EDITOR’ S QUESTION
MATT RILEY, DIRECTOR FOR INFORMATION SECURITY,
SHARP UK / EUROPE
In the context of tightening EU regulations and increasing cyberthreats, CIOs face the challenging task of ensuring compliance, resilience and innovation without slowing down Digital Transformation initiatives. The key to achieving this balance lies in putting people first. Team members can ultimately be a company’ s strongest assets or weakest links. Without their buy-in, ensuring compliance and resilience while encouraging innovation is an impossible task.
People often do what they want to do, not necessarily what they need to do. Therefore, a CIO’ s role is about building a culture where people want to necessary steps and can contribute to the success of the initiatives and this proactive mindset is crucial for navigating the complexities of increasing regulations and cyberthreats.
With the growing number of regulations, it is also essential to demonstrate the positives and tell related stories. For example, CIOs can highlight how being early adopters of new regulations can provide a competitive advantage over competitors. This positive approach helps in gaining buy-in for the necessary changes and investments in technology, training, and leveraging cloud solutions.
According to Sharp’ s own research of over 11,000 employees in Europe, including 1,000 in the UK, almost half( 43 %) haven’ t had any form of cybersecurity training over the past year and
16 % have never received any at all, highlighting its importance.
contribute to compliance and resilience. This involves highlighting the importance of processes and procedures and telling relatable stories that resonate with team members. For instance, recent events involving companies like M & S and Co-Op serve as powerful examples of how cyber incidents can impact individuals and their roles. By sharing these stories, CIOs can help build a sense of‘ want’ rather than just‘ need’ among team members. Once this culture is in place, people become proactive in their approach, which leads to a speeding up of digital innovation. They understand the reasons behind the
A practical example of this approach can be seen in our marketing team at Sharp. They engage, are willing to learn – and take a proactive approach, making innovation quicker and easier while still complying with various pieces of legislation. This demonstrates that with the right culture and mindset, compliance and resilience can go hand in hand with innovation.
Investing in employee training and awareness is another critical step as human error remains one of the leading causes of cybersecurity breaches. In fact, according to Sharp’ s own research of over 11,000 employees in Europe, including 1,000 in the UK, almost half( 43 %) haven’ t had any form of cybersecurity training over the past year and 16 % have never received any at all, highlighting its importance. To mitigate this risk, CIOs must prioritise employee training and awareness programmes.
Overall, CIOs can ensure compliance, resilience and innovation without slowing down Digital Transformation initiatives by putting people first. Building a culture where team members want to contribute to compliance and resilience, sharing relatable stories, and demonstrating the positives of new regulations are key strategies. With this approach, technology, training, and leveraging cloud solutions can follow, making it easier to gain buy-in and achieve success.
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