ISMS Business Case Builder – Benefits to Realise – Achieving Returns from the Threats and Opportunities

What are the Benefits of having an ISMS?

The most popular information asset being talked about at the moment is personal data, with new privacy regulation such as GDPR driving that focus. There are however many other types of information asset that organisations should be considering within their ISMS as the benefits from protecting and harnessing them may be significant too.

As we know, organisations increasingly have to show they can be trusted for information security and privacy management. If they can’t and competitors or substitutes can, the organisation’s future is at risk. With increased regulation and powerful customers getting smarter every day it may no longer be about standing out from the crowd with an ISMS either.

That might just be a minimum entry to a tender, a contract renewal or an attractive market opportunity. Whilst the minimum information asset that needs to be protected is personal data to meet the GDPR, consider the other valuable information assets for your ISMS scope too, especially if you have powerful stakeholders who expect other information assets to be protected as well.

An information asset is simply defined as “anything information based that has value to the organisation”.

Examples of Information Assets are:

• Personal data e.g. customers, staff, others.
• Intellectual Property e.g. source code, patents, designs, thought leadership etc.
• Financial and commercial information; plans, contracts, processes and procedures.
• Customers, suppliers and other important relationship information assets (beyond personal data).
• Networks, hardware and other information processing facilities.
• People with key knowledge that affect business performance.

An ISMS delivers a positive return on investment. The goal of our whitepaper is to show you why, what, and how you can get RoI from an ISMS that fits the business needs.