| | November 201619CIOReviewAssuming you are an IT professional/executive, what is your first reaction when you hear the word `compliance'? Fear? Trepidation? Do you think it's an impediment to progress? Or do you see it as critically important? A trusted partner given the expectations of customers and regulatory bodies that your industry deals with?This range of perspectives is dependent on everything from the company you work for and people you work with, to the company's operating environment, a particular project or initiative. There is not really a right or wrong answer to the question I asked. However, what everyone would agree upon is that disregard for Compliance will lead to very bad outcomes. And those outcomes could have a negative impact on you and/or your company.Getting a Vote of ConfidenceWhat I have learned over the years is that the best way to deal with compliance is to embrace it. Figure out how to turn compliance into a positive for your company and your organization. By means of example, being compliant with IT controls such as protecting customer/confidential information and proper segregation of duties will yield a vote of confidence from any external audit or from any government or regulatory body associated with your industry. What's more, compliance with IT controls also helps minimize the impact from cyber-attacks that your company may encounter. Being compliant with recognized IT controls won't prevent a cyber-attack, but it will hopefully ensure that the residual outcomes do not have as severe reputational effects as they could have been.A second example of embracing compliance is engaging the compliance department earlier in the lifecycle of a project. I have seen many examples over the years where a project has gone through the software design and development process, and as part of obtaining any necessary signoffs to move the software project into production for customers, compliance has identified an issue that stops the project from moving forward. I suspect that many of you have experienced similar Leveraging Compliance to Your AdvantageBy Mark Bloom, Global CIO, Aegon [NYSE:AEG]Mark Bloom
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