Your company’s information system (IS) functions like a nervous system. It’s through it that all your organization’s key information flows. It also enables the circulation of essential data and ensures smooth communication and collaboration across all departments. A poorly calibrated or undersized IS can have serious consequences for your company’s health. And when it’s under attack, the impact is even greater. That’s why it’s essential to conduct an audit of your IT infrastructure.

First step: understand your information system

An information system is a set of resources that are both human, material, and immaterial:

• Human resources: these are the employees and technicians responsible for managing your IS. They may handle server maintenance, answer team questions, order, purchase, and configure hardware, and manage contracts with service providers, among other tasks.
• Material resources: these include all the computers, tablets, and phones the company provides to its teams, as well as all IT equipment — such as on-site local servers, accessories, hard drives, projectors, modems, Wi-Fi routers, and more.
• Intangible resources: these include the software, data, tools, and processes that govern how your organization operates. The scope is broad, encompassing both desktop and mobile operating systems, as well as payroll software, marketing tools, CRM, ERP, production management, and more.

Understanding what your IS is made of, how it operates, and what impact a malfunction can have on other resources is essential to performing a complete audit. This way, in the event of incidents (attacks, errors, technical issues, etc.), it becomes much easier to isolate affected areas from healthy ones.

Second step: define your business objectives

Not all information systems are the same. They must be designed to meet the specific business needs of the company. This may depend on the number of users, locations or campuses, different products or services, etc. For instance, the IS of an industrial SME will differ greatly from that of a retail chain. Defining business objectives may include, for example, real-time inventory management as part of an omnichannel strategy, or prioritizing customer experience by integrating all pre- and post-sales interactions across every tool. The IS should also align with the company’s business plan and strategic goals — whether that means supporting growth or managing a slowdown in a specific market. It should be viewed as a true “business partner,” capable of reducing costs, optimizing them, and anticipating future needs.

Third step: choose the right service provider

Auditing an information system often requires an external perspective. To choose the right provider, it’s important that they understand your business, ask the right questions, and use a clear methodology based on several key points:

• Interviews to understand the client (various directors), their needs, and their risks.
• A technical framework to define the scope of the audit, the implementation timeline, and assign responsibilities (RACI).
• The execution phase, carried out by experts who implement the necessary tools and complete tasks according to the schedule.
• The deliverables, including an audit report listing vulnerabilities, impacts, and recommendations, along with a presentation to management.

Auditing an information system is a crucial step that helps guide your company according to its goals and organizational structure.