More people with high-level IT skills should be promoted to principal managerial positions, an IT specialist told identity and access management specialists at a conference in Johannesburg this week.
Speaking at the Identity Management & Privacy Conference 2008 at The Campus in Bryanston yesterday, Cornastone Consulting CEO Hamilton Ratshefola said most organisations tend to promote people with financial experience rather than those with IT experience.
He pointed out that "this in turn affects the advancement of IT and security governance, since there is no one at senior level who wants to advance the IT systems in the company".
According to Ratshefola, many companies are not investing enough in their IT systems to keep up with emerging security and control threats. He pointed out that some organisations only enhance their security in order to comply with legislation, but insisted "no legislation by itself can improve security governance".
The situation can change, Ratshefola said, "only if more people with IT backgrounds can be put in the right principal managerial positions".
He acknowledged the fact that organisations want to make money, so they focus on their core business. But as a result, much-needed IT strategies are either turned down by management or the board or, if at all considered, are only put on paper.
However, if an organisation has someone at senior or board level with an IT background, Ratshefola concluded, changes in IT systems to improve security will take their proper place in corporate governance.
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