Automated controls are increasingly being used by organizations to manage the cost of compliance and reduce their business risk believes Turnkey Consulting.

Their latest survey reveals that 48% of organizations have some automated controls and plan to increase the number of controls they automate, while 15% of organizations do not currently have any automated controls but plan to invest in this area.

Turnkey’s research also outlined current technology trends and how they were viewed from a security perspective, with key findings as follows:

Mobile

• 48% of the organizations planning to invest in a strategy for mobile in the next 12 months are including investment in additional security in these plans
• 17% are not including investment in additional security in these plans
• Only 10% are not planning a mobile strategy.

Cloud computing

• 39% of organizations planning to invest in a strategy for cloud computing in the next 12 months include investment in additional security in these plans
• 13% are not including investment in additional security in these plans
• 22% are not planning a cloud computing strategy.

Big data

• 26% of organizations planning to invest in ‘big data’ technology such as SAP’s in-memory database technology, HANA, in the next 12 months include investment in additional security in these plans
• 7% are not including investment in additional security in these plans
• 31% are not planning to invest in big data technology.

Outsourcing

• 53% of companies outsourcing at least one element of their IT function or business processes proactively plan for and manage the IT security risk that goes with entrusting elements of the business to a third party
• 11% do not proactively plan for and manage the IT security risk
• 15% of respondents do not outsource.

“It is important that organizations include strategies to mitigate the risk introduced by new technologies,” says Richard Hunt, managing director of Turnkey Consulting. “The rapid pace of development can make this seem daunting, so it is encouraging to see from our research that many enterprises take the issue very seriously. In particular, the increasing use of automated controls is a significant step forward in terms of ensuring cost-effective compliance and reducing the risk of fraud.”