November 14, 2013 - Only 4 percent of IT professionals say their enterprises are very prepared to ensure effective governance and privacy of Big Data, according to a global survey conducted by professional association ISACA. Yet information is currency, and enterprises must not only protect and manage it, but also use it to drive business value.

To help enterprises meet this challenge, ISACA has released a new guide based on the COBIT 5 business framework, which helps enterprises govern and manage their information. COBIT 5: Enabling Informationprovides readers with three key benefits:

1. A comprehensive information model that includes all aspects of information, including stakeholders, goals and good practices

2. Guidance on how to use COBIT 5 to address common information governance issues, such as Big Data and privacy concerns

3. A deep understanding of why information needs to be managed and governed, along with clear guidance on how to accomplish that

"Companies in all industries and all geographies are struggling with massive volumes of data and increasingly complex compliance requirements," said Steven De Haes, chair of the publication's development team. "When governance structures and processes are in place, enterprises are much more equipped to handle these challenges."

COBIT 5: Enabling Information also helps enterprises deal with three key aspects of Big Data: fraud detection, IT predictive analytics and marketing situational awareness.

"At many enterprises, information is spread across multiple isolated silos, repeated in redundant copies scattered throughout the company, and underutilized," said De Haes. "ISACA's goal is to help companies simplify information governance so that they are not only able to handle the information pouring in from a vast number of channels, but also derive value from it."