The Hindu Business Line : ‘IT security, an integral part of corporate governance’

Coimbatore, March 11 “Information security governance is on top-of-mind for organisations around the globe today. And it is not just another technology problem, but a business issue, a subset of IT governance,” said Mr Keshav S. Dhakad, Chair, BSA India Committee.

Emphasising on the importance of IT governance, he said: “When we talk of accountability, risk management and allocation of resources from a corporate governance perspective, management of software as an asset and having control on other IT and security-related issues (within an organisation) become relevant. Since the need for software is all pervasive, and software distribution and usage is licensed and protected under IPR laws, IT governance becomes an integral part of corporate governance.

“New technologies give unprecedented functionality, but at the same time they also introduce new risks.”

Research findings

Citing research findings, Mr Dhakad said: “Businesses with good corporate governance are 20 per cent more profitable compared to those with poor governance; investors pay 14 to 22 per cent more for well-governed companies and investments in highly rated companies fetch more than three times the yield than others over three, five and 10 years.” In a chat with Business Line, he said: “Since information security has become a part of IT and corporate governance, any security breach is bound to have a major impact. All are concerned about the privacy of their information and consequent business losses.”

SAM framework

Software could represent, on an average, 25 per cent of an organisation’s IT budget. Effective management of software can lead to significant cost savings. Yet, surprisingly, many corporations do little or nothing to manage their software, missing out on the benefits of Software Asset Management (SAM), he said. India is gradually seeing a rise in adoption of SAM framework. As corporates here diversify and go global, the adoption of such framework would help maximise their return on software investments, while protecting them from exposure to legal and financial costs that may come through non-compliance.

SAM would help provide tax benefits (associated with software depreciation) and gain control over licensing, prevent breach of privacy, theft of confidential information by securing database integrity and enhancing network security.

Asked how critical it is to use genuine software, he said: “For any enterprise, the benefits of using genuine software under a SAM model are not only apparent but also critical and imperative.”

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