Gap Analysis of IT and security infrastructure

The method of assessing the differences in performance between a business's data systems or application software. To identify required business objectives and if the objectives not matched with requirements then necessary actions should be taken to ensure they met successfully, this method is known as Gap analysis. Here Gap means the space between present and target state. It is also referred as need – gap analysis or need analysis or need assessment.

There are wide range of gap analysis tool available on the market. But it is the organization’s choice which tool they use, mainly it depends on its specific set of target objectives. There are many gap analysis methods but one important method is:

McKinsey 7S Framework: This gap analysis tool, named after consulting firm McKinsey & Co.,

It is used to determine specific aspects of organization that are meeting expectations. An analyst using the 7S model identifies the properties of business through the lens of people-centric groupings: systems, strategy, shared values, staff, skills, structure, and style. The analyst fills in the current and future state for each category, which would then highlight where the gaps exist. The organization can then implement a targeted solution to fill that gap.

IT Gap Analysis

In IT, gap analysis reports are often used by project managers and process improvement teams. Small businesses, in particular, can also benefit from performing gap analysis when they are in the process of figuring out how to allocate resources.

Whereas in software development, these tools can document which services or functions have been accidentally left out, which have been deliberately eliminated, and which still need to be developed. Gap analysis is the method which can compare what is required by certain regulations to what is currently being done to abide by them.

Security Gap Analysis

Whereas security gap analysis provides comparison of your security program versus overall security best practices. By comparing your actual practices against industry best practices, you can identify areas where vulnerabilities and risks are lurking and determine any gaps. But, more than that, a security gap analysis shows you what you should be doing by giving you the right structure and controls. But it is not easy to conduct a security gap analysis, for this you need to be sure it’s being done correctly, it is better to ask for an expert’s help for this. Here are four steps that are critical for every information security gap analysis.

• Choose an organization’s standard security framework like ISO/EIC – 27002 standards. This standard covers best practices for key security areas such as risk assessment, access control, change management, physical security and others.
• Then evaluate operations and people involved in this activity like Stakeholders, HR, IT staff, leadership team, workstation members, security administrators, network providers and key staff members.
• The more you know about the people accessing your network and the controls that are already in place, the easier it will be to create the right security analysis.
• Then to gather the information, Review automated security controls. It will give you a clear picture of your technical environment, the protections in place and your overall security effectiveness.
• Then make analysis of security programs, when we analyze customer’s requirements, our in-depth security knowledge developed over years of observations and evaluations allows us to see how your security processes match up to other processes and controls that have proven successful for other companies within your specific industry.

A security gap analysis can’t guarantee 100% security. However, performing one will offer you peace of mind and go a long way toward ensuring that your network, staff and security controls are robust, effective and cost efficient.

Gap analysis is important in every aspect because it provides analysis of the required field and gives correct information about business. This fills the gaps where it is required. It helps in data collection which is helpful in future use if properly documented. It also helps in achieving business target objectives by identifying them with gap analysis tools like we discussed above about McKinsey 7s framework which is very good and are opted by many businesses organizations to fulfill their gaps in businesses.

As above we have discussed about gap analysis it is a good practice to perform gap analysis in every business organization to fill out the gaps and we provide you the best gap analysis that fits your budget and is reasonable, feel free to connect with us.