COBIT was brought into existence by an international professional association (ISACA). COBIT stands for Control objective for information and related Technologies.It is known for providing a business framework for governance and management of IT. COBIT works with universally accepted practices, principles and analytical tools.
The previous version of COBIT 5 was COBIT 4.1, there were multiple reasons why the transition to COBIT 5 was essential as well as beneficial. Some of them being :-
- Need for all through scope of business
- Need to have tools, standards, practices being understood in a rational manner.
- Need for COBIT to be compatible with ISACA frameworks.
- Need for COBIT to be tightly bound by external standards and frameworks.
Along with all the benefits, COBIT 5 is also very inclusive and can be used for all kinds of businesses and enterprises, regardless of how big or small. If your business has a need to rely on technology based information or a need for quality, COBIT 5 has got you covered.
Now Let’s dive in and focus on the principles of COBIT 5 :-
COBIT 5 Principle 1 :- Accomplishing the demands of the stakeholders.
COBIT 5 makes it possible to achieve the needs of the stakeholders into a more practical and tangible strategy. This principle takes care of the negotiations and decision making about the multiple conflicting demands of the stakeholders. This makes sure that whenever benefits, losses, risk-assessment and resources are discussed, the needs of the stakeholders are kept in mind.
Cobit 5 Principle 2 :- Covering a whole project.
COBIT Certification has also made a move to address the IT security challenges which pose a great threat to business. It has proposed a model for information security management which includes all the processes used to manage information and technology. This end-to-end approach requires planning and organizational structure to ensure that the right resources are allocated to the right processes. The objective of this approach is to create a secure IT environment which is also compliant with regulations. The four main elements of this approach are as follows:
- The objective of security management is to create a secure IT environment which is also compliant with regulations.
- This approach recognizes that there is a need to manage all the processes used to manage information and technology.
iii. The enablers, which can individually or collectively decide what will work, decide the scope of the processes.
- Assigning roles, responsibilities, and activities
Cobit 5 Principle 3 :- Using a sole framework.
The never ending changes in technology and doubled pressure from consumers and suppliers forced sprintzeal organizations to manage and govern its data and similar technologies. COBIT 5 allows organizations to have a single integrated framework, making enterprise coverage and consistency available. Hence, Cobit 5 is a single framework that can retain its position due to:-
i It works as an unidirectional integrated source, even on non-technical grounds.
ii COBIT 5 makes sure to stay up-to date with relevant standards and frameworks like ITIL and ISO
iii COBIT is a superstructure in today’s time due to its alignment with management and governance activities.
Cobit 5 Principle 4 :- An Aggregated Outreach
We need to have a complete understanding of the organization. This includes the governance and management structures, during vital decision making. COBIT 5 ensures effective management and governance of IT across the organization with the help of “enablers”. Enablers are what run the outcomes of the activities like governance and management. Enablers can be applied across the entire organization, including all the internal and external resources relevant to the governance and management of IT.
The principles and policies are the guidelines which an individual follows in performing day-to-day activities of translating the required behavior into logical guidance. The processes are the applications required to achieve objectives which, in turn, produce outputs required to achieve IT-related goals. The structures in an organization are the decision making processes and procedures which guide and determine an individual’s behavior. The activities have been separated into the four main sections. This will enable you to tailor your answer to the instructions given and to the context in which the question is being asked.
Cobit 5 Principle 5 :- Keeping Governance and Management separate:-
It is clear that governance and management serve different requirements. They have different responsibilities and require different types of activities. They also require separate supportive organization structures. COBIT uses EDM (evaluate, direct and monitor) to govern and PBRM for management. PBRM stands for plan, build, run and monitor.
