Does our supply chain include Russia? Should we be in the metaverse? Do we have a ransomware recovery plan? Even, should top managers have landlines? 2 years ago, some of these questions would be laughed out of meetings or boardrooms. However, these questions of risk, whether that be financial, operational or political, now occupy the headspace of business and technology leaders. Our interconnected and complex world has seen businesses begin to rethink risk and, more crucially, how to manage it. 

In particular, over the last two years, emphasis has been placed on rethinking how to mitigate and manage technology risk; with tech and business leaders feeling ill-equipped to tackle the level of technology risk found in modern technology infrastructure. It is, therefore, a crucial time to consider a new technology risk management paradigm. Below, I lay out the fundamentals of this new TRM approach and examine how adopting a new approach could benefit your organisation.

WHAT IS THE CASE FOR A NEW TECHNOLOGY RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH?

Technology risk management (TRM) has become a thankless task for organisations today. The dominant digital-first business model actively advocates for more distributed, complex and powerful technologies and data. Further complexity is introduced by hybrid working norms, supply chain challenges and incoming regulation. Meanwhile, a growth in cyber and ransomware attacks, which has impacted 75% of UK businesses, has bumped TRM up the priority list of C-level decision makers.

Despite these changes, approaches to TRM have remained static; leaning upon out-of-date and inaccurate manual approaches. It is this disparity, between the available TRM tools and the level of risk incurred by contemporary technology infrastructure, which ultimately hinders and endangers business decision making. To capture the value of emerging technologies and win over decision makers, technology and business leaders need a clearer, more comprehensive approach to technology risk management.

WHAT DOES THIS NEW PARADIGM LOOK LIKE?

Ultimately, this new TRM paradigm must make up for lost time to regain the trust of technology and business leaders and empower them to support better business decisions. This can be achieved through:

• Real Time Data

This new technology risk management system must benefit from utilising real time data, taking advantage of modern architecture and integrated platforms. The end result is an accurate and timely picture of technology risk that bridges the gap between technology risk assessment and business decision making.

• An Holistic Approach

The multi-faceted nature of technology risk, which might span across multiple departments, platforms and geographies, must be incorporated within any new paradigm. Broadening our definition and understanding of technology risk will allow organisations to better frame and communicate the value of their technology in business terms and, in turn, make more informed business decisions.

• Standardisation

Organisations without standardised TRM operating models receive inaccurate and inconsistent accounts of technology risk. In order to create a true, actionable picture of technology risk, this new paradigm must agree upon a set of scores and benchmarks for governance and oversight, policies and standards, management processes, risk metrics and risk culture.

HOW WILL A NEW TECHNOLOGY RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH BENEFIT ME?

It is clear that a new real time, holistic and standardised approach is the path forward technology risk management. But what does this look like for you? 

On Tuesday 26th April, between 18:00 and 20:45 at the Mercer Hotel in London, Nimbus Ninety and Tanium will be bringing together business and technology experts to discuss what this new paradigm might look like for their organisation. The roundtable discussion will explore:

• Current approaches to technology risk management and common challenges
• Exploring new and highly accurate ways to measure technology risks 
• Utilising data to drive a real-time view of risk levels 
• Gain a single view to understand the true business value of your technology

If you’re looking for myth-busting, real-world advice and success stories - this could be what you’re looking for.