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Oomnitza Research Reveals that Almost 50% of Enterprises Face Considerable Increase in Audit Expenditures and Delays Due to Poor Technology Inventory Data

Poor data hygiene, inefficient processes and a lack of automation drive audit cost and resource overruns

SAN FRANCISCO — March 7, 2024 - Oomnitza, the leading provider of Enterprise Technology Management (ETM) solutions, today announced a new survey on “IT Compliance and Technology Audits.” The research, conducted by YouGov, found that roughly half of organizations have experienced a significant increase in their audit budget expenditures due to poor technology inventory data, with 56% of companies reporting that the data accuracy of their CMDB was only 85% or less with insufficient levels of process automation.

Those numbers become untenable as technology audits continue to increase in importance and complexity for virtually all businesses. A host of factors, ranging from the rise of remote work to the proliferation of industry-specific regulations, stringent cross-border data laws and the pervasive migration to cloud-based infrastructures have made technology audits a business imperative.

However, to effectively conduct technology audits, enterprises need to maintain accurate inventory and operational data. To achieve this, organizations must leverage technology asset management tools that integrate with all technology data sources. Also, effective automation of technology lifecycles is crucial as it reduces the margin of human error, enhances data accuracy, and accelerates the identification of discrepancies in the technology inventory.

Oomnitza’s Snapshot Survey examines the importance of accurate asset, operational and security data on technology audits. It also looked at the impact that inaccurate data has on budgets, and how well organizations are leveraging automated workflows to better coordinate audit processes across multiple IT management systems.

Key Findings
The research shows that data hygiene and accuracy issues are negatively impacting the timeliness, cost and quality of audits.

  • Inaccurate data is a significant issue, causing 46% of respondents to experience a material increase (10% or higher) in audit delays and costs.
  • Enterprises with 1000-5000 employees were 27% more likely to experience an increase in audit delays and costs (10% or higher).
  • 47% of companies spent at least 10% more resources and money than their planned audit budget due to poor technology inventory data. This number rises to 55% in enterprises with 1000-5000 employees.

The research shows that the majority of businesses acknowledge the need for improving data hygiene, establishing better processes and using more automation, and see these as areas they still need to address.

  • 56% of companies reported the data accuracy of their CMDB was only 85% or lower with insufficient levels of process automation. This number rises to 67% in enterprises with 1000-5000 employees.
  • 62% of organizations need to further automate their compliance assessment and technology audit preparation workflows to better adhere to security and compliance controls.
  • Almost 75% of utilities and infrastructure companies are exposed to undue security and compliance risks and need to better define and automate their compliance and audit processes.

“Remote work, cloud services and increasing regulation are making compliance audits harder and more inefficient than ever,” said Arthur Lozinski, CEO and co-founder of Oomnitza. “This research confirms the scope and cost of the problem and underscores the importance of taking a cohesive, holistic approach to technology management to streamline audit and compliance reporting processes.”

Survey Details

The research, conducted by YouGov, surveyed 213 senior level information technology professionals in enterprises ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 employees across multiple industries in the United States. The survey represented a cross section of industries, including financial services, technology, healthcare, services, manufacturing and retail. To download the survey infographic, please visit https://oomnitza.com/resources/it-compliance-and-technology-audits-infographic/. The full report is available here.