In a recent press briefing by Bode Ayeku, President and Chairman of Council Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria said the companies that would survive in the next decade are the ones that are taking IT Governance and its centrality serious in modern business and in their planning of their strategy today. This position is also shared by Suleyman A. Ndanusa, respected governance professional and public administrator. According to them companies that survived and emerged intact from the pandemic are the ones that had in place a robust IT response and support system.
Today Zoom, Conference Call, Skyping and Virtual meetings have become part of our regular language because forward thinking corporate envisioned a possible scenario as what we having now and they put in place mechanism for an appropriate response. Today IT Governance has gained new prominence and poll position in corporate survival planning.
According to Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer at security management provider FireMon, essentially, IT governance provides a structure for aligning IT strategy with business strategy. By following a formal framework, organizations can produce measurable results toward achieving their strategies and goals. A formal program also takes stakeholders’ interests into account, as well as the needs of staff and the processes they follow. In the big picture, IT governance is therefore an integral part of overall enterprise governance need for corporate relevance.
The Pandemic has shown that a business could be totally crippled while some others that have thought of the worst-case scenario around the lock down and have in place mitigating strategies have continued business either in person or remotely. Many may not make profit but they would survive and what is needed by businesses today is survival, while re-positioning themselves for competitive relevance in the near future.
Alim Abubakre of Coventry University in the United Kingdom is of the view that companies must be strategic in the short term, businesses must focus on survival, but they should remember to be strategic for achieving the long-term goal. More specifically, reflect their conceptual credentials on the present realities and adopt policies that reflect a cut in revenue for the next 12 months, for instance, due to customers that go bust and, for example, the second wave of COVID-19.
Consider how they can mitigate the future effects of reduced revenues & lowered forecasts in the short term. Possible measures to help this would be redeploying their teams, and optimising IT facilities to enable home working arrangements for staff to avoid further losses. He said they should remember that it is a marathon and not a sprint, hence, they need to position their organisation for the future, adapting to the changes, looking for opportunities in a post-COVID-19 world and innovating for success while looking forward to the future with high optimism. In other words, if you want to remain relevant today realign your operations, put in place good IT structure and always think out of the box.
Finally, Rejigging Risk Management Credentials and Business Resilience cannot be ignored Amidst the COVID 19 Pandemic, one thing has come out clearly. Many businesses are fragile and unable to manage risk effectively. This is certainly a wakeup call for investment in business resilience and IT system places a key role here.
The focus of businesses should be not only on people but also on sound processes and ICT structures. Unlike ever before, re-building businesses resilience now is very vital. First, the business environment is changing fast. Second, the same operating environment is becoming unpredictable. Therefore, building a business that can absorb stress and thrive even in a challenging ecosystem is very vital to future survival and indeed business success.
Umogun works with Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria
