Some evidence is emerging that that ISO/IEC 38500, the best practice standard for IT governance, is catching on. We’ve certainly seen steady demand for copies of the ISO38500 standard itself, as well for the ISO38500 Pocket Guide and, more importantly, the ISO38500 IT Governance Framework Toolkit.
Regarding Liken’s survey, Rowlands says, “We were impressed by the strength of support for ISO/IEC: 38500. Against the unfolding economic panorama, could it be that this is a more suitable measure of corporate IT governance and a catalyst for sound asset management?
“Cost savings and efficient usage seem now to be the primary drivers as organisations place a greater emphasis on controlling software and hardware usage rather than managing inventory and licensing.”
“ISO38500 is a catch-all IT governance standard and it’s much more attainable for a lot of businesses and it will give the directors of those businesses a sense that they are doing things the right way.”
In a nutshell, ISO38500 provides practical, straightforward guidance for directors as to how they should go about ensuring that their IT operations are doing the right things – and doing the right things, cost-effectively, is going to be a critical component for all organisations of surviving the tough economic conditions that we are currently experiencing.
