A survey to determine the current state of governance of IT, and obtain insights for future standard creation for the governance of IT was conducted by the survey task group under ISO/IEC JTC1 SC40/WG1: Governance of IT, targeting both WG1 experts and external practitioners in the Governance of IT, from January to March in 2025. The full survey report is available at here.
125 responses were received from across 28 countries. The survey results provided the following valuable insights:
- The high level of interest in governance of IT worldwide was demonstrated quantitatively and qualitatively. The survey also provided useful insights on why "Governance of IT" is treated as very important in their countries while it is perceived as not so important in other countries.
- Survey confirmed that ISO/IEC 38500 series and its translated versions were used in many countries.
- Key benefits and challenges were realized while implementing "Governance of IT".
- More than half of the respondents indicated that there are mechanisms in place to track governance of IT failures in their country. The examples of failures can be leveraged for lessons learned.
- "Governance of IT" and "IT Governance" are perceived as the same in many countries.
- Implementing Governance of IT practices in the area of stakeholder engagement received the most responses for ‘very difficult’ to implement.
- The survey results indicate a potential need for Governance of IT guidance on social responsibility, stakeholder engagement, and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The advanced regulatory guidance and non-regulatory guidelines pointed out by the respondents can be analyzed further, and they will probably provide us with new perspectives.
The intended reader of the survey report is any individual or enterprise interested in the governance of IT and is not limited to the governing bodies on the responsible use of IT, data and digital capabilities.