RP firms just starting to adopt IT governance--IBM execs

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net


MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- The level of awareness and the interest to comply with regulatory and information technology governance issues are high in the Philippines, but only a few companies are practicing it, IBM executives said.

"The awareness and the interest to comply are high. But on the actual compliance, they're just starting. We don't know the extent of compliance," said Aileen Judan-Jiao, country services executive of IBM Global Technology Services Philippines.

Introducing a suite of IT governance services, framework and tools, IBM executives said the "highly regulated" industries are expected to initially adopt IT governance since they are now under pressure to become more visible and accountable to stakeholders and customers.

IT governance involves, among others, managing risks and information security within organizations, ensuring compliance to regulatory mandates like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and keeping the "lights on" in the face of natural or man-made disasters.

In the Philippines, Judan-Jiao said local organizations now consider typhoons and floods as the top two events which organizations have to prepare for.

"You cannot get away from IT governance," the IBM executive stressed, noting that banks, multinational companies, and publicly listed business process outsourcing companies are among those leading in the adoption of IT governance.

Peter Rajnak, solutions manager for security of the IBM Software Group for the Asean region, added that the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are among the countries that are just starting to implement IT governance.

Asked why there is lower adoption of IT governance in the country, Judan-Jiao replied: "We don't have a strong e-governance agency to implement compliance across all industry." But she quickly added that the Commission on Information and Communications Technology has started to put together guidelines to help local organizations comply with certain regulatory standards.

Rajnak, for his part, said that the Asian culture is a factor in the compliance of some companies.

"It takes time to change the regulatory culture," he added.

Asked if government readiness is another factor affecting adoption of IT governance in the country, Rajnak said that "generally, it is a factor."

IT governance and risk management will grow to a $30-billion global market by 2008, IBM said, citing the AMR Research's analyst report titled "Market Demand for Governance, Risk Management and Compliance 2007-2008.”