On the surface of it, it seems like IT Governance is a lot of trouble for no tangible return. Yet, if we really take the time to think about it, a business runs on information. The decision-makers in the company rely on the data collected, and the information generated by the information systems to make their decisions. An information system that delivers timely and accurate information is an invaluable asset to any company.
And yet, how many companies really have a proper IT policy? Many companies think an information system is a sort of “fire and forget” system — that it can be installed and then left alone to work. Like all systems, however, it will suffer from decay over time. Software becomes obsolete, hardware ages and suffers from wear and tear, and even processes become old and inefficient as new (and more efficient) ways of doing things are discovered. Proper processes need to be in place to ensure that obsolete software is properly disposed of, and hardware stripped and securely disposed.