Building Enterprisewide Alliances

Abstract

In my column in the Spring 1992 issue of Information Systems Security, I made a case for integrating the security, quality, and continuity functions. This was less a call for creating a unified organization than for building alliances among independent but related programs. The importance of building alliances with such areas as systems development and change management is already well recognized. However, other areas of cooperation need to be reexamined. This column looks at ways to redefine key roles in data administration, network and communications management, and quality management. These areas can benefit from increased cooperation with the security function; in turn, they can provide muchneeded resources for information protection. Why should we be concerned with building such alliances? To answer that, consider for a moment the challenges facing security managers and practitioners. For most, as enterprises have grown, the responsibility for security has extended to new areas of information processing—often, areas to which no security specialist is formally assigned.