IBM Adds Governance Services

ARMONK, N.Y. -- IBM (NYSE:IBM - News) today unveiled new technologies and services to target the growing IT governance and risk management market, which is expected to exceed $30 billion by 2008.*

As government and industry groups impose an increasing number of regulatory demands related to data privacy, security and business resilience, organizations are realizing that it is critical to effectively implement IT governance mandates, outlining IT performance objectives and implementing risk management strategies to limit the impact of security threats and improve business resilience.

IT governance and risk management is quickly rising to the top of the agenda for global business leaders. Recent IBM surveys reveal that 79 percent of CFOs indicated they will adopt governance structures to integrate information and deliver business insight within the next three years, while 64 percent of CIOs see security compliance and data protection as one of the most significant challenges facing IT organizations.

IBM's approach to helping clients mitigate risk and enable effective IT governance is aimed at starting with a client's most strategic IT initiatives and providing improved business alignment, visibility and control throughout the IT lifecycle. IBM's focus is on improving business performance and resilience by helping to optimize service management, business continuity and security.

IBM also has added several governance and risk management capabilities through recent acquisitions including Internet Security Systems, Consul, FileNet and Micromuse.