Global Executive Survey: IT Highly Valued,
But Still Not a Major Contributor to Innovation

Rolling Meadows, IL, USA (21 January 2009)—Eighty-seven percent of senior executives believe that information technology (IT) is important to their organization, according to a global survey commissioned by the IT Governance Institute (ITGI). However, more than half do not feel that IT is an important contributor to innovation, underlining an opportunity for IT to increase its value as a strategic partner. Additionally, nearly half of all organizations do not measure the value they are achieving from IT.

More than 250 non-IT executives in 22 countries were interviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers Belgium to determine their views on IT’s contribution to the business and how their enterprises are governing their IT. Full results of the survey are available in a report titled An Executive View of IT Governance, available as a free download at www.itgi.org.

The ITGI study revealed that 59 percent do not view IT’s contribution to innovation as important or very important, although a significant majority recognize IT as a major contributor in its traditional strongholds: efficiency and effectiveness. Only a third of enterprises rely on their IT department to provide information about potential business opportunities enabled by new technologies, a key benefit of innovation.

“Executive management is generally convinced of the value of IT investments, but there is a significant lost opportunity that enterprises can close by measuring that value and paying more attention to IT’s potential contributions to innovation,” said John Thorp, member of ITGI’s IT Governance Committee. “Given the current economic climate, enterprises should strengthen their governance of IT to ensure that their expenditures are delivering real value, reduce or curtail those that aren’t, and pursue innovative uses of IT that can sustain and increase value.”

Executives reported that the organization’s culture and a lack of the right skill base are among the top barriers to achieving value.

“Fortunately, these executives have the power to reduce both of these barriers,” said Robert Stroud, international vice president of ITGI and vice president of service management and governance at CA Inc. “In their position, they can ensure that training is provided to employees, and they can set the tone at the top to result in a culture change.”

ITGI, a nonprofit, independent research organization affiliated with the professional association ISACA, also found that executives do not believe that IT managers are communicating new opportunities to the business—this finding was in contrast to a 2008 study of IT managers, who reported that they provide the business with frequent information. A solution, according to ITGI, is to include the chief information officer (CIO) on the executive team—40 percent of respondents do not currently do this or do not have a CIO.

• Take ownership of IT governance and assume overall accountability over IT.
• Make the CIO reporting line as direct as possible to the top executive decision body.
• Use external advisors, when necessary, as a source of knowledge and guidance.
• Pay more attention to the potential for innovation IT can offer.
• Start measuring the value that IT brings—or does not bring—to the enterprise.

Business and IT executives can get additional help by downloading a complimentary copy of the Val IT best practices framework (www.itgi.org). Val IT is a set of proven practices to help enterprises ensure that they realize value from their increasingly large-scale and complex investments in IT and IT-enabled change.

About the IT Governance Institute

The IT Governance Institute (ITGI) (www.itgi.org) is a nonprofit, independent research entity that provides guidance for the global business community on issues related to the governance of IT assets. ITGI was established by the nonprofit membership association ISACA in 1998 to help executives and IT professionals ensure that IT delivers value and its risks are mitigated through alignment with enterprise objectives, IT resources are properly managed, and IT performance is measured. ITGI developed Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) and Val IT, and offers original research and case studies to help enterprise leaders and boards of directors fulfill their IT governance responsibilities and help IT professionals deliver value-adding services.

About ISACA

With more than 86,000 constituents in more than 160 countries, ISACA (www.isaca.org) is a recognized worldwide leader in IT governance, control, security and assurance. Founded in 1969, ISACA sponsors international conferences, publishes the ISACA Journal, and develops international information systems auditing and control standards. It also administers the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation, earned by more than 60,000 professionals since 1978; the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) designation, earned by more than 10,000 professionals since 2002; and the new Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) designation.

Media Contacts:

Kristen Kessinger, +1.847.660.5512, kkessinger@isaca.org
Deborah Vohasek, +1.847.660.5566, dvohasek@isaca.org
Joanne Duffer, +1.847.660.5564, jduffer@isaca.org

ISACA
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Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
USA