How Does Technology Affect the Work Environment Today?

1. As an IT governance leader passionate in driving sustainable business growth, how has technology helped you in streamlining your day-to-day tasks?

Thanks to technology we never run out of work. In addition to the technology for which we have to ensure governance, I of course use technology for my daily work. Technology and data have explicitly helped me prioritize and thus focus on the most important daily tasks to optimize my personal time management and increase productivity. Another important aspect is the fact that modern technologies positively impacting our daily collaboration and communication with colleagues and third parties by making it more flexible, quicker and efficient.  This ultimately enables the company to ensure optimal workplace productivity and profitability.

2. What according to you are some of the challenges plaguing the enterprise security landscape? What are some of the best technologies that business leaders should undertake in mitigating inert challenges?

The raising complexity, the grow in volume and unpresented pace of changes within the security risk landscape are one of the biggest challenges for the threat detection and to respond with resilient cybersecurity strategies. In order to face these challenges, one of the most important technology is an information security management system (ISMS) as a valuable centralized platform for managing the security risk landscape, providing a holistic view, respond with appropriate mitigations and bringing security risk attention to management. In addition, data should be accessible in order to operate a suitable control system. It is also important to operate a security monitoring system that alerts in a suitable manner when defined threshold values are exceeded.

3. How much time do you spend on being an operational leader versus a transformational leader when it comes to initiating and executing enterprise security strategies?

In my 2nd line of defense role, I don't actually work operationally. However, for a successful implementation of security strategies across the rapid changing digital world the leadership style inspire, motivate and encourage the team to drive the security vision is as much important as the extrinsic motivation for the performance of specific job tasks for a successful implementation of security strategies. Security should always be perceived as an enabler, not as a prohibitor or even as a police officer.  Finding the right balance is the game changer for a successful and accepted enterprise-wide security strategy.

“Security should always be perceived as an enabler, not as a prohibitor or even as a police officer.  Finding the right balance is the game changer for a successful and accepted enterprise-wide security strategy”

4. Can you discuss the latest initiative that you have been working on? What are some of the technological elements that you are leveraging to make the initiative successful?

We are expanding our information security management system (ISMS) providing a centralized platform for managing security risks, respond with mitigations and bringing an appropriate security risk attention across the organization. Work automation is used to increase the efficiency of repetitive processes and reducing the potential for human errors within the management of the security risks. In addition, we are continuously improving our IT and service lifecycle management process, especially with regard to data or technology risks.

5. As a thought-leader, what are some of the technology innovations that you would like to see implemented by other industry leaders to steer ahead in today’s tech-savvy world?

Real-Time data analysis. In our digital driven world, tons of valuable data are constantly collected, but companies are not able to empower the full potential of actionable insights and the focus on the most critical security risks prior the occurrence. Real-time data analysis and the potential of real-time data-driven business decisions are still underestimated.

6. As an ending note, could you give some advice for other industry veterans or budding entrepreneurs from the industry space?

Always challenge yourself how technology can help improving the organizational effectiveness and in the same time not endanger the security and resiliency of the company. As an example, it’s crucial that throughout the company employees are actively getting trained and being aware how technologies are securely being used without fearing the usage of modern technologies to further automate repetitive tasks, increase the collaboration or increase the productivity of business processes. The focus is always on the client, even when it comes to IT governance. So always ask yourself how you can help your colleagues and not what they are not allowed to do for regulatory reasons.