More and more, compliance is a critical business issue, not just a distraction. When the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed, many CIOs thought they could use their compliance efforts to help streamline their businesses and improve their systems. But CIOs are giving up on that hope.
Although spending on compliance is still increasing, CIOs will grudgingly spend as little as they can on compliance, doing the minimum needed to meet the letter of the law. Still, since security, transparency and privacy concerns are now critical business issues, companies will need to attempt to leverage the time, money and effort they are putting into compliance—even if there is no clear ROI or payoff.
