among projects requiring significant changes in workflow and organizational design have not been technical or economic, but rather organizational and/or political.” Jerry Mechling Public CIO 2004

ComputerworldAd for SAP: 77% of all IT projects experience problems or failed 49% exceed their budget and timeline 28% are cancelled Computerworld Sept. 2004

Components of IT Governance Strategic Alignment of IT with Business Objectives Delivering Value Defined and Measured Performance Management How Plans are Transferred into Results “You cannot manage what you cannot measure.” Managing Risks IT Resource Management IT Governance Institute 2003

Components of IT Governance • Worldwide Survey by ITGI • Have you implemented, are you considering implementation, or are you in the process of implementing: IT Governance Institute 2003

“The mere presence of a high level steering committee is not governance.” S. Arantha Sayam I.S. Control Vol. 2, 2004

“After growing wildly for years, the field of … information technology … now appears to be approaching its infancy.” Joel Ross Journal of Supplies Management 1970

“The concepts of IT governance are evolving and the methods of implementing sound governance technologies vary from organization to organization so please treat this introduction as food for thought. Advice from IT Governance Institute 2003

“Top management still doesn’t get IT.” Ron Hay 2004

“The four most expensive words in the English language are: “this time it’s different.”” John Templeton Source unknown A long time ago …

Information Technology Governance