Category Archives: Applications

Understanding COBIT Standards

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Mastering Governance Excellence: Understanding COBIT Standards

In today’s dynamic and complex business environment, effective governance of information and technology has become essential for organizations seeking to achieve their strategic objectives, manage risks, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. The Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) framework stands as a globally recognized standard for governance and management of enterprise IT, offering organizations a structured approach to aligning IT with business goals and optimizing the value of technology investments. Let’s delve into the world of COBIT governance and standards, uncovering their significance and shedding light on their application in contemporary business practices.

Understanding COBIT Governance and Standards

COBIT, developed by ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association), provides organizations with a comprehensive framework for governance and management of enterprise IT. At its core, COBIT aims to help organizations achieve their strategic objectives by ensuring that IT processes and activities are aligned with business goals, risks are managed effectively, and resources are used efficiently. COBIT governance and standards encompass a set of principles, practices, and guidelines for establishing and maintaining effective IT governance structures, processes, and controls.

Key Components of COBIT Governance and Standards

  1. Framework Principles: COBIT governance and standards are based on a set of core principles that guide organizations in achieving their governance and management objectives. These principles include aligning IT with business goals, enabling value creation through IT, managing IT-related risks, and ensuring resource optimization.
  2. Governance Domains: COBIT defines five governance domains that cover the key areas of IT governance:
    • Evaluate, Direct, and Monitor (EDM): This domain focuses on establishing governance structures, processes, and mechanisms to evaluate, direct, and monitor the organization’s IT strategy, policies, and performance.
    • Align, Plan, and Organize (APO): This domain addresses the alignment of IT with business objectives, planning and organizing IT resources and capabilities, and managing IT-related risks and opportunities.
    • Build, Acquire, and Implement (BAI): This domain covers the processes and activities involved in building, acquiring, and implementing IT solutions and services to meet business requirements.
    • Deliver, Service, and Support (DSS): This domain focuses on delivering IT services and support to users, ensuring the reliability, availability, and performance of IT systems and infrastructure.
    • Monitor, Evaluate, and Assess (MEA): This domain addresses the monitoring, evaluation, and assessment of IT processes, controls, and performance to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies.
  3. Control Objectives: COBIT defines a set of control objectives that organizations can use to assess and improve their IT governance and management practices. These control objectives are organized into various domains and are designed to address specific areas of IT governance, such as security, risk management, compliance, and performance management.
  4. Implementation Guidance: COBIT provides organizations with practical guidance and tools for implementing and using the framework effectively. This includes detailed implementation guides, process models, control objectives, and assessment tools that organizations can use to assess their current IT governance practices and identify areas for improvement.

Benefits of COBIT Governance and Standards

  1. Alignment with Business Objectives: COBIT helps organizations align their IT activities and investments with business goals and objectives, ensuring that technology initiatives contribute to the organization’s overall success.
  2. Risk Management: COBIT enables organizations to identify, assess, and manage IT-related risks effectively, reducing the likelihood and impact of security breaches, operational disruptions, and compliance failures.
  3. Compliance Assurance: COBIT helps organizations achieve and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and best practices in IT governance and management.
  4. Resource Optimization: COBIT enables organizations to optimize the use of IT resources, including people, processes, and technology, thereby maximizing the value derived from IT investments.
  5. Continuous Improvement: COBIT provides organizations with a framework for continuous improvement, enabling them to assess their IT governance practices, identify areas for enhancement, and implement changes to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Conclusion

COBIT governance and standards serve as a valuable resource for organizations seeking to achieve excellence in IT governance and management. By providing a comprehensive framework, principles, and practices for aligning IT with business goals, managing risks, and optimizing resource utilization, COBIT helps organizations enhance their strategic alignment, operational performance, and regulatory compliance. In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and evolving regulatory requirements, COBIT remains a vital tool for organizations seeking to navigate the complexities of the digital age and achieve their business objectives effectively.

CISA Standards: A Roadmap to Auditing Excellence

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CISA Standards: A Roadmap to Auditing Excellence

In today’s digital landscape, where organizations face an ever-expanding array of cyber threats and regulatory requirements, ensuring the integrity and security of information systems is paramount. The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification stands as a beacon of excellence in the field of information systems auditing, offering professionals the knowledge and skills needed to assess, control, and monitor information systems effectively. Central to the CISA certification are the standards and guidelines established by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). Let’s delve into the world of CISA standards, unraveling their significance and providing insights into their application in the realm of information systems auditing.

Understanding CISA Standards

CISA standards, developed and maintained by ISACA, serve as a comprehensive framework for information systems auditing professionals. These standards provide guidelines, best practices, and methodologies for conducting audits, assessing controls, and ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of information systems and processes. By adhering to CISA standards, auditors can enhance the quality and reliability of audit findings, recommendations, and reports, thereby helping organizations achieve their business objectives and mitigate information security risks.

Key Components of CISA Standards

  1. Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT): COBIT, developed by ISACA, serves as a framework for governance and management of enterprise IT. CISA professionals leverage COBIT to assess the effectiveness of IT controls, align IT activities with business objectives, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
  2. International Standards: CISA standards draw upon international standards and best practices in the field of information systems auditing, such as ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management System), ISO/IEC 27002 (Code of Practice for Information Security Controls), and ISO/IEC 27005 (Information Security Risk Management).
  3. Audit Methodologies: CISA standards provide auditors with methodologies and techniques for planning, conducting, and reporting on information systems audits. This includes risk-based audit planning, control testing, data analytics, and evidence collection methodologies.
  4. Information Technology Governance: CISA standards emphasize the importance of effective IT governance in ensuring the alignment of IT strategies, investments, and initiatives with business goals. This includes assessing IT governance structures, processes, and controls to identify areas for improvement and optimization.
  5. Data Privacy and Protection: With the growing emphasis on data privacy and protection, CISA standards provide guidance on assessing compliance with data protection laws and regulations, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), and implementing controls to safeguard sensitive information.

Benefits of CISA Standards

  1. Enhanced Audit Quality: By adhering to CISA standards, auditors can ensure the quality, consistency, and reliability of audit findings, recommendations, and reports, thereby adding value to organizations and stakeholders.
  2. Compliance Assurance: CISA standards help organizations achieve and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and best practices in the field of information systems auditing and control.
  3. Risk Mitigation: CISA standards enable organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate information security risks and vulnerabilities, thereby reducing the likelihood and impact of security incidents and data breaches.
  4. Stakeholder Confidence: By following CISA standards, auditors can instill confidence and trust in stakeholders, including management, board members, customers, and regulatory authorities, by demonstrating adherence to recognized standards and best practices.
  5. Professional Development: CISA standards provide auditors with opportunities for professional development and continuous improvement by staying abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and regulatory requirements in the field of information systems auditing.

Conclusion

CISA standards serve as a cornerstone for information systems auditing professionals, providing them with a comprehensive framework for assessing, controlling, and monitoring information systems effectively. By adhering to CISA standards, auditors can enhance audit quality, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, mitigate information security risks, and instill confidence and trust in stakeholders. In an ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats and regulatory changes, CISA standards remain a vital resource for professionals seeking excellence in information systems auditing and assurance.

Application Convergence – What, Why, Who and How?

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More then ever the businesses are getting automated and enabled using IT solutions. Every part of the organisation are dependent on one of more IT solutions, some in house and some bought from the market. The IT solutions are made with the need for enabling the business and often leaving the useful ones rest are forgotten and left as legacy/archives to be referred only when needed.

With fast changing business needs applications are created, used and left even faster then we all could think about. Day in and day out business creates document libraries, project team rooms, intranets and a lot more. Over years this turns out to be a huge mess and close to unmanageable. The result is higher maintenance and infrastructure costs. Legacy / archive appls, as they are hardly used result in Loss of knowledge.

In the era of acquisitions and disentanglements to speed up innovation and change business directions, its even more essential to ensure companies have defined and controlled solution catalogue which is well managed and serviced.

For MNCs this is extremely essential as MNCs have multiple office locations, the applications appear like mushrooms in those locations and then grow into a huge architectural and landscape mess to manage and maintain. The issue starts with slight differences in global and local process and document needs. Ones allowed localize the changes continue one after another leading into a fully customized monster application and that too not just in one location but many. The result is enormous costs to maintain, control and change business applications and processes.

Application convergence can be addressed by addressing the following in order mentioned,

Bottom Up Dos

  1. Ensure the As is application portfolio is clearly documented with ownership from IT and business
  2. Collect relevant solution changes and yearly maintenance costs to ensure full visibility
  3. Get the collected data well categorized by business process, functions, platforms, location etc.
  4. Create some data analysis and reports showing number of applications in different dimensions of the categories to be able to see the duplicates, expenditure and other information useful to make decisions.
  5. Ensure the 1st hand bottom up approach analysis and output is shared with the top management and local businesses alike in condensed and relevant manner.
  6. Identify the champions that helped in bottom up approach and they should be used for the application convergence activities going forwards.
  7. Identify the road blockers and how they can be kept in control or convinced that application convergence is good for the whole organisation
  8. Ensure during the whole process that current business and activities are not affected as they will create –ve publicity and barriers for progress

Top Down Dos

  1. At the company level define the Application convergence initiative ensuring full business buy in and management support throughout the organisation
  2. Adapt an Enterprise wide architecture framework (like TOGAF, Zachman, DoDAF etc.)
  3. Start with the Business process layer to define the core business processes. Ensure core functions, business processes are well documented and have clear global ownership.
  4. Short list and select the required architecture and portfolio management tooling as these would be needed for ongoing use, structure, control and management.
  5. Business process by business process start harmonizing the processes and select the best solutions from existing ones or new ones (from the market or built in house)
  6. Focus on quick wins by choosing the valuable but easy transitioned business processes and start filling up the solution catalogue with global solutions. This also means start closing down by transitioning old solution towards new ones and launching them as one global solution
  7. Focus on clean ups that can aid to reduce the infrastructure and maintenance costs and hence result in better use of resources across organization
  8. All new business demands should fit in to new way of working with only one solution at company level.

Another important point to keep in mind is Application convergence in MNCs could take from up to 1 to 5 years although a lot will be achieved in 2 years while the complex applications convergence would require a lot of time and efforts and proper strategic planning to make it happen with business change.

If the above is done in write order with proper management support and control then it ideally should lead to globalised solutions which if made with agile and service oriented architecture would result in agility to cope with business process and tools changes done fast enough and efficiently across the organisation. On the other hand running application convergence will lead to whole IT landscape clean up and steam lining ideally resulting in savings.

Importance of Business Process Management

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In the era of fast changing world where there is hardly time to catch up breath, we still must care about the core and that is business process management. Business process management is used around identifying and documenting core business processes within the organisation. It also focuses on everything around core business process like roles, responsibilities, time taken from A to B, inputs required and outputs expected.

Although a lot has been done by companies to manage business processes effectively, identify core ones to keep in house and noncore to outsourced to manage through the vendors. With all the more fast changing needs and directions of business is making companies to increase their focus on business process management.

Business process management is important and seen useful because of following,

Good business process management ensures,

  1. Great returns in terms of process automation and use of technology to enable & enrich the business user’s experience
  2. Agility to be able to identify and change as per changing business needs
  3. Ability to create one understanding of the business process flow across the organisation
  4. Ability to identify and outsource or buy business as a service for non core business processes
  5. Ability to better control and comply with audits and regulatory needs

Bad business process management leads to,

  1. Poor response to changing business needs requiring business process change
  2. Agility to adapt only for local situation leading to duplicity and unmanageable change
  3. Duplicate business processes and their automation for various locations due to slightly different adaptation in different places
  4. Increased business process management, trainings and IT costs
  5. Unclear understanding of business processes would lead to control, compliance and regulatory issues

No matter how fast the change becomes, its still very essential to have full ownership and effective business process management in place. The value of the same is long lasting and could be the make or break of the success of the company.

Applications to Mobile Applications World …

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IT continues its drive to add value by enabling the businesses and co creating business. It is one of the important enablers of competitive strategy for businesses. The traditional application development and lifecycle management still continues amidst approx 10 to 20% applications are taken and used standard out of the box. There are around 1 to 3% applications moving in direction of “Software as a Service”, pay for use.

While all of the above is evolving we have seen that our so called Smart Phones are becoming more and more powerful with ability to run most of the internet browsing capabilities as well as mobile platform for application development.

With iOS and Android’s ease of use to create mobile applications, we have seen a very high rise in individual mobile applications enabling us in all areas of life. Apple has millions of these appls sold and these come for as low as 1USD per user. Android based applications are increasing as well and used on various mobile platforms.

This is the start of applications becoming commodity / utility and it means that for all day 2 day applications as well as collaboration applications will move towards mobile platform and available on internet round the clock at very low cost and used in very high volumes.

On the other hand the business specific applications are moving towards pay for use “Software as  a Service” model. A few examples of the same are, Concur for expense management, Salesforce.com for order management. SAP, Microsoft and Google are also working on creating Pay for use applications which are low cost, transaction driven applications. In conjunction providers are also working on leveraging Cloud Computing and Service Oriented Architecture for creating mobile applications.

Google has launched Google Appls Store which is not just for mobile appls but appls that can be accessed and used using browser online. Microsoft is in process of launching Office 365 online for working virtually from anywhere.

All of the above are showing the signs that we are on the journey towards creating and using Pay for use as well as mobile applications more and more. In coming years this would lead to a utility model of using applications based on the needs and opening a new way of using applications from an appstore provider instead of making a new one ourselves every year.

On one side this will give more agility to the business to choose the solutions off the shelf while on the other end it will create more flexibility and control issues to ensure we choose the right appls throughout the company for effective use. This is more important for MNCs adapting the out of box applications then for individuals/small/medium enterprises.

The Future of Applications

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IT is increasingly seen as an essential business enabler as well as value creator + competitive advantage creator. In doing so one of the most important service blocks of IT is applications life cycle management. Within application life cycle management the IT divisions generally use various frameworks and technology platforms to achieve the desired results. The well known ones are,

  1. Rational Unified Process (RUP) for requirements management
  2. PRINCE2 / PM BOK for project management
  3. ITIL for service management
  4. Waterfall method for application SDLC
  5. Agile development for agile way of applications management
  6. SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) for modular/component development and making them available as loosely coupled to be used as service

In the area of technology platform there is a vast list. Some of the heavily used ones are,

  1. Microsoft .Net
  2. Android
  3. Apple iOS
  4. Java/J2EE
  5. MS SQL/MY SQL
  6. Oracle
  7. Many more…

On the other side we have seen the increase is standard out of box applications that we use day in and day out to get our daily activities done. A few examples of the same are,

  1. Microsoft Office Suite
  2. SAP (with needed customizations)
  3. Microsoft Sharepoint
  4. CA Clarity Tool
  5. HP Open View Service Desk Tool
  6. Many more…

The latest trend shows a start in applications turning more and more out of the box for day 2 day activities and collaboration needs. More and more business starting with individuals, small & medium enterprises are going towards using standard out of the box applications to keep their appls maintenance and development costs under control. The MNCs (Multi Nationals) have started moving towards the same for the so called Utility applications.

The advantages seen in using standard out of the box applications are,

  1. No internal development and maintenance team required
  2. The standard functionality ensures easy upgrades and updates
  3. Market standards are adhered to much easily
  4. License costs benefits due to volume
  5. Easier user training with standard vendor provided training materials
  6. Easier acquisition on boarding to One company standard appls

The disadvantages to be handled are,

  1. The standard appls vendor’s existence in market. If the vendor is small can be easily take over/go bankrupt
  2. No control over how fast the issues & changes reported will be resolved and in which release
  3. Very tight control on changes/customizations, all has to be within the boundary of what the standard appls environment allows
  4. License costs year over year can increase/ License model can change for major releases
  5. Data migration from other systems to standard systems could be very time consuming, complex and costly

The applications future continues to evolve and we already see many businesses moving in the standard out of the box applications for their day to day activities and collaboration needs. It is slowly moving towards adaptation of “Software as a Service”, pay for use model.