1st Edition
Digital Governance Leading and Thriving in a World of Fast-Changing Technologies
Digital Governance provides managers with a simple and jargon-free introduction to the impact that digital technology can have on the governance of their organisations. Digital technology is at the heart of any enterprise today, changing business processes and the way we work. But this technology is often used inefficiently, riskily or inappropriately. Worse perhaps, many organisational leaders fail to grasp the opportunities it offers and thus fail to "transform" their organisations through the use of technology.
This book provides an explanation of the basic issues around the opportunities and risks associated with digital technology. It describes the role that digital technology can play across organisations (and not just behind the locked doors of the IT department), giving boards and top management the insight to develop strategies for investing in and exploiting digital technology as well as arming them with the knowledge required to ask the right questions of specialists and to detect when the answers given are evasive or irrelevant.
International in its scope, this essential book covers the fundamental principles of digital governance such as leadership, capability, accountability for value creation and transparency of reporting, integrity and ethical behaviour.
Author biographies
Chapter 1. Introducing digital governance
Summary, A digital governance manifesto, The scope of digital governance, The role of the governing body, About this book, References
Chapter 2. Digital governance strategy
Summary, A strategy for digital technology, A pragmatic approach to digital governance, Achieving good governance, Strategic governance principles, Delivering strategic change.
Chapter 3. Managing rapid change in a digital world
Summary, The digital opportunity, The pace of change, Getting started, Getting digitisation right, Projects or programmes? References
Chapter 4. Digitising internal operations
Summary, Understanding digitisation, Making the case for process digitisation, Issues with digitisation, References
Chapter 5. Transforming products and services
Summary, Models of digital transformation, Digitally enhanced products, Digitised products, New business models, Reference
Chapter 6. Digital marketing and sales
Summary, Understanding consumers, Talking to consumers, Governance of marketing assets, Making the sale, Finding the right people, Reference
Chapter 7. Thinking digital in mergers, acquisitions and venturing
Summary, Acquiring services rather than organisations, Assessing the fit, Making it happen, The deal is done, so now what? Reference
Chapter 8. Digital technology in accounting and financial management
Summary, The problem, The opportunity, Getting it right (and wrong), Reference
Chapter 9. Human resources in a digital age
Summary, Recruitment, The "employer brand", Managing workers, Enhancing the human, References
Chapter 10. Assuring digital compliance
Summary, Why care about compliance? Sources of compliance obligations, Becoming compliant, The role of standards, Emerging compliance obligations, Rationalisation of compliance, References
Chapter 11. Information and cyber security
Summary, What is all this fuss about? Cyber risk management, Layered protection: people, process and technology, Protection through people, Protection through process, Protection through technology, Role of the board in security, References
Chapter 12. Delivering digital privacy
Summary, Privacy: an urgent priority, Privacy compliance, Getting it right, Employers’ vicarious liability, Embedding privacy and minimising risk, References
Chapter 13. Think digital resilience
Summary, A grandiose name for business continuity? Resilience challenges, Reference
Chapter 14. Emerging digital technologies
Summary, Big Data, Robotic process automation and autonomous systems, Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, Wearables, 3D printing, Distributed ledgers and blockchain, Virtual reality and augmented reality, Implants and brain-computer interfaces, Is all this just snake oil?
Digital governance glossary
Index
Biography
Jeremy Swinfen Green MA, MBA, CMC, FIC has spent over 25 years advising organisations about digital technology and "human factors" – how people interact with technology. He has degrees from the University of Oxford and CASS Business School. He has also written Cyber Security: An Introduction for Non-Technical Managers (2015).
Stephen Daniels FMS, FIOR, FBCS, CITP has spent 35 years in digital governance, risk management, security, privacy, resilience and compliance. Whilst consulting to major organisations from BA to NATO, he has also authored over a dozen British and International standards in these disciplines.
"Boards have long needed a straight-forward guide on how to execute their vital Digital Governance responsibilities. This is that guide." - Mario Kempton, Vice President and CISO, UK & Australia, CGI Inc.
"This refreshing read is a useful tour through a key topic for today. ..... It is a long way from the dry formal texts on governance and it does an outstanding job of avoiding the unhelpful hyperbole and jargon. ...... This book provides a common-sense starting point for non-expert directors who need to address real-world technology. ......Indeed, it is a handy and readable introduction for anyone involved in the governance of enterprises." - Roger Lines PMIIA CIA CRMA CISA CRISC, Canberra, Australia
"This book is a seminal guide to this subject, from experts in the field, and a masterpiece of simplicity and clarity, that avoids the jargon which cloud the messages delivered by so many CIOs, CTOs and CISOs to their Boards." - Peadar Duffy, Member of the Irish National Standards Organisation's Governance and Risk Management Committees & Founder Director of SoluxR - Enhancing Strategy Execution.
"Over the last few years, it has become obvious that there is a gap in the knowledge and wisdom of Boards in respect of digital technology. This new book on digital governance bridges that gap, delivering a highly informative, easy read for top management to use in its vital role of digital governance. In addition, the principles and good practice it defines can be used as a general guide to other governance issues also by other levels of the organisation in strategy, implementation and support of digital technology. I strongly recommend this book both to governing bodies and to technology leaders alike. Congratulations to both Jeremy and Steve on providing this much needed work of wisdom." - Michael J Faber, Founding Chair of the BSI Committee responsible for developing the first British standard in Board-level Governance
