Press Release - 2008
THANKFUL FOR COMPLIANCE AUTOMATION
How Oliver Eckel is Using IT Compliance Automation to Make Impressive Gains
SAN JOSE, Calif. – November 24, 2008 – For many C-level executives dealing with layoffs and paper-thin budgets, being thankful may be more difficult than in Novembers past. Yet, within the world of IT compliance, good things are happening for innovative leaders determined to progress in the face of tough economic conditions. Take for example, Oliver Eckel, head of corporate security for Bwin Interactive – a global $2.2 billion dollar revenue-generating company – who is challenged to cut costs and improve productivity. Despite the pressures from increased security threats, compliance demands and shrinking budgets, he's leveraging the power of compliance automation to get his job done.
Eckel states, "Successfully balancing today's risk management, cost reduction and compliance equation can be a difficult feat – especially when dealing with multiple regulatory requirements across the globe." He added, "By automating risk management and compliance processes, Bwin is able to improve security and reduce costs while achieving and maintaining compliance with multiple regulations."
As companies enter a new era of corporate governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) challenges, winning companies like Bwin are using technology to save money by automating compliance initiatives. The perfect storm of a struggling economy, mixed with increased IT security threats and new regulations looming on the horizon, is driving the adoption of automated and innovative, intelligence-based solutions for today's risk and compliance challenges.
Beyond Compliance: Avoiding the Next Risk Disaster
In the wake of the Wall Street crash, compliance is only one part of the equation. Recent speculation by industry analysts suggests that senior management's lack of understanding about their risk posture may have been a contributing factor to the crash of many heavy hitting financial institutions.
"Crises, like the recent meltdown of Wall Street, emerge in part because executives either don't understand or don't care about their risks, and risk managers don't know how to help them understand where they may be seriously exposed," said Scott Crawford, Research Director, Enterprise Management Associates. "Compliance automation and risk intelligence offer some of the key capabilities companies need, not only to better apply their security and risk investments, but to provide decision makers with the current and accurate information they need to better understand how IT risk affects their entire organization."
Not only does Eckel utilize software automation to cut costs and reduce Bwin's compliance burdens, he uses it to map IT risk to business risk, providing the enterprise-wide visibility and accountability needed to help Bwin avoid potential risk pitfalls. By tapping the power of risk and compliance automation software, Eckel is helping Bwin to erase the lines of division between IT and business so more informed decisions can be made with confidence and ease.
Oliver Eckel's Success Story
Visit http://www.agiliance.com/infocenter/case_study_bwin.html to learn why Bwin International is thankful for an "always-on" proactive IT risk approach to realize significant cost savings – while improving security and achieving compliance with multiple industry regulations.
Agiliance: The Risk and Compliance Platform
Agiliance offers highly-automated risk and compliance management software products designed to help organizations thrive in the face of mounting pressures to manage and balance risk, compliance and IT budgets. By leveraging the power of Agiliance software, Global 2000 businesses like Bwin International are making impressive gains in their IT risk and compliance efforts including reduced audit burden, increased visibility into current compliance and risk status, and improved leverage of IT resources.
To speak to an Agiliance expert about a topic covered in the Agiliance NewsWatch series, please contact Lorraine Kauffman-Hall at 704-882-0443 or lhall@agiliance.com. To learn more about Agiliance, please visit www.agiliance.com.
Media Contacts
Lorraine Kauffman-Hall
Agiliance
+1 704-882-0443
lhall@agiliance.com
