Increase in IT Audits as Potentially Positive Economic Indicator

As an accompanying trend to current economic conditions, ITC has reported a significant increase in the number of IT audits requested by clients of its Software Solutions Group. The company sees this activity as an indicator of a potential economic rebound, along with an associated movement of CIOs reporting to CFOs. 

We have seen a substantial increase in requests for IT audits this year. As the economy shows signs of recovery, companies are starting to rebuild their IT resources after a series of cutbacks. As IT departments emphasize IT for business results, not IT for the sake of IT, CFO's and other corporate managers are looking to optimize their IT investments. And they are seeking validation from an independent third party that their IT operations are functioning optimally before they give a blank check to their IT department. 

Traditionally, IT audits have focused on priorities of security and compliance. However, ITC has seen those audits expand to address additional aspects including the technology innovation process, enterprise architecture and development, the budgeting and management process, applications and systems, infrastructure, and networks. 

The ITC audit process begins with a planning phase that includes a thorough understanding of audit goals and objectives. This process involves interviews as well as hands-on review and validation of information gathered. In contrast with typically template-driven audit reports, ITC's approach is designed to culminate in practical recommendations that are actionable and quantifiable. 

A recent ITC IT audit for a mortgage company concentrated on budget and process efficiencies, with a savings of 25% achieved. An audit in the healthcare sector looked at enterprise IT architecture and development along with IT Infrastructure, network and security. The result was consolidation of disparate IT teams and networks, saving more than 38% of IT costs and improving both quality and SLA. Other audits have focused on the technology innovation process for applications and systems, leading to formulation of an overall enterprise IT strategy.