PricewaterhouseCoopers Launches IT Risk-Management Practice

PricewaterhouseCoopers said Monday it has launched an IT Business Risk Management practice aimed at sniffing out risks that occur when IT operations and business objectives are out of sync. The practice assesses a company's potential IT and business risks and compares them with similar companies and industry best practices.

Executives often view IT as ineffective in meeting business needs and are dissatisfied with return on IT investment. "Executives need a practical way of ensuring that the organization has the right IT resources, appropriately deployed to support the organization's goals," Mark Lutchen, lead partner for the new practice, said in a press release.

Companies need ways to improve IT investments, align business and IT, and develop a holistic approach to problem-solving, says Anna Danilenko, consulting services program manager at market research firm IDC. She adds that CIOs need to do a better job of managing their organizations "in a more fiscally intense and businesslike manner."