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An efficient IT department is a combination of top performing devices and systems, along with a team of specialists who have the expertise to drive company-wide operation and innovation forward.

What are the first steps in the review process?

Understanding the parts of your company’s IT operations that are comprised or underachieving is an essential aspect of the assessment process when reviewing departmental workings.

This should be implemented on both a smaller scale that examines the details of the elements that form your IT department, as well as bigger organisational decisions involving choices on strategy and leadership.

How to increase efficiency?

There is a general consensus among employees in the profession that efficiency is a key issue for many businesses, yet ways to combat this vary greatly across the corporate world. Some businesses have decided to allow workers greater freedom in their working styles, including the device on which they deliver their work. Others have created virtual working environments that create more possibilities for remote working and flexibility in location and time.

What is clear is that the desire to change wider IT workings is being felt across the business world, in both the public and private sectors.

What are the practical options to consider?

One way to begin this is with a simplified, streamlined team approach to IT departments, such as through a committee based model. While the group method may have caused some eyebrows to raise at its efficiency in the past, the improved understanding of what contributes to an effective team has increased the viability of this type of working. The appointed members and roles should be defined from a committee’s commencement to aid productivity, along with a chair who can lead and delegate as is necessary.

Reviewing your department’s measurement system is also a core aspect for instigating wider changes. Understanding the essential elements of metrics and the results the systems produce is key. A return to more traditional methods such as split testing and cohort analysis may allow for clearer insight as these focus on revenue and other defined output.

A more focused approach can also be taken when managing departmental projects, avoiding unnecessary complex systems and designs to oversee the project delivery on budget and to deadline.

What are the wider implications?

This type of integration should also be applied through a company, and that means ensuring your IT department are a part of and not an addition to the business. The strategy for IT should align somewhat with wider business goals, underpinned with a clear and solid structure of information and governance. Securing these is vital in not only creating a dynamic, successful team and improved finances, but for also improved protection against cyber attacks and other threats.

Ensuring that your company’s IT is maintained with a solid foundation of engaged and productive employees is crucial too. Developing staff with training and other incentives is a powerful way to retain your best employees and further develop those that need more guidance.

While workforce development reinforces the positivity that change can bring about, erring on the side of caution in other aspects of IT workings should be followed. An overly optimistic approach to projects, system delivery and other key aspects can lead to problems in the future. Instead, ensuring that plans are realistic and viable can be beneficial all-round.

If you believe that your organisation could derive better value from its IT functions, consider COBIT 5, Governance & Risk training courses, to aid the redesign of your company’s governance processes. The specialised knowledge gained from a focused, in-depth look at this important area of business practice can be beneficial for a range of senior professionals, and allows participants to begin the blueprint process.

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ISACA's information technology management framework Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) is widely regarded as the global standard when it comes to leading and governing enterprise IT.

Since its initial introduction in 1996, COBIT has gone through a number of iterations and releases. However, the current volume, COBIT 5, is an essential tool for anyone managing information systems and IT teams.

But what does COBIT 5 actually involve? Here is a brief summary of the five key principles highlighted in this framework. For more information and to become officially certified in this area, you may want to sign up for a COBIT 5 training course.

COBIT 5: The 5 key principles

According to ISACA, COBIT 5 helps businesses maximise IT value by "maintaining a balance between realising benefits and optimising risk levels and resource use".

In order to achieve this balance, COBIT 5 has outlined five principles. These principles are designed to be generic and versatile, meeting the needs of any business, regardless of size or unique IT requirements.

1. Meeting stakeholder needs

The first principle of COBIT 5, Meeting Stakeholder Needs, encompasses the idea that enterprises exist to create value for stakeholders – whatever that value may be. When making decisions regarding IT management and governance, organisations therefore need to consider which stakeholders stand to benefit from this decision, as well as who is taking on the majority of the risk.

2. Covering the enterprise end-to-end

Because COBIT 5 looks at governance and IT management decisions from an End-to-End enterprise perspective, organisations employing this framework make decisions that extend past the IT function, and instead treat IT as an asset that aligns with other processes.

3. Applying a Single, Integrated Framework

COBIT 5's single integrated framework allows it to be used as an overarching governance tool and management system that is relevant to other frameworks within the organisation.

4. Enabling a Holistic Approach

Holism – the concept of systems being viewed as a whole, as opposed to individual components – is a critical modern business strategy. COBIT 5 takes a holistic approach to IT management and governance, allowing for greater collaboration and achievement of common goals.

5. Separating Governance From Management

Finally, COBIT 5 emphasises the need to make a clear distinction between IT governance and management. This is important as ISACA believes the two components require separate organisational structures and different processes, as they each serve separate organisational purposes.

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 has now been in operation for nearly four months since its inception in March of this year.

The reforms introduced 13 core privacy principles, and the effective understanding and implementation of these is essential for any companies that holds personal information and confidential data about individuals.

Each of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) refer to a specific element of information security, including the storage and use of individuals' personal data. The principles have been derived during a 10 year process that began in 2004.

The changes to the laws also aim to integrate privacy within all stages of company operations, including incorporating privacy best practice into business functions as well as technology design.

Implementing and handling sensitive data should be at the forefront when designing IT systems for corporate use, and creating policies that effectively manage and deal with data breaches and other measures for security protection.

You can enhance your understanding of privacy law and other important components of IT security by undertaking information security training courses.

What are the benefits of security training?

Taking a confident managerial approach to potential security threats is an essential part in preventing your company from possible attacks. Building on knowledge and expertise gained in the real-life application of management roles can be aided with training.

Becoming CISM certified is an excellent way to improve your knowledge base and lead your department with an increased awareness of the planning, strategising and measuring necessary to implement and fulfil your company's security policies.

Identifying where possible risks could arise in your business operations and the best practice in implementing these, along with reporting on the changes and actions taken, are also topics the course covers.

Incorporating risk planning into trading procedures as well as complying with due diligence are both management requirements that should be continually assessed and enforced as part of wider security measures too.

Of the numerous information security training frameworks available today, SABSA (Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture) is one of the most beneficial.

As the world’s most sophisticated and widely implemented security architecture framework, developing a strong grasp of SABSA is a massive boost to any IT worker’s career – and not just for those in the security field. Gaining an accredited SABSA qualification can certainly boost your professional credentials and open up other career opportunities in future.

Within the top-to-bottom framework of SABSA, you’ll learn how to design, implement and manage security in a range of business models. People in a diverse range of IT roles can stand to benefit from a course – so what are some of the top learning outcomes on offer for specific individuals?

Security professionals
Obviously the main target audience for SABSA courses, this training will provide aspiring security experts with the fundamentals of the world’s leading open security architecture framework. It will equip these professionals with the skills they need to gain a greater understanding of the business and apply the most appropriate security measures.

Security professionals will learn how to collaborate with key business stakeholders, gain their support and really stamp their authority in determining the security needs of any business.

Enterprise architects

For more generalist enterprise architects, SABSA training allows them to explore a range of modelling techniques that can help them integrate security with any enterprise architecture.

Architects can obtain a greater understanding of the frameworks and standards involved in implementing security into their business’s system.

Compliance and governance professionals

In an era of increasingly tight and constantly shifting business regulations, the areas of audit and compliance are growing in focus.

Those in IT compliance and governance would do well to obtain a SABSA certification, which allow them to convey to stakeholders that IT, security and risk management are being taken care of in an appropriate manner.

There are many approaches to managing professional projects, and these can be further enhanced through undertaking IT project management training. The practical, hands-on application of real-life situations in a team atmosphere that the Scrum Master Certified course offers could be ideal for those looking to improve their professional knowledge and gain insight into the reality of managing projects.

1. The diverse attendees at these courses serve to enrich the learning experience, as each brings a wealth of experiences and insights from their respective roles to the process. Course participants are from both client and non-client facing roles, such as project managers, team leaders and IT managers.

2. The theoretical concepts of the course are taught with a primary focus on group exercises, role play and actual case studies. Using these real stimuli as a basis, the teaching of the core principles to be a Scrum Master are reinforced, aiding memory retention and understanding.

3. Certificated paperwork is also understood as a necessity, so although the focus of the course is on real experience of situations and projects in which Scrum can be implemented, an online exam complements the training at the end of the course.

4. The clear focus and direction of the two days is another asset to this type of training, as the specific angle of equipping course attendees with the expertise and skills to clear and implement project timelines and briefs right through until the proposed end of project. An additional bonus of the Scrum course is its ability to be useful and applicable to a range of project and organisation types, sizes and needs.

5. The rugby analogy of which Scrum takes its namesake is evident throughout the teachings, as well as the overall ethos of working as a team and separating aspects of the work into achievable sections that drive strategic goals.

Protecting your IT systems is no longer the sole responsibility of your company's CIO or similar C-level titled executives. In fact, many senior roles now stand to benefit from increased knowledge in this area.

The changes to ISO 27001 made in October 2013 replaced the pre-existing international standards in security – including the rules regarding online attacks, corporate governance and accident recovery. This framework is suitable for a wide variety of organisation types and sizes, from small startups to large multinationals, and covers businesses in both private and public sectors.

After completing the Overview course, and learning about subjects such as differentiating between terms like 'information' and 'information assets', along with considerable help in changing from the 2005 to 2013 standards, you can progress to the next level of the course that is available.

The Lead Implementer strand is an intensive five day practical course, ideal for those in an organisation who write security policies or who are responsible either wholly or in part for their everyday execution. The substantial topic area covered in this course would also be particularly relevant for those working in a project manager capacity alongside of an organisation, assisting in the implementation of IT security as part of a project.

Auditors could also stand to gain a significant amount from the implementer course, as it would allow for greater understanding of the processes involved when carrying out their own audits. As well as this, there is another specialist course of equal length, directed specifically at those on the auditing side.

At the end of the scheduled days, participants will have learnt about performing internal audits in line with international practices, and will have received an audit kit created by experienced professionals in the industry. Background frameworks, risk factors, procedures and documenting the audit process are all course components that are analysed in detail.

In summary, the ISO 27001 course is comprised of three elements of IT security training, that takes an individual to a general high-level knowledge base, allowing for branching out into specialisms to gain that extra expertise.

Good leaders and project managers need to be many things to many people – courageous enough to make strong decisions, empathetic enough to meet the needs of team members, and intelligent enough to achieve critical project outcomes.

Perhaps most importantly, project managers need to be flexible and agile, able to adapt their methodology and processes in order to respond to any issues as they arise.

This is a big part of the reason why the Agile project management methodology is becoming such a popular option for organisations looking to achieve better outcomes with critical projects and initiatives.

The basic theory behind Agile project management is simple. It involves taking an iterative approach, which means delivering a project in incremental components, encouraging continuous feedback along the way to refine and improve the process.

Agile is most often seen during the process of software development, in which cross-functioning teams collaborate through continuous planning and testing to develop the best possible solution.

However, the applications of the agile philosophy don’t end there. Australia’s Commonwealth Bank is one agency that is taking agile beyond the realm of software development and using it to generate a culture that learns from failure, rather than fears it.

In an interview with ITNews published June 19, Commonwealth Bank executive general manager of digital channels Lisa Frazier explained the philosophy behind agile.

“Agile is about empowering small ideas and debating big ideas. It’s about having no theory or philosophy except that a good idea can come from anywhere,” said Ms Frazier.

“Failure is going to happen. I have to go to the executive committee and talk about my failures. I survived, because they said they know we have to push the envelope. If we don’t learn to fail sensibly, we won’t innovate.”

If you think an agile approach to project management might benefit your organisation, consider investing in specialised training courses that can provide certification in this area.

Perhaps most importantly, project managers need to be flexible and agile, able to adapt their methodology and processes in order to respond to any issues as they arise.

Agile is most often seen during the process of software development, in which cross-functioning teams collaborate through continuous planning and testing to develop the best possible solution.

However, the applications of the agile philosophy don't end there. Australia's Commonwealth Bank is one agency that is taking agile beyond the realm of software development and using it to generate a culture that learns from failure, rather than fears it.

In an interview with ITNews published June 19, Commonwealth Bank executive general manager of digital channels Lisa Frazier explained the philosophy behind agile.

"Agile is about empowering small ideas and debating big ideas. It's about having no theory or philosophy except that a good idea can come from anywhere," said Ms Frazier.

"Failure is going to happen. I have to go to the executive committee and talk about my failures. I survived, because they said they know we have to push the envelope. If we don't learn to fail sensibly, we won't innovate."

If you think an agile approach to project management might benefit your organisation, consider investing in specialised training courses that can provide certification in this area.

Maintaining cyber security and protecting confidential data within your organisation requires a two-pronged strategy of both education and awareness.

Not only do you need to ensure that the right people have undertaken comprehensive IT security training, but you also need to stay abreast of the latest technologies and developments that can assist in this area.

This month, research firm Gartner has released a new list of the 10 key technologies likely to drive improvements in information security over the remainder of 2014.

The list includes Cloud Access Security Brokers – specialised "enforcement points" based either on-premise or in the cloud, that serve to interject and enforce security policies before users are permitted to access cloud-based resources.

Unsurprisingly, Big Data and the Internet of Things were both hot-button talking points on Gartner's list.

According to Gartner, businesses will continue to make greater use of the information resources available to them, investing in Big Data Security Analytics in order to determine patterns of activity and quickly detect when activity is outside the norm.

At the same time, with the Internet of Things growing in prominence, businesses are expected to invest in automating their enterprise assets using operational technology systems.

According to Gartner Fellow and Vice President Neil MacDonald, cyber security attacks continue to increase in both frequency and sophistication, despite significant investment in this area.

"Advanced targeted attacks and security vulnerabilities in software only add to the headaches brought by the disruptiveness of the Nexus of Forces, which brings mobile, cloud, social and big data together to deliver new business opportunities," said Mr MacDonald.

"With the opportunities of the Nexus come risks. Security and risk leaders need to fully engage with the latest technology trends if they are to define, achieve and maintain effective security and risk management programs that simultaneously enable business opportunities and manage risk."

In today’s fast-paced world, neither consumers nor professionals have any patience for technical faults which may prevent them from completing important tasks.

Technology is expected to work, and when it doesn’t, users are left feeling frustrated, disappointed and unproductive. That’s why it’s important that your organisation has a comprehensive system in place for minimising service disruption.

As one of, if not the most popular IT service management frameworks in the world today, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the natural choice for businesses looking to improve in this area.

ITIL’s incident management and problem management processes are designed to ensure that any disruption to critical services are remedied as quickly as possible.

Not only that, but ITIL also takes a forward thinking approach to incident response, providing your organisation with the processes and strategies required to conduct fast and effective incident reviews post-disruption.

By investigating and addressing the root cause of a service disruption as quickly as possible, your organisation can work to prevent future problems of this nature from occurring.

The benefits of taking such action are numerous. Not only will you be improving customer experience and building stronger relationships with your key clients, but you’ll also be saving time, money and energy by ensuring problems are dealt with in an effective and productive manner.

ITIL is widely regarded within the information technology industry, largely for the fact that it is not organisation specific, and can be customised and tailored to the unique needs of your business.

There are currently ITIL training courses running in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, so if you are ready to improve incident response and minimise service disruption in your organisation, considering getting in touch with ALC Training today.

Empowered and confident employees are more satisfied, more productive and more valuable than other, non-empowered employees.

This is according to a new study from Tel Aviv University, which may be food for thought for employers considering investing in further training and education for their workforce.

The report – published in the journal Psychological Science – revealed that employees who feel powerful and in control at work are 26 per cent more satisfied as a result, when compared to co-workers who feel powerless.

This greater level of satisfaction results in improved performance and a greater sense of wellbeing, both significantly beneficial factors for the company as a whole.

Dr Ron Cacioppe, managing director of Perth leadership and management consultancy firm Integral Development, says that successful organisations are those which provide employees with the opportunity to "succeed at their own merits".

"Empowering every employee and allowing them to fulfil their greatest potential should be the goal of every organisation. The business world is too competitive to waste resources; every employee from entry-level to CEO is a valuable resource," said Mr Cacioppe.

Empowering your employees through training

Empowering your employees is no easy feat. It requires careful consideration and planning, in order to ensure that workers are not given more freedom and responsibility than they are equipped to handle.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to empower your workforce is by providing them with training in critical fields that are relevant to their industry.

For example, if your organisation employs the ITIL management framework or the COBIT governance framework, then providing staff with thorough and in-depth training in these platforms could allow them to reach a greater level of autonomy and satisfaction.

As a result, your organisation will be more productive and effective, with employees empowered to tackle day-to-day tasks in a manner that aligns with both their professional goals and the wider goals of the business.

As the world's leading framework for enterprise IT governance and management, ISACA's COBIT 5 represents a crucial investment for any business today.

With a comprehensive and rigorous syllabus, COBIT 5 training courses are essential for companies looking to make the most of the framework and use it to deliver the best outcomes possible for their organisational IT. However, with such a broad sweep of areas they cover, in which business aspects can COBIT 5 improve best practice?

Here we look at the main applications of COBIT 5 and how they provide reassurance across the entirety of your IT architecture.

Information security

The perennial rise of cyber attacks and related threats means information security is a top priority for any IT business leader.

COBIT 5 for Information Security is geared toward providing IT professionals, and other relevant stakeholders, the knowledge and expertise with which they can implement best practices in information security management. The course teaches users how to develop and maintain an information security program, and also how to manage an Information Security Management System (ISMS).

As with other COBIT 5 courses, there is a strong focus on continuous improvement, meaning you'll learn how to ensure your information security systems are always up to date.

Risk

While malicious cyber attacks are the main cause of concern for IT security professionals, there are a host of other IT risks that can wreak havoc on a business. COBIT 5 for Risk addresses this gap, ensuring businesses adopt an all-encompassing risk culture that covers all technological threats, not just those relating to security.

With this course, candidates can develop the skills and insights needed to implement, manage and improve an IT Risk Management program.

Assurance

A solid IT assurance program can help organisations of any size leverage their information and technology in the best way possible, instantly identifying risks and opportunities as they arise.

COBIT 5 for Assurance helps businesses leverage their COBIT 5 framework in the performance of a range of assurance tasks, such as planning and conducting reviews and developing an assurance roadmap. It is an incredibly valuable course to take, whether or not your organisation has already implemented COBIT 5.

How to deliver better value from your IT department

The 5 key principles of COBIT 5

Understanding and applying The Privacy Act across your company

Why you need to take a SABSA course

5 benefits of the Scrum Master Certified course

International information security practices: How to ensure you stay up to date

The benefits of an Agile project management methodology

The benefits of an Agile project management methodology

Gartner identifies future information security technologies

Minimising service disruption with ITIL

Boosting productivity through employee empowerment

The many applications of COBIT 5

Keep your career moving forward