Converging IT with risk assessment?

Intelligence is often defined as the intellectual property of the mind. But in all honesty, no good can come of it if it just stays locked away, un-interrogated and unchallenged.

With IT knowledge traditionally viewed as a lesser core business skill by UK organisations, many companies are finding that intelligent management of day to day risk is flailing. From retailers monitoring physical security threats to financial institutions monitoring crucial transactions, all need an applied knowledge to proactively combat the risks involved. Businesses need to start recognising that applying IT can answer these risk management concerns.

Converging IT systems to manage risk is a relatively basic but obscured practice – one that is so simplistic it is often overlooked. A facilities manager or retailer may need to monitor a number of operations inside and outside their building, requiring a process that can identify risks and report on them as they happen. Areas that may require attention could include managing POS systems, CCTV networks and environmental monitoring systems. Another example might be pharmaceutical manufacturers, who operate under strict FDA compliance regulations and need to maintain environments that are used to manufacture drugs, vaccines.

By converging IT systems, a retailer can bolster its CCTV security system with intelligent IT management, enabling automated actions and alarms on suspicious or criminal activity. The pharmaceutical manufacturer has an intelligent way of keeping operating temperatures at the right level, complying with regulations through automated work flows and increasing security levels. Reducing typical risks and losses means more money to spend on improving other areas of security, or further efficiency improvements.

With the ever changing landscape of day to day operations, monitoring all activities at once is a huge advantage in prioritising daily activities. But without intelligence, companies can never handle risks proactively, efficiently or challenge their existing risk policies.