Auditing firm Deloitte has done a survey on the maturity of information technology (IT) governance in Namibia.

"The survey results are quite encouraging and clearly indicate that IT governance in Namibia is implemented and managed relatively well. However, given that IT affects almost everything we do, it is critical to continuously enhance, develop and manage IT governance structures and processes," said Deloitte Namibia.

The survey was conducted and analysed by Jens Kock, Deloitte Partner in Risk Advisory and Benjamin An, Manager in Risk Advisory.

Key findings of the survey were that 89 percent of respondents indicated that at least one board member has basic IT skills. Only 46 percent of respondents indicated that the IT governance structure at their organisations address the aspect of value delivery.

Of the 96 percent respondents that have an IT strategy in place, 44 percent consider the IT strategy in their enterprise to be fully aligned, and 52 percent view it to be partially aligned to the business strategy. About 74 percent of respondents confirmed that their companies are "most of the time" getting the required return on IT spend in the form of increased efficiencies, customer satisfaction.

The results of the survey are meant to allow organisations in Namibia to better benchmark themselves against their peers and provide guidance in designing and implementing a suitable IT governance framework and procedures. The survey took place in April this year, done via e-mail invitation and a newspaper advertisement.

People working in business and IT were invited to participate in the electronic survey. Of the 26 people who were surveyed nationally, there were 23 responses received, resulting in a response rate of 88 percent.

Where IT is considered an integral part of business, formal policies and procedures should be established to manage IT related risks and enable IT investments to bring value to the business. "The days where substantial IT investments could be managed through informal means, as is currently the case in many organisations, are gone.

The approach to implement IT governance will be different from organisation to organisation, depending on the size and nature of their business operations, management structures, the level of integration of IT in the business, corporate culture and business processes.

Visible and demonstrated commitment and support of the board and senior management is all important to further improve IT governance.

As a starting point, Information technologies should be discussed by boards or their sub-committees - typically IT steering committees, on a regular basis.