I am sure that you have heard about the COBIT 5 framework. So in this article, I will help you know about the Cobit 5 framework and things related to this.
So COBIT 5 was created for the management and governance of IT. First of all, let me tell you about Information technology governance. It is a sub-component of corporate governance.
Corporate governance includes various rules and regulations, processes, systems, and many other things in this, and these things are the base of how an organization is operated and regulated. All these things decide how an organization will work.
Information technology governance helps measure the performance of any organization in achieving its goals. It helps to ensure investments in IT strategy add value to the business.
Here I have explained what Information governance technology is and how it helps any organization work better.
Let’s take an example to understand the topic better. Suppose you run an organization. If you run a company, you will certainly make some plans and rules about how to run the company.
After implementing those plans, you want to analyze your organization’s performance.
Now think you don’t have to do these things for your company. Information technology governance will do all these things. It will make the rules and regulations. In addition to this, it will analyze the performance.
Let’s come to the main topic of this article, ” COBIT 5 framework.”
So, first of all, I will tell you what the COBIT framework is. This will help you to understand the COBIT 5 framework properly.
When we compare COBIT with other frameworks, we find that COBIT emphasizes risk management, security, and information governance.
Table of Contents
What is the COBIT framework?
COBIT framework refers to the authority objectives for information and related technologies framework.
It is designed keeping in mind if the framework seems natural to the organization and resonates with the stakeholders, it is only then implemented.
It is designed to develop, control and maintain risk and security for organizations throughout the world.
The main combat framework has been created to link business goals with information technology operations. It is done by providing certain information and maturity models that help integrate the responsibilities of the information technology and business aspects of an institution.
Two parameters are involved in the COBIT framework, which helps with the scope and operation of the COBIT framework.
The scope and operations are: • control objectives
- Information technology control objectives.
Now the first question that hits your mind is if there was a COBIT framework, why is the COBIT 5 framework introduced?
It was developed to overcome the shortcomings of the earlier COBIT versions.
How does the COBIT 5 framework help an organization?
Below are the points where COBIT 5 framework helps organizations:
- It helps to reduce the risk from information technology implementations.
- COBIT 5 addresses all levels of the information technology governance framework.
- This is built on the process models, which rationalize all other working processes.
- It improves and maintains high-quality information, which supports good business decisions.
Let’s take a real-life example. Suppose you are writing an article. You can only write a good article if you have high-quality information related to the topic you are writing on.
If you have high-quality information related to the topic, you can make sound decisions about how to write, the formatting of the article, and many more things. Now imagine you don’t have high-quality information regarding the topic.
How frustrating will that be? Will you be able to write the article in a proper format? Will you be able to make good decisions regarding what to add and what not to? No, right!!
The same things COBIT 5 does in an organization. It improves the quality of information and maintains it, which helps the organization to make good decisions.
- Make Use of information technology to achieve the goals of the business
Now suppose you have a business. Certainly, you will make some goals which you want to fulfill. For this, you will do a lot of things. Think how helpful those things will be to achieve your goal.
COBIT 5 does the same things for an organization. It uses information technology to help you in achieving your business goals. You don’t have to worry about how you can efficiently use information technology. COBIT 5 does this for you.
- It uses information technology to promote operational excellence. Operational excellence is creating tools and other things that help achieve goals and create a good environment within the organization.
Operation excellence is making rules and regulations.
COBIT 5 makes those rules and regulations that will help an institution promote operational excellence.
- Assure to manage of information technology risk effectively.
Let’s take an example to get a better understanding of this point. Suppose you have an institution and your institution works mainly in the technology sector.
What if someone hacks your data? What if they disclose your customers’ information? What if they don’t allow you to access your information?
What if they make significant changes in your system? You might not imagine these things because this can cause frustration and anger in you.
So let me tell you, COBIT 5 takes care of this. If anything unfortunate happens in your organization(only with your data, not with anything), it helps your organization manage that damage effectively. It reduces that risk.
- Organizations invest a huge amount of money in their information technology sector. It makes a company realize that value.
Sometimes what happens is we don’t value something; we don’t care how important it is. COBIT 5 deals with this thing. Does it make any organization realize the value of that investment and how important an information technology department is?
- It helps in achieving compliance with rules and regulations.
An organization needs to stick to its rules as this will help the customers trust the organization.
Suppose you are associated with an organization, and that organization had promised to give you a car. When you asked for the car, they denied you to give it. How angry will you be? Don’t have words?
This is why compliance with rules and regulations is necessary to run the company smoothly and efficiently.
- Enhancing the value of the organization’s final output to its end users.
Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you run a company that provides services to customers. Now you can think about how much your output matters to the users.
COBIT 5 framework helps the organization in this. It embraces the value of output the company is providing.
Now you might be curious to know about the component of the COBIT 5 framework.
So let me tell you about its components. It has five components.
- Framework: this organizes the information technology objectives and links them to the business requirements by ensuring good information technology practices.
- Process description: process description is the process that is followed during the implementation of plans.
- Control objectives: This provides a complete set of things that the organization should consider.
- Management guidelines: This measures the performance to explain the relationship between each process.
- Maturity models: this access each process’s capability and helps address gaps in the implementation of the plan.
These are the components that together make COBIT 5 framework efficient work.
Let me give you an example to understand how these components work.
Suppose you are a teacher. Then obviously, you have to explain every topic to students within a limited time. What do you do about that? Certainly, you will make some plans which suit your time.
After that, you will think about the process you will follow during the class. Then you will analyze if students understand the topic or not. If they are not, you will find some measures to explain the topic more clearly so that all students can understand that.
Now come to the topic. These all are the components of COBIT 5. A company makes plans and implements those plans. Analyze whether those plans are helping them to fulfill the goal or not.
All these things take place in a company that forms COBIT 5 framework. All these components are necessary to run your company without any problems in the information technology sector.
Objectives of COBIT 5 framework
There are two major types of objectives of the COBIT 5 framework: governance objectives and management objectives.
Let’s talk about the governance objectives first.
These include EDM
Evaluate: it means identifying the objectives that need to be achieved.
Direct: it includes decision-making.
Monitor: it includes compliance and performance made against objectives.
Now let’s come to management objectives.
This includes PBRM( plan, build, run and monitor.
APO( align, plan and organize): this includes organization, strategy, and supporting activities by information technology.
BAI( build, acquire and implement): this includes the definition, acquisition, and implementation of the solutions that the information technology department is facing.
DSS( deliver, service and support): It includes the operational delivery and support of information technology’s activities.
What are the areas where COBIT 5 framework can be put into use?
Following are the areas where you can put COBIT 5 framework in use:
- Global organization
- Associations and clubs
- Multinational businesses
- National and local governments
- Small and medium enterprises
- Charitable and non-profitable organizations.
What are the principles of the COBIT 5 Framework?
These principles can show the advantages of a framework that it brings to any organization. Following are the five principles:
- Meeting the needs of all stakeholders using a holistic approach.
It provides all required processes to support business value creation using information technology according to stakeholders’ needs.
- Covering the enterprises end to end.
It includes integrating an organization’s information technology governance into its governance.
- Ensuring a holistic approach is used to achieve goals.
It defines a set of enablers to support the implementation of comprehensive governance using a holistic approach.
- Separating governance from management.
It aligns the organization’s information technology with other relevant rules and regulations standards.
- Applying a single integrated framework is the fifth principle of the COBIT 5 framework.
COBIT 5 framework makes a clear difference between the governance and management of an organization. Both these do different types of activities.
What is the COBIT 5 framework goals cascade?
COBIT 5 framework goals cascade is the process used to translate stakeholders’ needs into enablers’ goals and information technology-related goals.
The COBIT 5 framework goals cascade has three major steps. The three steps are:
- Define
- Transform
- Translate
I hope this article will help you to understand COBIT 5 framework, its objectives, goals, and many other related things.
