– Ken Gabriel, Global Lead for ERP services at KPMG International (www.kpmg.com), says:
The government will surely implement a series of controls on stimulus spending. Companies, organizations and even state and local governments that share in the stimulus funds will need to maintain appropriate record-keeping. Transparency will become extremely important to provide insight as to how the money is spent and the need for companies to provide timely information will put more demands on technology to supply that information. That, in turn, will require the focus of the CIO in concert with operations.
When you consider the major government regulations, including HIPAA and Sarbox, what impact these regulations are having on enterprise data centers?
Many IT organizations feel the strain from anticipated demands for more detailed, timely information as a result of an expected rise in government oversight as well as a heightened regulatory environment. In the current economic environment, where many organizations are reducing their IT costs, there is a delicate balance to comply with the regulations and maintain a reasonable cost structure. With the reductions in IT staff, many companies have seen an increase in the number of control deficiencies in the past year.
What changes have these data centers had to put in place as a result of new regulations? What requirements are they being asked to meet?
With Sarbanes-Oxley, for example, IT organizations were challenged to help the operations and finance unit streamline a series of controls over financial reporting. Those that embedded their controls and utilized technology to help manage the process were able to streamline what previously may have been a complicated series of manual controls.
