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A very interesting read from Deloitte. The underlying theme is that the acceleration of disruption is occurring in all aspects of business, technology and products, HR, business models, compliance, activism, cybercrimes. To react to these disruptions and keep companies relevant, the board must ensure that innovation is also accelerating and that a culture of innovation is prevalent across the company
http://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/audit/articles/directors-alert-2016.html
I am proud to be part of the ITAC Women on Board registry, Canada’s first registry profiling 33 Board-ready, Technology experienced women who are qualified and interested in board of directors appointment. This will help Canadian companies find experienced, technology-savvy corporate directors to foster diversity on their boards
http://itac.ca/blog/itac-women-on-boards-registry-a-solution-to-lack-of-ict-board-diversity/
A great follow-up read on the type of CIO boards are looking for. CIO that can really become part of the C-suite, much closer to the business and strategy and that can drive digital transformation. In order to do so, they have to be able to run a cost effective, efficient IT-operation, drive down overhead spending in IT and across the business and make their operations more agile. Does this sound just like the job description of any top manager?
http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2016/04/28/how-cios-can-set-a-digital-mandate/
Forbes insight research points out that in five years 42% of companies CIO will spend more than 50% of their time on digital transformation (the evolution to cloud, data analytics, social and mobile capabilities) as opposed to developing digital capabilities in response to request from other departments or running traditional IT department.
I am looking forward to speaking on the Director panel during the Canadian Board Diversity Council Montreal Get on Board Series on June 6th 2016
https://www.boarddiversity.ca/en/series
A good read to start understanding how the IoT works, why it is so complex and how its security is an essential element of your corporate strategy. The IoT is a system-of-systems. The architecting of these systems is complex and include edge devices, applications, transports, protocols, and analytics capabilities. This complexity introduces challenges related to keeping the IoT secure and managing the cyber-risks associated with it.
https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/content/5384-how-secure-internet-things-iot.html
An interesting article on trends for IoT that describes the technology development that will make the IoT even more pervasive in 2016: blockchain, API, cognitive computing. Board of directors need to stay informed about IoT because of its potential to affect strategic objectives.
http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/blog/top-internet-things-trends-2016
A very relevant article on ransomware proposed by James Gatto, that will help raise awareness of Corporate Directors on cybersecurity. The defensive measures presented are fairly basic and will help protect against a wide spectrum of threats, but unfortunately are not that widely deployed in companies.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/be-alert-ransomware-attacks-on-the-rise-36287/
An in-depth article arguing the case for adopting an approach to board oversight of cyber risks similar to financial risks: a cybersecurity committee, an independent cybersecurity auditor and cybersecurity expertise and knowledge on the board. It also contains a good summary of various cybersecurity legislation in the US, relevant for Canadian businesses that work across the border.
This in-depth article explains why smaller companies are under as much risks of cyber-attack as large, well established ones: the value of the disruptive technologies they are developing, the fact that they are networked to larger firms through supply chain software, that they use cloud technologies to lower costs and that employees use their own devices at work. Board of directors of these companies cannot just accept the risks and should look for the company to adopt a balanced approach toward security, which is part prevention, part detection and part response.
Cyber insurance will become the norm for organisation in 2016 and it will force organisations to have better cybersecurity practices to ensure risks are at an acceptable level. Security requirements from insurers will be very significant and will drive improvements in cyber risk management, which is good news for most boards as it will increase maturity and drive the organisation toward cyber-resiliency
Board of directors will have to increase their monitoring of cyber-security in 2016 and include cloud protection in their questioning. This articles warns that companies will have to implement the same kind of security control into its cloud environment that it has for enterprise IT. It also projects that the increasingly complex nature of cybersecurity defense will lead to many organizations looking for security-as-a-service from their cloud and bandwidth suppliers.
http://www.inforisktoday.in/interviews/2016-year-hackers-exploit-cloud-i-3023
I strongly believe that networking is a duty for all directors and is part of the steps required to stay on top of governance oversight. In that spirit, I will be presenting at a round table event by Women Get on Board in Toronto on February 18th on the topic of how to promote yourself online. Do not hesitate to come and meet me or reach out to me.
I attended last week the Deloitte Technology-Media-Telecommunication predictions breakfast and once again it was an outstanding opportunity to reflect on upcoming trends that will affect consumers, businesses and business models. I want to congratulate Duncan Stewart for his leadership and his dynamism through this presentation. I advise Corporate Directors to attend these types of events, that help stay current in technologies and look ahead of the curve to support their strategic planning duties. Or read the report. To be noted in these predictions:
The PC still has its place in the life of the new generation and is here to stay
Mobile gaming is not so lucrative
TV viewing erosion is slower than expected
Gigabit internet will surge
More and more people do not have a regular phone and 26% of smartphone users do not make regular calls with their phones
Artificial Intelligence is used efficiently in enterprise software
Women are needed to meet the needs of IT jobs, yet fewer that 25% of IT related jobs are occupied by a woman
http://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-predictions-2015.html
I attended last week #TMTPredictions. Corporate Directors should attend or read to stay current in technology trends in support of strategic planning #corpgov #risks http://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-predictions-2015.html
© Josée Morin, 2020
