Operational incidents and staffing issues top the list of IT-related problems, according to a global survey commissioned by the IT Governance Institute (ITGI).
Security and compliance were considered least important - likely due to efforts put into information security and compliance programmes.
The study, which consisted of 695 interviews with CEO/CIO-level executives in 22 countries, is a follow-up to ITGI`s 2003 report and tracks IT governance trends over the past two years.
Board level
On the upside, IT is included more often on boards` agendas - 63% regularly or always include it, compared to 58% in 2003. Though 57% of respondents said IT is very important to the delivery of corporate strategy, compared to 52% in 2003, the study found CEOs are responsible for governance over IT in only 24% of the organisations.
The progress of South African companies over the past 24 months will be compared with ITGI`s global findings when the results of the IT Governance SA 2006 Survey, conducted for the second year by ITWeb and Analytix, are released in July.
Projections
<B>Fact file</B>
Other findings from the IT Governance Institute survey include:
* The IT department at 56% of organisations understands and supports business users` needs.
* The number of companies indicating no IT problems increased from 7% in 2003 to 21%.
* Only 9% of organisations are not considering implementing any IT governance solutions - down from 17%.
Johan Botha, MD of Analytix, is confident South African business will be inline with international counterparts. "I anticipate an increase in organisations that have adopted a more formalised and structured approach to IT governance - including acceptance of the accountability for IT governance at board level."
He is equally positive a higher number of formalised IT governance projects/implementations will be under way and expects organisations to report their IT governance implementations are effective.
The local ITWeb/Analytix survey will analyse the degree to which the concept of IT governance has been recognised, formalised, established and accepted within corporate SA, providing provide first-hand, current data on the state of IT governance adoption and implementation in the country.
The results will be presented at ITWeb`s third annual IT governance conference, which takes place on 26 and 27 July 2006 at Gallagher Estate.
Additional insight into SA`s place in the global governance landscape will be provided by keynotes speakers Judge Merwyn King, chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, and Alan Calder, author of "IT Governance - a Manager`s Guide" and founder director of the company IT Governance.
Judge King will explore international governance issues in the context of SA and Calder will offer insight into how companies can leverage best-practice frameworks to simplify regulatory compliance.
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