Why an Information Technology Audit Is More Important Than You Probably Think

Being able to leverage the full power of modern technology is critical to the success of any business, but it's also a far more proactive affair than a lot of people realise.

Building the perfect IT infrastructure isn't something that you do once and forget about. Technology, like your business, is constantly changing and evolving. It's disrupting itself every single day in the best possible way, but you need to work hard to keep up or you'll one day find yourself left behind.

This, in essence, is why conducting regular information technology audit is far more important than you realise. It does more than just give you a chance to see into the inner workings of your current tech state. It brings with it a host of unique advantages and opportunities that are far too large to ignore. 

IT Audit: What’s Working vs What Isn’t  

One of the biggest reasons why an internal IT audit is so critical is because it allows you to take a cold, calculated look at not only your current IT infrastructure, but also those elements against the context of your larger IT roadmap. You do so in a way that is objective as possible. Your findings are not skewed, biased, or subject to something like emotion that will only get in the way.

Here are the facts, as they exist today. Here is what is working, here is what isn't. Here is what we need to do better. These are the types of findings that are essential in terms of not only getting a better idea of where your technology stands today, but to also make sure that it is as closely aligned with your larger business strategy as possible.

IT Audit: Risk Assessment

Along the same lines, an information technology audit is a very important step to take because it helps to guarantee your current systems' reliability and performance across the board. Basically, you don't have to think or assume that everything is performing as it should be — you'll know beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Powernet provides managed IT services to help you dramatically reduce IT risk and prevent downtime — something that can lead to average per-minute costs of $5,600 in some industries (and can even run as high as $300,000 per hour).

An internal IT audit can give you a chance to not only fix small problems now before they have a chance to become much bigger ones down the road, but it can also allow you to recognise when the conditions are right for potential issues so that you can take steps to avoid them altogether. This in and of itself can result in a significant amount of cost savings in most situations. 

IT Audit: A More Proactive Approach to Security

Equally important is the way an IT audit can help you better address your infrastructure's security — meaning that you get to see whether or not your security efforts are adequate in the first place.

Not only does this help to guarantee confidentiality at all times, but it also helps greatly reduce the risk of data tampering, leakage and other types of issues.

Remember that we're living in an age where the average cost of a single lost or stolen record comes in at around $141. The average cost of a data breach in general from a global perspective is $3.62 million. An internal IT audit can help you avoid these types of costly issues altogether.

IT Audit: A More Organic Approach to Compliance

But for many, the most important reason why an internal IT audit needs to become a part of your larger IT strategy has to do with one absolutely pivotal word: compliance.

Depending on the industry that you're operating in, you likely have a lot of laws and protocols governing data security that you need to follow. Those laws are also, sadly, changing all the time, which can make keeping up with them a very intensive effort.

In Australia, for example, new data breach notification laws officially went into effect in February of 2018 that impact ALL data breaches that are likely to result in serious harm. A failure to comply with these new laws could result in a massive number of fines totaling up to $2.1 million in a worst case scenario. 

An internal technology audit forces you to stay up to date on these types of rules and regulations changes. It forces you to take the proactive approach to compliance and regulation that the situation itself demands in the modern era. Remember that ignorance of the law is not an excuse that has ever worked in a court.

Powernet: Because Your Technology is Too Important to Leave to Chance

At Powernet, we pride ourselves on our ability to act as more than just another MSP — we want to be a true partner in your own success in any way that we can. From providing you with the tools you need to create a better IT strategy like cloud services to assisting with an internal IT audit to everything in between, we're prepared to leverage the full power of our experience to your advantage effective immediately.

If you'd like to find out more information about why an information technology audit is far more important than you probably think it is, or if you have any additional questions that you'd like to see answered, contact Powernet today.