CIOs who calculate the benefits of their security measures strengthen the argument for making the necessary investments in this area when funds are scarce and times are tough for business.
So says Mike Small, principal consultant of security management at CA. "The main benefit of investing in IT security is a positive impact on the bottom line, because many innovative e-commerce applications would be impossible without it - innovations that allow suppliers, customers and potential customers to access a company's IT system."
Not only does investment in security open up new business opportunities and more efficient ways of conducting business processes, Small adds, it also makes implementing effective compliance mechanisms easier.
He cites optimising and automating processes as another benefit, because many tasks related to user management, entitlement management and auditing would require time-consuming manual administration without technology support.
Finally, says Small, reducing the risk of damage or loss is another benefit, although this can be difficult to capture and almost impossible to calculate.
Once an organisation has quantified these benefits, it strengthens the argument for making the necessary investments in times of shrinking budgets, he says. However, when considering the issue of "data protection" or "privacy", the law leaves no alternative to implementing suitable protective measures.
Observing data protection laws covering the confidentiality of private information of employees or customers, he says, is particularly important, because the European Union has passed a number of directives to tighten these regulations.
Internationally operating companies need to keep all that in mind for their IT security measures, which may have different needs depending on location, due to differences in the laws and user mentalities from one country to the next, he concludes.
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