[Infrastructure Strategies 2006 is a survey done by IMRB for Network Magazine to analyse trends on IT spending across the country. The sample size covered was 600 IT - Heads across the country]
To internalise corporate governance and adhere to regulations, Indian organisations are turning to IT audits.
Along with IT audits, the trend of measuring RoI has become as crucial. 58 percent of organisations are conducting audits. Among those who do, BFSI (84 percent) leads followed by IT/ITeS (71 percent) and FMCG/consumer durables (68 percent).

Though IT audits are increasing, organisations favour internal audits over those conducted by third parties. Of those who conduct audits, 41 percent prefer internal audits, 28 percent have self-conducted audits whereas just 31 percent go in for third-party audits.

Audits go beyond security and compliance to look at IT processes in an organisation. Many Indian companies are a part of the global business network of MNCs and have to follow certain processes.
The maximum number of external audits are held by BFSI (56 percent), government/PSU (50 percent) and manufacturing (36 percent).

Among the self-conducted audits, verticals that lead are chemicals/pharma (48 percent), IT/ITeS (41 percent) and services (43 percent).

It is not just the activity, the frequency of conducting them is equally important. 56 percent of the respondents conduct audits annually, 24 percent bi-annually whereas 13 percent do it as and when they perceive the need for it. The maximum number of annual audits is in the BFSI sector (64 percent), while IT/ITeS (44 percent) leads the bi-annual frequency list.

Involvement in IT initiatives
The IS survey shows that involvement of IT users in taking an IT initiative is highest during planning (63 percent) and initiation/authorisation (61 percent) than when it comes to executing (47 percent) or controlling/monitoring progress.
Manufacturing with 64 percent of respondents leads when it comes to involvement of IT users at the initial stage, whereas 61 percent among the IT/ITeS are involved right up to the time of execution.

According to the survey, the involvement of unit heads/managers in an IT initiative is maximum at the planning (65 percent) stage, followed by initiation (54 percent), execution (45 percent), measuring progress (30 percent) and assessment post-completion (31 percent). The role of the unit head in a particular initiative is still limited with just 31 percent agreeing to be involved till the completion period.

Measuring success
When it comes to measuring the success of IT investment the parameters that lead are reduced cost (55 percent), project completion on time (50 percent), customer satisfaction/value and decreased process cycle (32 percent).
Among those who consider cost as a factor, IT/ITeS had maximum replies with 68 percent followed by telecom (62 percent) and government/PSU (56 percent). Decreased process cycle as a criterion is most appreciated among the government/PSU (50 percent) and BFSI (37 percent). Whereas, for BFSI (63 percent), project completion on time matters the most.

However, 63 percent of respondents agree that incidence of time/budget overrun in IT projects is common with government/PSU (81 percent) and IT/ITeS (71 percent).
The survey also looked into the frequency of IT project overruns. While 41 percent stated that this happens once in a while, 28 percent found it to be a frequent occurrence and 24 percent said that it happens rarely.

Who's involved
The CEO in many organisations is still the one measuring IT performance. The survey shows that 57 percent of respondents say that the CEO is the final authority in measuring IT performance, whereas 52 percent consider CIO to be the deciding authority. Functional heads (35 percent), CFO (34 percent) and Board of Directors (21 percent) are the other decision-makers in that order. Among verticals, CEO leads in BFSI (63 percent), the CIO is an important authority in government/PSUs (69 percent).

Recommendations Compliance and audits should go hand-in-hand. Hence, if you are complying with a regulation, audits is the next step.
It is important that you have a balance between external and internal audits.
Quarterly or half-yearly audits are a must.
When deciding on any new IT initiatives, invest in understanding user requirements.
Time and budget overruns are normal; the best way to deal with this is by having a contingency plan.

Experience, the Best Teacher

"Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand." This oft-repeated quote of Confucius is perhaps the best analogy of experiential learning, which has become an indispensable part of the training calendars in many IT and ITeS organisations.
Most HR experts acknowledge the effectiveness of these interactive, engaging, and focused training sessions outside the typical environs of a classroom. This has also led to the mushrooming of a new breed of corporate trainers-experiential training providers. Combining management strategies of team building, leadership skills and conflict management with activities such as role plays and adventure sports, experiential learning is all about reliving experiences in a simulated atmosphere that teach many lessons for personal and professional development.
The significance of experiential learning in the corporate training scenario is now an acknowledged fact