COBIT ® The comprehensive IT governance

framework that addresses every aspect of IT

and integrates all of the main global IT standards.
COBIT 4.1
• Does your enterprise’s IT support the business?
• Is it aligned with the business?
• Is your IT performing to its optimal capability?
• Is your IT adding value to the business?
• Are IT risks being effectively mitigated?
• Are your IT investments being effectively
managed throughout their life cycle?
• Is the importance of governance understood at
all levels of your enterprise?
• Are the benefits of your IT being maximized?

If you did not answer yes to all of the above questions, your enterprise does not have an
effective IT governance framework in place. Most, if not all, business activities are affected
by IT, with an increasingly visible impact to end users. Successful enterprises recognize the
need to maximize the value of IT-related investments and that the need for the governance
of IT is greater now than ever before. The best way to ensure this is to implement an IT
governance framework.

An effective IT governance framework:

• Provides clear direction to ensure that IT investments support the business
• Is an effective way to manage change
• Creates value for the business in alignment with enterprise objectives
• Addresses the complete life cycle of IT investment

COBIT, developed by ISACA®, is a comprehensive IT governance framework.

COBIT 4.1 addresses every aspect of IT and is the only governance framework
that addresses the complete life cycle of IT investment.

COBIT Update Project

ISACA has started on a multiyear strategic initiative to develop the next generation of the
COBIT Framework, COBIT 5, and supporting products. Building on more than fifteen years
of practical use of COBIT by many IT professionals from the business, IT, risk management,
security and assurance communities, the COBIT 5 deliverables will be designed to meet
the current and future needs of stakeholders and align with the most up-to-date thinking
in enterprise governance and IT management practices. ISACA recognizes that there is a
need to provide transition materials and implementation guidance to assist IT
professionals and their enterprises once the COBIT 5 Framework becomes available.
Further announcements will be made, on the ISACA COBIT web page and in other
communications (www.isaca.org/cobit), as plans and development work progress.
What Does COBIT Do?
COBIT:
• Improves IT efficiency and effectiveness
• Helps IT understand the needs of the business
• Puts practices in place to meet the business needs as efficiently as possible
• Helps executives understand and manage IT investments throughout their life cycle
• Provides a method to assess whether IT services and new initiatives are meeting
business requirements and are likely to deliver the benefits expected
• Helps to develop and document the appropriate organizational structures,
processes and tools for effective management of IT
• Provides an authoritative, international set of generally accepted practices that
helps boards of directors, executives and managers increase the value of IT and
reduce related risks

How Does COBIT Support the Governance of IT?

COBIT supports the Governance of IT by providing a framework to ensure that:
• IT is aligned with the business
• IT enables the business and maximizes benefits
• IT resources are used responsibly
• IT risks are managed appropriately

What are the Benefits of Implementing COBIT?

There is a clear difference between enterprises that manage their IT well and those
that don’t, or can’t. Implementation of COBIT is a sign of a well-run enterprise, as it
is a proven and internationally accepted set of tools and techniques.

The benefits of implementing COBIT include:

• A common language for executives, business and IT staff
• A view, understandable to management, of what IT does
• A better understanding of how the business and IT can work together
for successful delivery of IT initiatives
• Better alignment, based on a business focus
• Better quality IT services
• Improved efficiency and optimization of cost
• Reduced operational risk
• More effective management of IT
• Clear policy development
• More efficient and successful audits
• Clear ownership and responsibilities,
based on process orientation
Want to Know More?
Visit www.isaca.org/cobit and download your
complimentary copy of COBIT 4.1 today!
By downloading COBIT 4.1 and visiting the web site you will:
• Get the most complete and up-to-date information on COBIT and related
products including online tools,implementation guides, case studies,
newsletters and educational materials
• Learn how other enterprises are using COBIT
• Receive a complimentary subscription to COBIT ® Focus, the newsletter dedicated
to the COBIT user community, by being placed on our distribution list
• Get access to the ISACA Bookstore (www.isaca.org/bookstore) where you
can purchase COBIT 4.1 and other valuable COBIT products
• Find the COBIT mapping papers as well as translations of COBIT

IT GOVERNANCE FOCUS AREAS

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT focuses on ensuring the linkage
of business and IT plans, on defining, maintaining and
validating the IT value proposition, and on aligning IT
operations with enterprise operations.

VALUE DELIVERY is about executing the value proposition throughout the

delivery cycle,ensuring that IT delivers the promised benefits against the strategy,
concentrating on optimizing costs and proving the intrinsic value of IT.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT is about the optimal investment in, and the proper
management of, critical IT resources: processes, people, applications, infrastructure
and information. Key issues relate to the optimization of knowledge and infrastructure.

RISK MANAGEMENT requires risk awareness by senior corporate officers,

a clear understanding of the enterprise’s appetite for risk, transparency about the
significant risks to the enterprise, and embedding of risk management
responsibilities into the organization.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT tracks and monitors strategy implementation,

project completion, resource usage, process performance and service delivery,
using, for example, balanced scorecards that translate strategy into action to
achieve goals measurable beyond conventional accounting.
What if there was a way to reduce IT-related risks,
maximize the benefits of technology investment,
increase the value attained from IT, and ensure
compliance, continuity, security and privacy?

There is:
Control Objectives for Information and related Technology
(COBIT® ), developed by ISACA®.

What is COBIT?
COBIT is:
• An international unifying framework that integrates all of the main
global IT standards, including ITIL, CMMI and ISO 17799.
• A product of 15 years of research and cooperation among global
IT and business experts.
• A tool for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and many other
global standards.

Get your complimentary copy of COBIT 4.1 now.

Visit www.isaca.org/cobit.
 Get control of your IT now with COBIT 4.1. Download your complimentary
copy at www.isaca.org/cobit .

Building on the success of COBIT, and focusing on key IT governance areas

of value delivery and risk management, ISACA developed two additional IT
governance frameworks, Val IT™ and Risk IT. These frameworks are closely
aligned with and complement COBIT, but deliver value to enterprises in their
own right. While COBIT ensures that IT is working as effectively as possible
to maximize the benefits of technology investment, Val IT helps enterprises
make better decisions about where to invest, ensuring that the investment
is consistent with the business strategy. And while COBIT provides a set of
controls to mitigate IT risk in IT processes, Risk IT provides a framework for
enterprise to identify, govern and manage IT-related risks.

“Companies need a strong governance model in place

to align IT investments with business requirements.
The business process within IT at Unisys has improved
as a result of using COBIT for ongoing Sarbanes-Oxley
compliance and other IT governance related projects.”
— John Carrow, Chief Information Officer and Vice President,
Information Technology, Unisys

3701 Algonquin Road, Suite 1010 Phone: +1.847.660.5700

Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 USA Fax: +1.847.253.1443
Web site: www.isaca.org E-mail: [email protected]

www.isaca.org/cobit