The final of three reports from Grant Thornton’s Digital Transformation survey, which gathered insights from more than 550 cross-functional senior executives across industries, revealed that embedding cybersecurity, resilience, and real-time compliance into technology strategies can help organizations stay agile and innovate.
According to the data from the final installment of the survey, the positive impact of compliance and resilience isn’t lost on business leaders. When respondents were asked to rank the top priorities for their organizations’ technology enhancements, 57% chose cybersecurity and risk management as one of their top three technology objectives.
“Compliance and resilience don’t reduce agility,” said Ethan Rojhani, a partner in the Risk Advisory practice for Grant Thornton Advisors LLC. “They increase agility because they enable people to understand their bounds and parameters, so they make the most effective use of their time and resources.”
The third installment shares respondents’ approach to technology and the role it plays with compliance and resilience
- 57% of executives chose cybersecurity and risk management as a top technology objective
- 60% noted GRC (governance, risk and compliance) tools and processes as a top tactic for mitigating risks
- 68% named cybersecurity as a top-five technology investment
- 53% rank data privacy compliance as a top cybersecurity concern
Striking the right balance between governance and innovation
The survey also found that 60% of executives identified governance, risk and compliance (GRC) tools and processes as a top three tactic for mitigating technology risks.
Controls that are redundant or too strict can stifle creativity and productivity. At the same time, experimentation without proper restraint can unleash risks that can put an organization in jeopardy. With each technology implementation, it’s important to strike the right balance between governance and innovation.
According to Johnny Lee, a partner in the Risk Advisory practice for Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, the proper balance lies in developing guardrails for technology transformations, which protect the organization from intellectual property infringement claims, preserve confidential data and ensure the quality of products and services — as well as the customer experience.
“That’s what unfolds for every technology transformation,” said Lee. “Don’t ruin the business model. Don’t send confidential information where it shouldn’t go. And once you’ve built the walled garden and the sandbox is safe, foster and encourage experimentation to challenge the status quo. Later, we can have a conversation about ROI, once we know what is reasonable and meaningful to measure.”
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