Business IT

As organizations worldwide prepare for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are temporarily closing offices and encouraging employees to work from home. This enables the “social distancing” that health officials say will help slow the spread of the virus.

In a 2017 report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), 14 percent of all IT projects fail. However, this metric only tells part of the story. Of the projects that didn’t fail outright, 49% were late, 43% exceeded their initial budget, and 31% didn’t meet their goals.

Many of us have been the customer for a large project before. Perhaps for a home renovation. Perhaps for implementing a new system or installing new equipment at work. If these projects went well for you, you can probably recognize that the project manager made a significant effort to identify and manage your expectations. This led you to believe, throughout the life of the project, that things were under control. This eased your fears about the ultimate success of the project.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, cybercrime costs the U.S. economy about $100 billion each year. As soon as you think you have one threat properly defended, a new, more dangerous threat emerges. This is why organizations continue to make major investments in IT security, to prevent data breaches and minimize their impact and to satisfy increasingly complex regulatory compliance requirements.